The office of Wizart Animation, Russia’s own answer to Pixar, is situated in an unassuming building on the outskirts of Voronezh. It is here that The Snow Queen was produced back in 2012, a year before the release of another Hans Christian Andersen inspired drama Frozen. The film has been screened in 70 countries topping charts in Russia, China and South Korea. The studio is now working on a handful of new works and has launched a special animation software programme at Voronezh university to support local animation talent. The studio’s producer Vladimir Nikolaev says that thanks to Wizart “young illustrators and programmers from Moscow and St Petersburg are coming to work in Voronezh.”