Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film directed by Charles Vidor and produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

A large part of the narrative is told through song (music and lyrics by Frank Loesser) and ballet and includes many of the real Andersen's most famous stories, such as The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Little Mermaid.

In the 1830s, in the small Danish town of Odense, cobbler Hans Christian Andersen spends his day spinning fairy tales for the village children.

One day, the stern schoolmaster implores the Burgomaster and councilmen to curtail the cobbler's habit of distracting the students with his storytelling.

After a sea voyage, Hans and Peter arrive at the city's harbor and find their way to the Great Square of Copenhagen.

Peter, who has sought refuge from the police by hiding by the back entrance of the Royal Theatre, overhears choreographer Niels demand that a company producer send for a cobbler and asks them to free his friend from jail.

Hans resists the idea and writes a love letter to Doro in the form of a fable called The Little Mermaid, in which he tells her that she has chosen the wrong man.

That night while Peter surreptitiously reads the letter, a gust of wind whisks it from his hands and carries it into the theater, where a stage doorman delivers it to Doro.

The next day, the entire ballet company sets off on their annual tour, leaving Hans bereft, but he soon finds comfort entertaining a new group of children with his stories.

When Hans tries to deliver Doro's slippers backstage, Niels locks the insistent writer in a closet to prevent him from disrupting the performers.

Producer Samuel Goldwyn conceived the idea for the film in 1936 and employed numerous writers to work on early drafts of the screenplay over the years.