Some of the basic elements of the original story are here: one legged tin soldier, ballerina, jack-in-the-(snuff)box,toys becoming active at night, tragedy. The big difference is in the film you have the evil king & 3 jack-in-the-boxes. The original has no king, only one jack, and it is evil! Instead of the attack on the king & trial, Andersen's story has the tin soldier fall into a water filled gutter later to be eaten by a fish. The fish is then caught & he winds up back to the home of the boy who owned him. Then a similar ending, though the film has a happier epilogue akin to what Hans did with his Little Mermaid story. When the toy soldier loaded his rifle with a match, was the director making a connection with Andersen's Little Match Girl? For Babes in Toyland fans, animated Laurel & Hardy's appear along with Parade of the Wooden Soldiers music! For Brave Tin Soldier fans, you can also catch him & the ballerina, briefly, in Simple Simon(1935)! For an adaption that is at once closer & further from the original, compare with the Mr. Piper TV episode, The Tin Soldier. In that one, the soldier has both legs but can't wind-up as the other soldiers do. Also of note, the English translation of the story by Danish born Jean Hersholt has the tin soldier originally believing the girl he falls in love with only has one leg too because of the pose she is in!