The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess | |
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Directed by | Richard Rich |
Screenplay by | Brian Nissen |
Story by |
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Based on | Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Edited by |
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Music by | Lex de Azevedo |
Production companies | |
Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $21 million[2] |
Box office | $9.8 million[3] |
The Swan Princess is a 1994 American
The theme song "
Plot
King William and his friend Queen Uberta both have a child; Uberta has a son named Derek and William has a daughter named Odette. The two want their children to marry when they grow up so they can unite their two kingdoms forever. However, sorcerer Rothbart plans to take King William's kingdom for himself. William discovers his plans and Rothbart is banished. He swears revenge.
Derek and Odette hate each other as children but when they reach adulthood, they do fall in love. However, when Derek can't think of anything he loves Odette for besides her beauty, she rejects him, disappointed. On her way home, she and her father are ambushed by Rothbart, who transforms into a "Great Animal", kidnapping Odette and fatally injuring William. The dying William tells Derek about the Great Animal and Odette. The kingdom assumes that she is dead, but Derek is determined to find her.
Rothbart is keeping Odette captive at Swan Lake. To make her unable to leave, he has cast a powerful spell that turns Odette into a swan during the day. She can temporarily return to her true form at night if she stands on the lake when the moonlight touches it. Rothbart's goal is to marry Odette so he can rule the kingdom. During her captivity, she befriends a turtle named Speed, a French frog named Jean-Bob, and an Irish puffin named Lieutenant Puffin.
In the woods, Derek mistakes Odette for the Great Animal and tries to kill her. The ensuing chase leads him to Swan Lake, where he witnesses her reverting to a human. Odette tells Derek that to break the spell, he must make a vow of everlasting love. He invites her to the ball, hoping to declare to the world his love. Rothbart transforms his hag sidekick, Bridget, into a doppelgänger Odette to fool Derek into making his vow to the wrong woman, which will kill the real Odette. On the night of the ball, he imprisons Odette and Derek's friend Bromley.
Odette's animal friends free her and she flies to the castle to warn Derek, but she is too late; Derek has made the vow. Realizing his mistake, Derek follows Odette back to Swan Lake, where she dies in his arms. A heartbroken Derek battles Rothbart and with the help of Bromley and Odette's animal friends, kills him.
Derek confesses his love to Odette, realizing that it's the person Odette has become that he loves about her, and she comes back to life; the spell on her is broken by his love. Derek and Odette get married and they, along with his mother, Rogers, Bromley, King William's servants, and the animals move into Rothbart's castle.
Voice cast
- Michelle Nicastro as Princess Odette
- Liz Callaway as Princess Odette (singing voice)
- Adrian Zahiri as Young Princess Odette
- Howard McGillin as Prince Derek
- Adam Wylie as Young Prince Derek
- Jack Palance as Sir Rothbart
- Lex de Azevedo as Sir Rothbart (singing voice)
- John Cleese as Jean-Bob
- David Zippel as Jean-Bob (singing voice)
- Steven Wright as Lorenzo "Speed" Trudgealong
- Jonathan Hadary as Speed (singing voice)
- General Puffin
- Sandy Duncan as Queen Uberta
- James Arrington as Sir Chamberlain
- Davis Gaines as Sir Chamberlain (singing voice)
- Dakin Matthews as King William
- Mark Harelik as Lord Rogers
- Joel McKinnon Miller as Bromley
- Brian Nissen as the Narrator
- Tom Alan Robbins as a flute-playing musician
- Bess Hopper as Bridget
The chorus consists of Catte Adams, Stephen W. Amerson, Beth Andersen, Susan Boyd, Amick Byram, Randy Crenshaw, Michael Dees, Jim Haas, Debbie Hall, Angie Jaree, Bob Joyce, Jon Joyce, Kerry Katz, Tampa M. Lann, Rick Logan, Susan McBride, Bobbie Page, Sally Stevens, Susan Stevens-Logan, Gary Stockdale, Carmen Twillie, and Oren Waters
Production
Having previously directed The Fox and the Hound (1981) and The Black Cauldron (1985) at Walt Disney Feature Animation in Burbank, California, Richard Rich was slated to co-direct Oliver & Company (1988) until he was fired by Disney feature animation president Peter Schneider.[7] Following his departure from Disney, he subsequently formed his own studio, Rich Animation Studios with about 26 employees, in which most of his key employees came from Disney, including the company's marketing chief, Matt Mazer.[8] Subsequently, Jared F. Brown from Living Scriptures, Inc. tapped Rich into producing half-hour animated videos based on the audio cassettes readings of the Book of Mormon.[9]
Inspired by the success of
The film was created by hand painting cels, a tedious technique which caused Rich and his crew to take over four years to produce the final product.[11][12] Most of the cel painting was done at Hanho Heung-Up in Seoul, South Korea. Overall, 275 animators and artists worked throughout the film's production.[10]
Music
David Zippel was approached by Richard Rich to write the lyrics to songs for The Swan Princess,[13] while the songs and score were composed by Lex de Azevedo.
The theme song "Far Longer than Forever" was written by de Azevedo and Zippel. In the film, the song was performed by vocalists Liz Callaway (as the singing voice of Princess Odette) and Howard McGillin (as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Derek). In the closing credits, a pop/R&B rendition of the song was performed by recording artists Regina Belle and Jeffrey Osborne. In the 1997 sequel Escape from Castle Mountain, Michelle Nicastro sings a reprise of the song.[14]
"Far Longer than Forever" was nominated for a
Release
When The Swan Princess was nearing completion,
Marketing
Home media
Turner Home Entertainment first released The Swan Princess on VHS and LaserDisc in the Turner Family Showcase collection on August 3, 1995, and sold over 2.5 million units.
Reception
Critical response
The Swan Princess received favorable reviews.[26] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, writing "Despite the comparatively limited resources at his disposal, Richard Rich shows that he understands the recent Disney animated renaissance and can create some of the same magic. The movie isn't in the same league as Disney's big four, and it doesn't have the same crossover appeal to adults, but as family entertainment, it's bright and cheerful, and it has its moments."[27] Similarly, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said it was a better film than The Lion King, praising its "fluid, unhurried pace" and "lush, original sense of color", though deeming the score "[not] terribly distinctive".[28] Caryn James of The New York Times noted the film's similarities to Beauty and the Beast (1991), writing it was "not quite as good or fresh, but it's delicious all the same, bound to amuse children and entertain their trapped parents, too."[15]
Brian Lowry of
Box office
During its opening weekend, The Swan Princess opened in tenth place at the box office, earning $2.4 million.
Disney's reissuing of The Lion King just as this film was being released was seen as "sabotage" by Variety.[29]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "The Swan Princess (1994)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ a b McNary, Dave (April 3, 1995). "Walt Disney Co., in a bid to continue its..." United Press International. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ "The Swan Princess (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ Reed Business Information: 4.
- ^ "About Swan Princess". The Swan Princess Series.com. August 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ^ "Far Longer than Forever | Golden Globes". Golden Globe Awards. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ Hahn, Don (2009). Waking Sleeping Beauty (Documentary film). Burbank, California: Stone Circle Pictures/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
- ^ Citron, Rich (December 21, 1993). "Rich Hopes to Strike It in Animation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ a b Porter, Donald (November 19, 1994). "Richard Rich". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Blogger.
- ^ a b c Hicks, Chris (November 18, 1994). "The Swan Princess". Deseret News. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ a b Berardinelli, James. "Review: The Swan Princess". Reel Views. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ISBN 9780634007651. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Longsdorf, Amy (December 17, 1994). "Lyricist David Zippel Helping To Put The Tune In Cartoons". The Morning Call. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-933-99741-7.
- ^ a b James, Caryn (November 18, 1994). "Movie Review: Sexism and Rothbart As Obstacles to Love". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-569-76222-6.
- ISSN 0006-2510– via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-825-67257-6 – via Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-0933997356– via Google Books.
- ^ Hartl, John (July 28, 1995). "August to see plenty of one-week wonders". Seattle Times. Star-News. p. 3D – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Film, TV Nominees for the Golden Globes". Chicago Tribune. December 23, 1994. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Eileen (May 20, 1995). "Timing Key for Pillsbury 'Swan Princess' Tie-In". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- Advertising Age. May 3, 1995. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ "Pillsbury Dough Boy "The movie's about to start!" Advert". Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "The Swan Princess Announced for Blu-ray (and Digital 4K HDR)". highdefdigest.com. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- ^ a b Bates, James (November 22, 1994). "'Swan' Sticks Its Neck Out but Still Gets the Ax". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (November 18, 1994). "The Swan Princess Movie Review (1994)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 16, 2014 – via RogerEbert.com.
- ^ Hinson, Hal (November 19, 1994). "'The Swan Princess' (G)". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Lowry, Brian (November 20, 1994). "The Swan Princess". Variety. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (November 18, 1994). "'Last Seduction' Proves Dahl Is Very Good At Going Bad". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- ^ "The Swan Princess". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ Welkos, Richard. "Weekend Box Office: Appealing to All 'Generations'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
External links
- The Swan Princess at IMDb
- The Swan Princess at AllMovie