- For The Soundtrack of the film, See The Swan Princess (soundtrack).
The Swan Princess is a 1994 animated film based on the ballet "Swan Lake". Starring the voice talents of Academy Award-winner Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, and Sandy Duncan, the film is directed by ex-Disney animation director Richard Rich, with a music score by Lex de Azevedo. There were two sequels: The Swan Princess II: Escape from Castle Mountain and The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom. This was among the last feature films made in the US to use hand painted cels rather than digitally scanned images.
Plot
King William, Princess Odette's father, and Queen Uberta, Prince Derek's mother, conspire to matchmake their two offspring in the hopes of bringing their kingdoms together. As children and adolescents, Derek and Odette hate each other to the core, but when they meet as young adults, they see each other in a different light and fall in love. When Derek announces that they are planning the wedding, Odette stalls. She asks Derek what else he sees in her besides her beauty, to which Derek responds: "What else is there?" Odette is disappointed and the wedding is called off.
Odette and William leave Uberta's castle, but during their journey home they are attacked by Rothbart, an enchanter whom King William had banished years before. King William's Captain manages to make it to Uberta's castle, telling Derek they were attacked by a "Great Animal". When Derek rides out to the site of the attack, he only finds King William, who says "It's not what it seems," before dying. The people of the kingdom believe that Odette is dead, except Derek, who vows to find her. To this end, he constantly practices his archery skills with his friend, Bromley.
In truth, Rothbart has cast a spell on Odette, keeping her captive at a lake in the woods. Although she is technically free to leave the grounds whenever she likes, as soon as moonlight leaves the lake, she transforms into a swan, no matter where she is. In order to become human again, Odette has to be on the lake itself, and moonlight has to touch her wings. Rothbart explains that he wants to legally take over William's kingdom by marrying Odette. Every night, Rothbart asks for her hand in marriage, and every night she says "I'll die first." While staying at the lake, Odette befriends three animals: Jean-Bob, a French frog that thinks he's a prince, Speed the turtle and Puffin the bird. Odette believes that Derek is looking for her, just as Derek believes that he will one day find her.
Working together with her animal friends, Odette manages to lure Derek to the lake, where she transforms in front of him. She explains that the spell can only be broken by a "vow of everlasting love", which Derek must "prove to the world". Derek asks Odette to attend the ball that is being held at his castle the following night, so that he may make the vow in front of all the guests. After Derek leaves, Rothbart arrives and reveals that he has heard their entire plan, but that the ball falls on the night of a new moon, meaning she will still remain a swan on that night. He magically transforms his sidekick, the Hag, into a replica of Odette, so that she may attend the ball in Odette's stead, explaining that if Derek makes the vow to another, Odette will die. Rothbart locks Odette in the watery dungeon of his castle.
At the ball, numerous princesses are introduced to Derek. Odette manages to escape the dungeon, but arrives at the ball too late in time to witness Derek making his vow to the Hag. When Derek realizes his mistake after Rothbart arrives at the ball, he follows the dying Odette back to the lake, where she transforms back into a human. Rothbart arrives back at the castle and transforms into the Great Animal. A fight ensues between him and Derek, and has ended when Derek aim an arrow into the Great Animal's heart. Odette recovers from the spell. Derek tells her that he loves her for reasons beyond her beauty. The pair are married in a royal wedding, with the entire kingdom rejoicing. They take Rothbarts castle as their new home.
Characters
- Princess Odette is the film's primary female protagonist. Throughout her child and adulthood, she is depicted as being kind, courageous and strong. Despite her love for him, Odette questions Derek's intentions in order to confirm that he loves her in return instead of simply accepting his proposal. On her way home, a strange creature appears and attacks! Killing King William, Odette is kidnapped by the evil enchanter, Rothbart and put under a spell in which she lives as a swan by day and becomes human at night so long as she is on Swan Lake beneath the moonlight. As she waits for Derek to rescue her and break the spell with "a vow of everlasting love" Odette befriends Jean-Bob the French-speaking frog, Speed the turtle and Puffin the puffin. Odette narrowly escapes death while leading Derek back to the lake where she tells him how to break the spell. Unfortunately, the night of the ball, where Derek intends to make his vow before the whole world, there is no moon, meaning Odette will remain a swan. Nevertheless, with the help of her friends, Odette flies to Derek's castle where she discovers she's been replaced by the Hag (in the guise of a black-dressed Odette). When Derek makes his vow to the impostor, she returns to the lake, becomes a human for the last time, and dies in Derek's arms, but she revives when Derek confesses his love to her. She is voiced by Michelle Nicastro and sung by Liz Callaway as an adult and Adrian Zahiri and Larisa Oleynik as a child.
- Prince Derek is the film's primary male protagonist. Though handsome, brave and gallant, he often neglects to see what is in front of him, which tends to get Odette into trouble. When questioned as to why he loved her, despite her beauty, Derek answers, "What else is there?" He loves Odette, but can't seem to express his feeling, deciding instead that he would prove it through actions rather than words. This comes too late, as Odette has been kidnapped by Rothbart. Derek refuses to accept that she has died, and spends all of his time practicing and attempting to decipher King William's cryptic message, believing it holds to the key to Odette's whereabouts. During his search, he sees Odette, in swan form, but mistakes her for the Great Animal and tries to kill her. After following her to Swan Lake, and returning her locket, he returns home, overcome with joy, determined to break the spell during the ball. When the Hag arrives, Derek believes she is the real Odette and makes the vow to her. Realizing his mistake, he hurries to Swan Lake and demands Rothbart save Odette. By fighting Rothbart, as the Great Animal, and successfully winning he then confesses his love to her, Derek revives Odette and they live happily ever after. He is voiced and sung by Howard McGillin as an adult Adam Wylie and J.D. Daniels as a child Odette is voiced by (Michelle NiCast)ro and sung by (Liz Callaway)
- Rothbart is the film's antagonist and depicted as being extremely intelligent and calm, only losing his temper once. An evil enchanter with his eye on King William's kingdom, Rothbart is banished at the start of the film, where he promises to one day take everything William owns and loves. He follows through with this threat years later, when his powers return and he attacks William in the form of a Great Animal. Kidnapping Odette, he brings her to Swan Lake, where he casts a spell upon her. The spell can only be broken should the man she loves make a vow of everlasting love to her, or should Odette agree to marry Rothbart and make him king. When he discovers Odette has brought Derek to the lake, he attempts to thwart their plans by sending his henchwoman to the ball in Odette's place. This will cause Odette to die, whereupon Rothbart can finish Derek off himself. He is voiced by Jack Palance and sung by Lex de Azevedo.
- Jean-Bob is a French-speaking frog who believes he is in fact a human prince. He repeatedly attempts to win Odette's affection so that she may kiss him and break the spell. He is voiced by John Cleese and sung by David Zippel.
- Speed as his friends call him, or Lorenzo Trudge-Along is a smart-talking turtle and another of Odette's animal friends. Though everything he does is rather slow, he is smart and fast as a bullet in water. He is voiced by Steven Wright and sung by Jonathan Hadary.
- Puffin is a lieutenant who came into Odette's company after an arrow in the wing. Because she removed the arrow, sparing his life, rather than ending it, he decides to stay by her side until his debt is repaid. Puffin appoints himself leader of the group and makes it his goal to reunite Odette with Derek so that he can break the spell. Puffin is voiced and sung by Steve Vinovich.
- Queen Uberta is Derek's widowed mother. She conspired with King William to match Derek and Odette and unite their kingdoms. She enjoys throwing lavish parties and is seen constantly pushing Derek in the direction of marriage, whether that is to Odette or another qualified princess. She is voiced and sung by Sandy Duncan.
- King William is Odette's father. He conspired with Queen Uberta to match Derek and Odette and unite their kingdoms. After discovering Rothbart's plan to take his kingdom, William shows him mercy and banishes him instead of executing him. This proves fatal as, years later, Rothbart attacks him and his daughter during their journey home, kidnapping Odette and fatally wounding William. He lives long enough only to warn Derek that "it's not what it seems." He is voiced and sung by Dakin Matthews. His wife remains unknown.
- Lord Rogers is Derek's mentor and friend. He conducts the royal orchestra and aids in Derek's training. Teasing Bromely seems to be another favored pastime. He is voiced and sung by Mark Harelik.
- Bromley is Derek's childhood friend. He frequently attempts to win games and contests by cheating, only to end up the loser anyway and talks tough to hide his cowardice. Nevertheless, he aids Derek in the final fight by providing him with the arrow that pierces Rothbart's heart. He is voiced by Joel McKinnon Miller and sung by Wes Brewer.
- Chamberlain is Queen Uberta's assistant. He is put in charge of inviting and introducing all potential brides at the ball. He is voiced by James Arrington and sung by Davis Gaines.
- The Hag is Rothbart's sidekick. She attempts to stop the animals from retrieving a map of Swan Lake and attends the ball disguised as Odette so that Derek will make the vow to her instead. She doesn't speak much but appears to have a crush on the Chamberlain. She is voiced by Bess Hopper.
Voice cast
Musical numbers
- This Is My Idea
- Practice, Practice, Practice
- Far Longer Than Forever
- No Fear
- No More Mr. Nice Guy
- No Fear (Reprise) [Featured only in the film between "Princesses on Parade", but not on the film soundtrack]
- Princesses on Parade
- Unchained Melody (Senza Catene) (Finale) - Il Divo
- Eternity (End Titles) - Dreams Come True
Release
Theatrical
The Swan Princess had a theatrical release in November 1994 to a lukewarm response of $2,445,155 on its opening weekend. It eventually had a total domestic gross of $9,771,658.[1] The film's box office results may have been adversely affected by Disney's re-release of that year's The Lion King the same weekend.
Currently has a "C" at Box Office Mojo. as of 2008, 38% of the critics at Rotten Tomatoes gave positive reviews (based on 8 reviews). However, one of its three "fresh" ratings was from Roger Ebert (three out of four stars).
Home video
The Swan Princess was originally released on home video on August 3, 1995. In certain European countries, the full The Swan Princess trilogy was released in a 2-disc double-sided set on February 16, 2004. On March 30, 2004 the film was re-released to mark its 10-year anniversary, with a new cover for the video and Special Edition DVD. The Special Edition DVD contains a few extras, including trailers, a read-along feature, a sing-along feature and games. On August 2, 2005, The Swan Princess was released as a double-feature DVD with its sequel The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom.
Nominations
Sequels
Two sequels were made to the Swan Princess movie: The Swan Princess II: Escape from Castle Mountain and The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom. The sequels are alternately titled The Secret of the Castle and The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure respectively in certain European DVD releases. Both sequels deal with the heroes having to face other villain magicians — Clavius (Swan II) and Zelda (Swan III) — who are connected with the Forbidden Arts practiced by Rothbart (Jack Palance), the villain of the original movie. Most of the main voice cast did not return for the sequels except Michelle Nicastro who reprised her role as Odette, and Steve Vinovich who reprised his role as Puffin. Each sequel reprises some instrumental scoring from the original film by Lex de Azevedo together with all new songs and music by Lex de Azevedo and Clive Romney. Similarly occasional background and animation sequence art from the original Swan Princess film was reused when applicable but most was created new for each sequel. Swan Princess II animation features hand-painted cels like the original film but Swan III has digitally-painted cels. Overseas production for all three films was by Hanho Heung-Up Co., Seoul, South Korea.
See also
References
External links
