Review of The Swan Princess (1994) by Arny B — 07 May 2011

My recent obsession with Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake", led me to rediscover this 1994 animated film directed by Richard Rich, who worked in Disney's picture department as a director and co-director during the 70's and 80's. The movie takes some creative liberties, making it more of a typical princess fairytale, instead of a direct adaptation.

This well known story deals with princess Odette, who turns into a swan every day by the work of evil magician Rothbart, and return to her human form when the moonlight touches the lake where she dwells. Her only hope is that prince Derek makes a vow of eternal love for her. The Swan Princess is one of many Disney imitators that were released during the 90's, and it is certainly not bad at that.

As a Disney wannabe, this movie is of course a musical. But the songs, while fun and catchy, aren't as memorable as the ones Disney has made us accustomed for, not by far. Specially when we compare them to Time Rice and Elton John's effort in "The Liong King" which was released a few months later the same year. As far as the animation goes, it doesn't have the fluidity of Don Bluth's characters, or the beauty of Disney's amazing backgrounds, but it is still good and serves its purpose.

The film is full of comedy relieves, and surprisingly, a lot of the comedic situations and characters actually serve a purpose in the story. As an example of this I will point to the hunting practice scene. This one has some of the kingdom musicians disguised as animals, so that Derek can practice his archery. It is a pretty funny bit that also serves as a mean of comunicating to the audience that Derek practices every day with the hope of finding whomever took Odette away. Another example would be Derek's comic sidekick, who helps in the final confrontation against Rothbart.

All in all, this is not a memorable animated film, but it is still a good family movie, and it is entertaining enough for both kids and adults.