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| New Line Cinema | Release Date: November 18, 1994 |
Starring:
Davis Gaines, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, James Arrington, John Cleese, Liz Callaway, Mark Harelik, Michelle Nicastro, Steve Vinovich, Steven Wright
Summary:
A power-hungry sorcerer curses a princess to live as a swan by day in this tale of everlasting love.
Director:
Richard Rich
Genre(s):
Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Animation, Family, Musical
Runtime:
93 min
Of all the recent Disney wannabes, THE SWAN PRINCESS comes closest to capturing the ineffable magic of THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. With its scrupulous attention to background detail and buoyant song score, this animated delight is a children's film crafted with enough sophistication to weave a spell around cynical grown-ups.
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Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the film is its fluid, unhurried pace. Rich and his team aren't interested in roller-coaster effects or sledgehammer manipulations. They have a lush, original sense of color, even a flair for the poetic. The score -- by lyricist David Zippel and composer Lex de Azevedo -- isn't terribly distinctive (it's probably the movie's weakest link), but there is a merciful absence of the hard sell in that area as well.
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The Swan Princess may be derivative but it clicks, as ex-Disney animator Don Bluth's latest films ("Thumbelina," the video-bound "Troll in Central Park") have not. With just one movie in release, Rich is starting to look like the only other animation game in town. [18 Nov 1994, p.G33]
A marvelous feature-length cartoon with handsome illustrations and sweeping musical numbers that rival Disney's own, it's a promising debut from Rich Animation Studios, founded by former Disney director Richard Rich (The Fox and the Hound) and a team of Mouse Factory refugees. [18 Nov 1994, p.4]
Despite its problems, The Swan Princess is actually one of the better non- Disney animated productions to come along in a while. While the creators of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pocahontas need not feel threatened, parents looking for something different to take their offspring to might find something worthwhile here.
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The sidekicks Jean-Bob, the dandy French frog (Cleese), and Speedy, the true-blue turtle (Wright), are mildly amusing, but knowing the talent behind the voices, you can't help but wish that they'd had a hand in the writing as well. Still, the picture has a certain sweetness about it that melds nicely with its old-fashioned look (the cels are all hand-drawn and hand-colored) and the characters are not totally without charm. What it boils down to is that The Swan Princess just doesn't have that old bibbity bobbity boo.
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Sep 29, 2022
They put the trailer for one of the DTV sequels on this website, and it looks surreal. Like, there's four different movies, each one from a different genre, mashed into that trailer. My mind has been broken.
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
Jan 12, 2023
Not a fan of this movie at all. It's your typical prince saving the the princess, but a lot more boring.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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