The Swan Princess (1994)

"Whenever I have to do something in a hurry, I'll always bring a turtle."

Princess Odette (Nicastro) and Prince Derek (McGillin) are betrothed, but hate each other.  After Odette was born, her father King William (Matthews) and Queen Uberta (Duncan), from the neighboring kingdom, planned to have her marry Uberta's son Prince Derek (McGillin).  Every summer William and Odette travel to Uberta's kingdom, but Odette and Derek grow up hating each other.  All of that changes one summer when they realize they are in love.  Derek proposes, but Odette questions his feelings and they leave the kingdom.

On the way home, their caravan is attacked by a Great Animal that kidnaps Odette and kills everyone else.  Sorcerer Rothbart (Palance) hated Odette's father and used his dark magic to change into the Great Animal.  He places an enchantment on Odette that makes her a swan by day, only turning human in the moonlight.  Odette befriends the local animals, including frog Jean-Bob (Cleese) who claims to be an enchanted frog, sarcastic turtle Speedy (Wright), and drill sergeant Puffin (Vinovich), while trying to find a way back home.  Meanwhile, Derek and his sneaky best friend Bromley (McKinnon Miller) are training to fight the Great Animal.  Can Derek and Odette find each other and break the curse?


Based on the ballet Swan Lake.  Swan Lake was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875 and based on Russian folk tales.  The show was initially failure, but has since become one of the most famous ballets.

While the story is based on the ballet, it deviates in several areas.  First, many of the character names are changed, such as Prince Siegfried becomes Derek.  Second, Odile (the black swan) is replaced by Rothbart's assistant, who does not have a name in this film.  Third, the other swans are replaced by Jean-Bob, Speedy, and Puffin.  The film does not feature any of the music from the ballet... and the ending is different.

The songs are written by Lex de Azevedo.  They aren't great, but a few have some nice moments.  He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the song "Far Longer Than Forever."

Director, Richard Rich, was an animator at Disney where he directed 2 animated films.  This film marked his first time to also write and produce a film.  He also wrote, directed, and produced all of the sequels to this film: The Swan Princess II: Escape from Castle Mountain, The Swan Princess III: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom, The Swan Princess Christmas, and The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale.

The animation is good, especially the scenes of Odette's transformation.  There are nice moments, but it isn't a good film.  The main characters don't have personalities after childhood... and there are too many minor characters that are corny comic relief, but only on screen for a minute.  Jack Palance is a good choice to voice the villain... but the rest of the film isn't worth it.

The Swan Princess (1994) 90 minutes
Director: Richard Rich
Starring: Michelle Nicastro as Odette
Liz Callaway as Odette (singing voice)
Howard McGillin as Prince Derek
Sandy Duncan as Queen Uberta
Jack Palance as Rothbart
John Cleese as Jean-Bob
Steven Wright as Speedy
Steve Vinovich as Puffin
Dakin Matthews as King William
Mark Harelik as Lord Rogers
Joel McKinnon Miller as Bromley
James Arrington as Chamberlain