La princesa encantada

After Disney released "The Lion King" which has been met with critical praise and became a success at the box office for the company, Disney animator Richard Rich (known for directing "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Black Cauldron") teams up with New Line Cinema to make their very first animated feature, "The Swan Princess", based on the Swan Lake ballet.

It tells the story about two kids named Derek & Odette who started to hate each other for about a long time until one day, as young adults, they finally realize that they do love each other, but Derek ruins the wedding by saying "What else is there?" and they will never see each other again. Meanwhile, an evil sorcerer named Rothbart captures Odette and turns her into a swan that would only turn her back into a human as the moon rises. As Derek tries to find Odette by learning from his mistake, Odette and her animal friends Jean-Bob, a frog, Speed, a turtle, and Puffin, a bird attempts to bring her back to Derek.

I first saw this film when I was a child and it has been stuck with me ever since even as a young adult (I'm turning 19 soon, by the way). It still holds up, but there are two problems that I do have with this classic. The animation is beautiful and colorful, but is a bit deflated some of the time. Derek is a bland character, but is a somewhat sympathetic character since he learned that to love a woman is to prove his love for her.

Flaws aside, everything else still holds up. The story is very original and sticks closely to the ballet without any ballet dances which works for me. The characters are charming and likable; Odette is a beautiful and feisty character and I liked her hair as well. The side characters including Bromley, Rogers (whose line "How To Offend Women In 5 Syllables Or Less made me laugh) and Uberta, who never fails to steal every scene in the movie. The animal sidekicks including Jean-Bob, Speed, and Puffin are excellent. The villain Rothbart, voiced by the late Jack Palace, is great and his motives, although over-the-top, are very amusing. The songs, on the whole, are pleasant and memorable to listen to especially "Far Longer Than Forever". Even the ending is satisfying. The battle between Derek and Rothbart is the best highlight of the movie because it represents some of the past-Disney films with a style and tone to it.

Overall, The Swan Princess isn't a masterpiece, but it's by no means a cult classic that has been stuck with me since my childhood. It may have received a mixed reception when it was first released, but I'm recommending this to those who love Disney and Non-Disney films.

Out of the Richard Rich animations, this is definitely the best. Here's why. I was hugely disappointed in the King and I, and Black Cauldron failed on character development. Swan Princess is an excellent movie, that is much better than the above titles. The weakest character was Derek, he was a bit of a drip, whereas Odette is a feisty and beautiful character, and I actually loved her hair. The voice cast is highly commendable- Jack Palance came alive in a positively booming way with the character of Lord Rothbart, who is a great villain and John Clesse is sidesplittingly funny as Jean Bob. There are some really funny lines "You should write a book...How to offend women in 5 syllables or less."(Jean Bob and Rodgers get the best of them) Can I also say, that this is one of the few animations that makes excellent use of the evil-sorcerer-back-for-revenge formula? The animation is actually not as bad as most people say, a bit deflated at times, but very nice mostly with some pretty colours and the songs are sweet and memorable especially Far Longer Than Forever. This is My Idea is a long song but also catchy and is a good look at how Derek and Odette went to hating each other to loving. I also absolutely loved the incidental music, and the ending is satisfying. Other than that, it is so worth watching! 8/10. Bethany Cox

*sigh* I was like around 2 years old when it came out and apparently it was a favorite of mine along with the Disney classics and such. And even though I'm 13 now.. i still love it. A total classic love story where the two "lovers" are separated and the Prince has to find the Princess. I love the songs 'This Is My Idea' and 'Far Longer Than Forever'. This Is My Idea is probably my favorite because it shows Odette and Derek grow up together and it's quite funny when they come to the "This is not my idea.. This isn't my idea.. of fun" since it usually concludes humorous scenes. Any young child would love it.. especially girls. The animal-trio are hilarious especially Jean-Bob and Speed.

I have the VHS for this which is 16 years old and I always watch it whenever there is nothing on TV.

The film is about a beautiful princess named Odette who falls in love with a handsome prince named Derek whom she met as a kid and the two of them don't get along at first but as they are brought together every summer they fall in love with each other.

Of course when Odette gets older an evil warlock wants her from himself and when she refuses to marry him as he is taking over her kingdom every time the moon goes she is magically transformed into a swan and when the moon comes back the next day she is turned back into a human again.

Although its kinda silly in a way and a bit old-fashioned but I like this film for a very long time as it was fun,cute,romantic and sweet. The songs were so sweet like For longer than forever was such a romantic ballad and that other song No more Mr nice guy which had me smiling for days. The characters were colorful,the plot was nice and cheerful,the ending was nice.

If you like transformation movies like Beauty & the Beast,Brother Bear,The Little Mermaid then check it out.

8/10

I happen to think that this was a very cute fantasy movie. It does not copy The Swan Lake and it is original. However, it has some good love scenes and I liked it in the sense that it was very fun to watch. I still remember the movie from when I've seen it years ago. It has pretty good animation and good songs to remember. The music is nice to listen to. The characters are displayed well and the voices are clear. This movie is adorable. I liked it very much and it was memorable. There are two sequels following it that I enjoyed as well. The third one was very funny. Anyways, The Swan Princess was satisfying. This is a great movie to show to kids and adults.