The Swan Princess

This movie came out when I was two, and no matter how much time passes nor how many times I rewatch it throughout the years, I still love The Swan Princess. Can it be a bit corny? Yes. Is Odette a bit dull for a heroine? Yes. Could the plot have been solved within 10 minutes if Derek (or Odette) was a bit smarter or William a bit less vague in his final moments? Yes. But then is the music fun to listen to, the characters enjoyable and the experience memorable? Yes!

The animation is not as great as Disney, but it isn't hard to overlook because the film is good overall. Speaking from a feminist side, I do wish Odette had a rounder personality and more drive to save herself instead of waiting for Derek to find her. While she did plot to get the map and lead Derek to her, she did it after Puffin and her friends worked her up to it. Before Puffin arrived, she was seemingly content to spend the evenings moping to Jean-Bob and Speed about her curse and how she needed Derek to save her from it and then spent her days pouting on the lake. You've got wings, baby -- use them!

Derek isn't the smartest person in the movie, but you gotta love him for his drive and his self-awareness, knowing he was an idiot who said the wrong thing. It was also refreshing to see the hero actually be physically capable of the rescue. The plot nicely demonstrates his talent as an archer so we are able to believe the incredible save at the end.

The movie also has memorable lines that I've jokingly quoted throughout my life. It's an all-around fun movie. Don't take too much stock in the people, but remember the lesson -- Love is more important than beauty.

Speaking of love, the other piece this movie has going for it is the relationship development that trumps its Disney competitors. This isn't love at first sight! This is a slow growing love after years of being forced together that first bred distain before love ever thought to bloom. It was wonderful to watch two people actually know each other from child to young adult instead of two young adults meeting for the very first time and BOOM, it's love! One of the best parts of this movie.

TL;DR: This movie is one of the classic greats. It's worth a spot in anyone's personal collection.

The Swan Princess sure is a childhood favourite of mine, even in my mid 20's. I still hum the songs and miss the times when hand-drawn animation was the thing. No movie has ever captured me the same way as this one. I can't pretend it's a masterpiece, because its story structure needed tightening up a bit to make it more flowing, but I just can't help loving its simple premise.

Our main characters, Derek and Odette, are set to spent every summer together from their childhood up to their young adulthood and that is not easy, because they despise each other! How they tease each other during a montage accompagnied by the wonderful song "This is my Idea" is really entertaining, and honestly not that far from reality, because this is how many kids act in their childhood. It was spot on and arguably the strongest part of the movie.

But to be honest, the fact that Derek is so bad at expressing his feelings to Odette is kind of a letdown after all those years' setting up of their romance. Now he must prove his love for Odette while the villainous Rothbart has abducted her and tries to force her to marry him instead so he can get to the throne initially not using destructive methods. Quite original use of the evil power hungry sorcerer villain, actually. Despicably trying legal methods to get to his goal.

Therefore he turns her into a swan and asks her every night to marry him if she wants to become fully human again, but she only wants her true love, Derek. Jack Palance's performance as Rothbart is creepy. He talks to Odette the same way a narcissist would talk and he really enjoys seeing her cry. But Odette stands up to him and with her wonderful animal friends try to escape his grip when he is not around.

And with that conflict set up we get all sorts of things you'd expect from this kind of fairy tale.

Like briefly stated in the beginning of my review, I think I like it so much, because it is so down to the basics of what I know as a fairy tale with princes and princesses, magic and of course a happy ending where good triumphs over evil. And despite the rather rushed romance, the tale of ever lasting love just speaks to my sentimental side. It's sweet, and I just can't help feeling it every time. The music is well composed and the songs are effective in conveying whatever emotion they resemble and move the story forward. And the end is perfect, gets me every time!

And no matter which side you're on, it must be addressed that The Swan Princess, despite its flaws, has earned its place in animation history as the last theatrically released Western animated movie to not use any aid of computers. After the invention of the CAPS system to digitally colour the drawings and the release of Disney's The Rescuers Down Under it has been standard procedure using that method sadly making ink and paint hopelessly ineffecient and a thing of the past seen from a business standpoint.

So to sum up, The Swan Princess is an enjoyable casual fairy tale for kids with animation as traditional as its premise reminding us of the good old times of hand-drawn Disney spiced up with good songs, entertaining characters and a creepy villain. In my opinion it should have been a stand-alone movie, because Richard Rich and co. has ruined it with unwanted forced garbage CGI sequels with stupid plots, impossible settings, awful songs and obnoxious characters. Stick with this one and preserve the real magic.

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

It's been a little while since I had seen "The Swan Princess," but I could distinctly recall many scenes from it. I'd always enjoyed it before, so I decided to watch it again - for the most part, it still holds up.

Of course, it's a children's tale, so some slack must be given; it's not going to be as well-rounded (entertainment-wise) as a movie like "Toy Story," but it does contain its fair share of adult-oriented jokes along with silly physical humor that will amuse children.

The story is pretty basic - a lovely princess is destined to marry a prince, but an evil sorcerer (voiced by the diabolical Jack Palance) has other plans and kills the princess' father, locks the daughter away and casts a spell on her so that she turns into a swan at night.

It's predictable, but it's got a great vocal cast, and the animation is pretty good. Give it a shot. Avoid the unnecessary cash-in sequel.

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.