The Swan Princess

King William and his friend Queen Uberta both have a child; Uberta has a son named Derek and William has a daughter named Odette. The two want their children to marry when they grow up so they can unite their two kingdoms forever. However, a villainous sorcerer named Rothbart plans to take King William's kingdom for himself. William discovers his plans and Rothbart is banished, swearing revenge on him. Derek and Odette hate each other as children but when they reach adulthood, they finally fall in love. However, when Derek is unable to think of anything he loves Odette for besides her beauty, she rejects him in disappointment. On her way home, she and her father are ambushed by Rothbart, who transforms into a "Great Animal", kidnapping Odette and mortally wounding William. The dying William tells Derek about the Great Animal and Odette's disappearance. The kingdom assumes that she is dead, but Derek is determined to find her. Rothbart keeps Odette captive at Swan Lake, where he puts her under a spell where Odette transforms into a swan during the day, and temporarily back into a human at night if she stands on the lake when the moonlight touches it. Rothbart's goal is to marry Odette so he can rule the kingdom. During her captivity, she befriends a turtle named Speed, a French frog named Jean-Bob, and an Irish puffin named Lieutenant Puffin. The next day, Odette and her friends venture into Rothbart's castle to get a map. In the forest, Derek mistakes Odette for the Great Animal and tries to kill her. The ensuing chase leads him to Swan Lake, where he witnesses her reverting into her human form. Odette tells Derek that to break the spell, he must make a vow of everlasting love. He invites her to the ball, hoping to declare to the world his love. However, Rothbart transforms his hag sidekick, Bridget, into a doppelgänger of Odette to deceive Derek into making his vow to the wrong woman, which will kill the real Odette. On the night of the ball, he imprisons Odette and Derek's friend Bromley. Odette's animal friends free her and she flies to the castle to warn Derek, but he ends up making the vow. Realizing his mistake, Derek follows Odette back to Swan Lake, where she dies in his arms. A distraught Derek angrily confronts and battles Rothbart and with the help of Bromley and Odette's animal friends, kills him. Derek then confesses his love to Odette, realizing that it is the person Odette has become that he loves about her, and she comes back to life; the spell on her is broken by his love. Derek and Odette get married and they, along with his mother, Rogers, Bromley, King William's servants, and the animals move into Rothbart's castle. == Voice cast ==

The chorus consists of Catte Adams, Stephen W. Amerson, Beth Andersen, Susan Boyd, Amick Byram, Randy Crenshaw, Michael Dees, Jim Haas, Debbie Hall, Angie Jaree, Bob Joyce, Jon Joyce, Kerry Katz, Tampa M. Lann, Rick Logan, Susan McBride, Bobbie Page, Sally Stevens, Susan Stevens-Logan, Gary Stockdale, Carmen Twillie, and Oren Waters == Production ==

Having previously directed The Fox and the Hound (1981) and The Black Cauldron (1985) at Walt Disney Feature Animation in Burbank, California, Richard Rich was slated to co-direct Oliver & Company (1988) until he was fired by Disney feature animation president Peter Schneider. Following his departure from Disney, he subsequently formed his own studio, Rich Animation Studios with about 26 employees, in which most of his key employees came from Disney, including the company's marketing chief, Matt Mazer. Subsequently, Jared F. Brown from Living Scriptures, Inc. tapped Rich into producing half-hour animated videos based on the audio cassette readings of the Book of Mormon. Inspired by the success of Don Bluth's animated films as well as Disney's early-1990s animation renaissance, Rich decided to adapt the German folk tale version of Swan Lake. During production, the script went through twelve drafts over the course of two years. Rich would later attempt to sell his script to several Hollywood studios but to no success. Later, Brown struck on the idea of merging Rich Animation Studios, Family Entertainment Network, and Cassette Duplicators Inc., a cassette-duplicating operation in West Valley City, Utah, into one production holding company called Nest Entertainment. Most of the cel painting was done at Hanho Heung-Up in Seoul, South Korea. Overall, 275 animators and artists worked throughout the film's production. == Music ==

David Zippel was approached by Richard Rich to write the lyrics to songs for The Swan Princess, while the songs and score were composed by Lex de Azevedo. The theme song "Far Longer than Forever" was written by de Azevedo and Zippel. In the film, the song was performed by vocalists Liz Callaway (as the singing voice of Princess Odette) and Howard McGillin (as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Derek). In the closing credits, a pop/R&B rendition of the song was performed by recording artists Regina Belle and Jeffrey Osborne. In the 1997 sequel The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain, Michelle Nicastro sings a reprise of the song. Caryn James of The New York Times noted the "melody of 'Far Longer Than Forever' ... echoes the first five notes of 'Beauty and the Beast'." Animation historian Jerry Beck wrote in his book The Animated Movie Guide that the song had a theme of faith. The pop single was jointly released by Sony Wonder and Sony 550 Music. MusicHound Soundtracks: The Essential Album Guide to Film, Television and Stage Music called the "seemingly mandatory big ballad" "extremely annoying" due to "strik[ing] a totally different artistic note" in the context of the film's musical landscape. The 1995 edition of The Motion Picture Guide felt the "love theme" was deserving of the Golden Globe. John Hartl of The Seattle Times deemed the song "insistent", noting that audiences may "quickly get their fill" of the tune. "Far Longer than Forever" was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1995 for Best Original Song. == Release ==

When The Swan Princess was nearing completion, New Line Cinema purchased the distribution rights in the United States, and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International obtained the foreign distribution rights. Home media Turner Home Entertainment first released The Swan Princess on VHS and LaserDisc in the Turner Family Showcase collection on August 3, 1995, and sold over 2.5 million units. == Reception ==

Box office During its opening weekend, The Swan Princess opened in tenth place at the box office, earning $2.4 million. It eventually grossed $9.8 million against a $21 million budget, becoming a box office bomb, mostly due to struggling competition with several other family films and a re-release of The Lion King. Critical response The Swan Princess received favorable reviews. Similarly, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said it was a better film than The Lion King, praising its "fluid, unhurried pace" and "lush, original sense of color", though deeming the score "[not] terribly distinctive". Caryn James of The New York Times noted the film's similarities to Beauty and the Beast (1991), writing it was "not quite as good or fresh, but it's delicious all the same, bound to amuse children and entertain their trapped parents, too." On Rotten Tomatoes, The Swan Princess has an approval rating of 50% based on 12 reviews and an average score of 5.4/10. == Legacy ==

The legacy of The Swan Princess is defined by its status as a cornerstone of 90s nostalgia, its distinction as a landmark in traditional animation, and its endurance as a long-running independent franchise. Despite a modest initial box office performance, the film achieved massive success on home video and spawned a series of over 10 sequels, establishing a dedicated fanbase that remembers it fondly for its music, humor, and character-driven story. Princess Odette is regarded as a cult-favorite amongst animated heroine. The film holds a significant place in film history as one of the last major, theatrically released Western animated features created entirely without computer aid. It was produced using over 250,000 hand-painted cels by a team of over 250 artists, making it a "swan song" for traditional ink-and-paint methods. 25th Anniversary For 25th Anniversary of the film, it was remastered in high definition for the first time ever, with a collectible anniversary edition Blu-ray and in 4K HDR on digital. A screening of the remastered edition was held at the W Hotel in Hollywood. 30th Anniversary The film celebrated its 30th anniversary on November 18, 2024, marking three decades since its 1994 release. Celebrations included a collectible limited-edition 30th-anniversary logo pin, a 12-movie DVD box set featuring a "Swanderful" music box, and a 30th Anniversary Dress Design Contest was held for the fans, featuring a new, handmade Odette gown designed by Shayna Snyder, who won the contest. The milestone coincides with 'National Princess Day'. == See also ==