Pretty Good

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I will always love this movie. The romance and chemistry between the two main characters are great! I love how sweet and simple it is and I love the animation in it and it looks like a real fairy tale. The music and songs in this movie are so great as well. I love that we get to see the characters as children and then grow into adults. This movie will always be a part of my childhood.

This was the first film I ever saw in the cinema. And even as a 3 year old I knew this was terrible. I'm just going to summarize this as much as possible. Who is Odettes mother? I mean it would have been nice to get a glimpse of her even if she died of childbirth. Plus when I watch this now I just think the King may have banged one of the maids or something. And what happens to Odette's dad? You see him half dead and Prince Derek, a selfish arse, doesn't bother helping him. Which brings me down to this why is Lord Rothbart not just going to King Williams Kingdom and taking it over? He killed the King got Odette under a spell what's stopping him? Ohhh the law. Like duh bad guys have to follow the rules don't they? He wants to marry Odette to make it legit. No bad guy would go through all that trouble not when he can cast spells and turn into a giant bat. And how long exactly has Odette been under that spell? Selfish arse Derek keeps going on about, "I'll find Odette, she's like totally the one." Yet all I see you doing is playing with your bow. You see him do some pathetic research in the library which made me laugh. A mouse to a DRAGON! That must be what the king was talking about! The King certainly could've given more information for he must have known it was Rothbart unless in his old age his memory has gone. But when Puffin came into it Odette said that Speed and Jean-bob were her "best friends" seriously how long have they been friends for to become "best friends"? However I do like Speed, Jean-bob and Puffin. I was worried they were going to be obnoxious and annoying side kicks but I actually liked them. They showed more emotion than Derek and Odette combined. And Lord Rogers was my favourite character. I don't know why there's a humorous charm about him. And there is of course the classic scene that always makes me laugh. Odette: Is beauty all that matters to you? Queen Uberta: Derek, what else? Derek: What else is there? LOL! He's either an arse or just gullible. I like to call him a selfish arse (can you tell). And this "Love" does seem like petty teenage hormones the way Derek is like, "Duh your so hot! I'd bang you then run away." At least with Odette she is a little more mature about it, rather than diving in she hesitates which I admire until they both sing together. She starts singing about how much she loves him and that she knows he's looking for her blah blah blah... I'm sorry but if I asked my boyfriend that same question and he said, "What else is there?" He'd be in the dog house. I would be so angry with him... Which again must suggest that there is a time frame from the point she gets captured to the point Prince Derek decides he's lonely and wants the blondie. Which I guess could suggest absence makes the heart grow fonder but we don't see any of that. We're just left with, er Derek is a selfish arse. Oh er and then after he's played with his bow for a few weeks or months even he decides to go find Odette. I could be wrong but I feel there is something missing in between. Like you don't instantly become best friends with someone in a few days plus the way Odette, Speed and Jean- bob talk to each other it kinda feels like that they have been there for each for a long time. I'm probably reading way too much into it but for my first ever cinema trip... Ugh talk about disappointing.Sorry there is one other thing - a good point too. The animation is beautiful. I love the colours of the sky, the lake and there are some nice cinematic shots. It's really quite beautiful but the story line is inconclusive and broken in areas and the sub characters are way more interesting.

This was one of those cartoons I had heard about so many times, and I knew at least one of the actors doing a voice in it, I knew it wasn't going to be Disney standard quality of animation or storytelling, but I was still willing to try it, from director Richard Rich (The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron). Basically Princess Odette (Michelle Nicastro) and Prince Derek (Howard McGillin) were forced by their parents as children to many summers together in the hope they that they would grow become close and eventually fall in love, they hates each other, but as adults they may finally to develop mutual attraction, but after a little offence he causes she is not sure he truly loves her for more than just her beauty. Years ago vengeful sorcerer Lord Rothbart (Jack Palance) was banished from the kingdom for attempting to cast evil spells and take the kingdom for himself, but he has returned to take revenge, disguised as the "Great Creature" he can turn into he manages to kidnap Odette, and fatally wounds her father King William (Dakin Matthews), Derek vows to train himself to kill the beast that killed the king and save the life of his true love. While Derek's training goes on and believing that the princess is still alive for him to save and convince of his love, Odette has had a curse placed on her by the evil enchanter, at his castle lair on Swan Lake she will turn into a swan in the daylight, and if she does not to return to the water when the moonlight shines she will not temporarily turn human for the night time, Rothbart will only lift the curse if she agrees to marry him so he can legally take the kingdom, she continues to refuse. While cursed Odette makes friends with friendly tortoise Speed (Steven Wright), frog Jean- Bob (John Cleese) who believes he is also cursed and if kissed will become a human prince, and the puffin bird named Puffin (Steve Vinovich), they sympathise with her wanting to return to the kingdom as a human and be with her true love, Derek refuses to let her mother Queen Uberta (Sandy Duncan) make him marry someone unless he truly loves them. Prince Derek does eventually find Odette as the swan, but he wrongly assumes she is the Great Creature, but he does see her turn temporarily human at night, but she is trapped by Rothbart before she can make any escape and stop the proposed bride seeking and potential wedding ceremony for the prince, and with the evil sorcerer disguised as the princess he hopes to make the prince express his true love to the fake, therefore allowing him to take the kingdom. In the end Rothbart in the form of the Great Creature is defeated by Derek firing the one arrow through his heart, the swan curse of Odette is lifted, and the couple finally embrace their true love for each other, marry, unite the kingdom and the two families and they all live happily ever after. Also starring Liz Callaway as Princess Odette (singing voice), Mark Harelik as Lord Rogers, James Arrington as Chamberlain, Davis Gaines as Chamberlain (singing voice), Joel McKinnon Miller as Bromley and Brian Nissen as the Narrator. You can tell by the animation style that this film was a rather low budget, the story does have it's fair share of predictable and cheesy moments, and most of the songs are lame, but the voice casting is chosen well enough, Palance making a good villain, and Cleese and Wright adding the needed comic relief, I suppose it will entertain most of the family, not a bad animated musical fairytale. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "Far Longer than Forever". Worth watching!

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.