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The Swan Princess (1994)
Director: Richard Rich
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This likeable animated fairytale takes the story of Swan Lake and ruffles up its feathers for '90s PC audiences. Prince Derek is about to marry his childhood sweetheart Princess Odette when he goes and spoils it all by making a chauvinistic remark regarding his bride-to-be's gorgeous looks. Miffed, Odette sulks back to her own kingdom only to be abducted by Rothbart (voice by Palance), a morphing megalomaniac desperate for her hand in marriage so that he may become ruler of her father's kingdom. When she proves unwilling, Rothbart seethes, then rages, then turns her into a swan for the hours from dawn to dusk. Derek, in the meantime, enlists the help of the cute forest creatures - a frog called Jean-Bob, a turtle called Speed, and a puffin called Puffin - to investigate her disappearance. Youngsters will find much to enjoy in the jokey dialogue, lush landscapes and comical action sequences, though not, one suspects, in the naff theatrical songs.Author: DA
Cast & crew
Director: Richard Rich
Producer: Richard Rich, Jared F Brown
Cast: John Cleese, Jack Palance, Steven Wright, Michelle Nicastro, Sandy Duncan full cast
Duration: 89 mins
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