THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9411240073
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
WITH ``THE Lion King'' battling ``Forrest Gump'' for the year's box-office bragging rights, it's clear there is much gold to be mined in animated musicals. No longer is it just kid's stuff. ``Lion King'' broke the record set by ``Aladdin,'' which broke the record of ``Beauty and the Beast.''
The toon shuffle is evident throughout the industry as other studios try to get in on the Disney bonanza. The best of the also-rans, and the only one that deserves to even be compared to Disney, is ``The Swan Princess.'' This romance borrows shamelessly from ``Beauty and the Beast'' but is still something of a charmer on its own.
Based very loosely on the same story that inspired the ``Swan Lake'' ballet, it has six songs by lyricist David Zippell (Tony winner for ``City of Angels'') and composer Lex de Azevedo. The best is the ballad ``Far Longer Than Forever,'' even if it is a close cousin to the title song from ``Beauty and the Beast.'' The funniest production number, and something of a copy of ``Beauty's'' ``Be Our Guest,'' is ``Princesses on Parade.''
Move over Di and Charles. Here is a new duo of battling, misunderstood royals. Princess Odette and Prince Derek have been raised since childhood to marry each other. In a fit of feminist pique, though, she bolts when he reveals that he's interested mainly in her beauty.
She's promptly put under a spell by none other than Jack Palance (actually only his voice) as Rothbart, the evil Enchanter who wants her, ugh, in marriage so he can have the kingdom. Rothbart even does a one-arm push-up, similar to Palance's display at the Academy Awards. Odette, who looks a great deal like Laura Dern, is turned into a swan by day. At night, she's human again but can only hang around the lake's edge.
What we have here is a failure to communicate. In a steal from ``Cinderella,'' the Swan Princess has to fly to a local ball and change into a human to keep the prince, a pretty stiff type with a Prince Valiant hairdo, from marrying another. Feminists would say no man is worth so much trouble. But, once upon a time, that's the way they wrote these tales.
For comic diversion, there is a turtle named Speed (the voice of comedian Steven Wright) and a French frog named Jean Bob (Monty Python's John Cleese).
All this romantic stuff may be a bit mushy for little boys, but there is lively action in the last reel, including a showdown between the prince and Rothbart.
This was directed by Richard Rich, who left Disney eight years ago and has been trying to establish his own studio since. He directed ``The Fox and the Hound'' for Disney, with an unknown Tim Burton as one of his slaving artists. Disney threw ``The Swan Princess'' a dirty curve by re-releasing ``The Lion King'' the same day.
The best non-Disney animated films are ``Charlotte's Web'' and ``An American Tail.'' ``The Swan Princess'' should be added to the list. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by RICH ANIMATION STUDIOS
Princess Odette and Prince Derek are lovers in ``The Swan
Princess,'' a tale of romance and adventure.
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Swan Princess''
Cast: Voices of Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy
Duncan
Director: Richard Rich
Screenplay: Brian Nissen
Music: Lex de Azevedo and David Zippel
MPAA rating: G (suitable for all audiences)
Mal's rating: 2 1/2 Stars
Locations: Greenbrier and Movies 10 in Chesapeake; Circle 4 and
Main Gate in Norfolk; Lynnhaven Mall, Pembroke and Surf-N-Sand in
Virginia Beach
by CNB