Swan Princess, The (4K UHD Review)
Director
Richard RichRelease Date(s)
1994 (August 18, 2026)Studio(s)
Nest Entertainment/Rich Animation Studios (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: C-
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: C+
Review
There’s no end to the amount of the times Hollywood studios have attempted to ape each other’s formulas to try and equal the same king of success. It can be so blatant that even common moviegoers can pick up on it, not just film fans. The massive success of Disney’s one-two-three-four punch of The Little Mermaid in 1989, Beauty and the Beast in 1991, Aladdin in 1992, and The Lion King in 1994 prompted a number of animation studios to try and capture some of that same animated box office magic. Some did okay, others not so much, but one of the more prominent financial failures came in November of 1994, The Swan Princess. Matters weren’t helped that Disney, for whatever reason, decided to re-release The Lion King that same weekend, all but assuring that The Swan Princess would fail, and fail it did.
Based loosely based on the 1877 ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and produced by Nest Family Entertainment and Rich Animation Studios, The Swan Princess tells the story of Prince Derek (Howard McGillin) and Princess Odette (Michelle Nicastro), whose parents King William (Dakin Matthews) and Queen Uberta (Sandy Duncan), respectively, have pushed them together since childhood, hoping one day that love will blossom and that their kingdoms may unite. Meanwhile, the sorcerer Rothbart (Jack Palance) schemes to take over the King’s realm, but when he’s found out, he’s banished, swearing vengeance and that soon his day will come. As Derek and Odette grow up, they slowly begin to fall in love, but Odette is initially jilted when Derek is unable to prove his love. In the interim, Odette is taken hostage by Rothbart, placing a spell upon her that keeps her anchored to Swan Lake at night, and during the day, she transforms into a swan. Rothbart attempts to force her hand in marriage in order to take over her kingdom, but Odette’s new woodland friends, the frog Jean-Bob (John Cleese), the turtle Speed (Steven Wright), and their leader Puffin (Steve Vinovich), try to help her escape and alert Derek, who’s searching for her.
It’s amazing how many artists and filmmakers once worked for Disney and were either fired or jumped ship, subsequently finding their own careers outside of the House of Mouse. Tim Burton, Don Bluth, and Richard Rich, the latter the director of The Swan Princess, are among that alumni, and all had their hands in various Disney projects. This includes The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon, Tron, The Fox and the Hound, and The Black Cauldron, all of which seem to fall outside of the parameters of what filmgoers might perceive to be a typical Disney film. In the case of Richard Rich, he left Disney to form his own company, Rich Animation Studios, and it would take four years to produce The Swan Princess with much less means than he would have had access to at Disney. So on the one hand, you have to admire the dedication to the craft and the patience to try and make something that would work for an audience, even if it didn’t pan out initially.
The biggest problem with The Swan Princess is that it wants to be a Disney animated film, very badly and very obviously, meaning that it has little identity of its own. There are some wonderful sequences, lovely musical numbers, and beautiful painted backdrops, but the animation is exaggerated with a little too much movement that doesn’t seem natural, and most of the comedy and the romance falls flat, and in a love story, that’s a death sentence. Everything feels uneven, coming off as dubious food more than a four star meal. There’s also a little too much score and too many songs, the latter of which never really progress the story or feel central to the narrative when they occur. The most obvious point of reference here is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, in plot, characters, and song. The opening Belle number of Beauty and the Beast is all over Lex de Azevedo’s score and David Zippel’s lyrics, even if they didn’t realize it at the time.
None of this is to say that The Swan Princess is a complete waste of time. There are sporadic moments of interest, such as Jean-Bob, Speed, and Puffin attempting to outswim and distract alligators while Odette tries to escape. It’s a fun sequence, but it comes so late in the production and in the middle of a boring plot that it’s difficult to care. And while the film was a bomb theatrically, it proved to be successful enough on home video to warrant a limited release sequel, followed by a string of direct-to-video sequels, ten of them to date, all produced and directed by Richard Rich. So he may not have beaten Disney at the box office, but he did manage to hang in there and forge his own career path regardless, and that’s no small feat.
The Swan Princess was hand-drawn using traditional cel animation techniques and finished photochemically, then framed theatrically in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment debuts the film on Ultra HD with what is presumed to be their 2019 4K restoration from the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and encoded to a dual-layered BD-66 disc. It’s an attractive and very natural animated presentation that’s thankfully hands-off when it comes to the quality of the image. Cel dirt and debris is present and accounted for with well-resolved grain. Detail is high and sharp, with bitrates sitting in the 70 to 90Mbps range most of the time. The HDR definitely boosts the color palette, which offers a surprising range of hues, without oversaturating them at all. Contrast is excellent with deep blacks and there’s lovely depth in the backgrounds. The image is stable and clean, aside from the aforementioned inherent flaws of the animation process, as well as minor speckling and softer optical fades. There’s no unnecessary heavy-handed restoration on display here. It’s organic to its source and looks splendid.
The main audio options include English 7.1 and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English and English SDH. The film was released in the DTS format, so one assumes that the 5.1 is the original theatrical audio, and the 7.1 builds upon it without spoiling anything. Everything is widely-spaced with plenty of room for the elements to breathe, especially score and music. Ambient activity is spread around, but there’s not much in the way of steering, not that often anyway. Low end is decent, but not very powerful. I had to make a volume adjustment when the film started since the 7.1 is mixed a little too low for my preference, but that may just be me. Otherwise, dialogue and the singing performances have plenty of fidelity. Additional audio options include French and Spanish 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, with additional French and Spanish subtitle options.
The Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 4K Ultra HD release of The Swan Princess sits in a black Amaray case alongside a Digital Code on a paper insert within the package. The insert and slipcover both feature the original theatrical teaser poster artwork. The following extras are included:
- Looking Back at 25 Years of The Swan Princess (Upscaled SD – 10:15)
- The Swan Princess: The Original Making-Of (Upscaled SD – 26:36)
- Sing-Alongs (UHD w/HDR – 16:00)
- This Is My Idea (UHD w/HDR – 6:20)
- Practice, Practice, Practice (UHD w/HDR – 2:11)
- Far Longer Than Forever (UHD w/HDR – 2:18)
- No More Mister Nice Guy (UHD w/HDR – 2:38)
- Princesses on Parade (UHD w/HDR – 2:33)
- Theatrical Trailer (Upscaled SD – 1:50)
Looking Back at 25 Years of The Swan Princess from 2019 looks back at the making of the film with vintage and modern day interviews, vintage recording session footage of John Cleese and Michelle Nicastro, and the film’s legacy. The Original Making-Of featurette from 1994 is hosted by Nest Entertainment’s president Doug Martin and showcases the film’s religious family entertainment ties, but also explores the making of the film with plenty of exclusive footage of the cast and crew. Participants include director Richard Rich, executive producer Seldon O Young, producer Jared F. Brown, writer Brian Nissen, assistant editor Joe Campana, animator Rick Farmiloe, background supervisor Donald Towns, special effects animator Debbie Middleton, and character designer and animation supervisor Steve Gordon. Next is a set of Sing-Alongs, featuring musical scenes from the film with subtitles for the numbers This Is My Idea, Practice, Practice, Practice, Far Longer Than Forever, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and Princesses on Parade. Last is one of the theatrical trailers, though it should be noted that there are several others, as well as other pieces of promotional material, not included here. The only items that haven’t carried over from the Special Edition DVD is the Odette’s Book of Wonderful Friends storybook and a couple of interactive games. No big loss.
I’m sure there are some folks as young as I am or far younger that saw The Swan Princess when it was released and grew up with it as one of their childhood favorites, and I respect that. But from this vantage point, this feels like a lesser version of something that’s already been done, even though it hasn’t. Nevertheless, Sony’s 4K release is solid, with good picture and audio, and should please fans. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the film, but if you’re one of those fans, this is a very fine upgrade.
- Tim Salmons
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