The Swan Princess
(2 1/2 stars)
Director: Richard Rich.
Actors: Voices of John Cleese, Sandy Duncan.
Rating: G

by Bill DuPre News and Observer staff writer

Richard Rich is a cautious rebel. After making "The Fox and the Hound" for Disney, he broke away from the 2,000-pound gorilla of the animation business to form Rich Animation in 1986.

So give him marks for moxie. After all, there's no assurance that anyone is going to want to see an animated feature that doesn't bear the Disney imprimatur, and, perhaps more important, no assurance that funding will be available for anyone bucking Disney.

But Rich persevered, first making a series of specialty shorts and now, after 4 1/2 years, he's brought "The Swan Princess," his first feature, to the screen.

It's a solid effort with a few rough edges, and a distinct throwback to the early years of the classic Disney animated features. Too bad Rich couldn't have been a bit more adventurous in his subject matter or his treatment. As it is, "The Swan Princess" is a bit pedestrian but an obviously lovingly made film that children will enjoy.

The story of the young princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer is filled with castles, a good king, a nice queen, a handsome prince and their goofy animal friends. Rich brings a grand sweep to the story; it's at its best with the soaring shots of castle grounds and gladed ponds. Only in the details do the budget constrains begin to show; the faces of the characters sometimes seem as wooden and lacking in detail as those of any on Saturday morning television show; certainly it's no match for the gloriously detailed faces of Disney's newest (and best) work. "The Swan Princess" is for the most part a pleasure, but there is never any doubt that we are watching a cartoon.

The half-dozen songs by lyricist David Zippel and composer Lex de Azevedo are self-consciously snappy numbers, and they don't integrate well into the film. With its retro look and storytelling style, "The Swan Princess" too often is derailed by the music rather than enhanced by it. Sometimes it's almost as if the songs were written with some other There's also a clunky and awkward bow to women's lib. Princess Odette snubs the young Prince Derek (where did they get these names?) when he can't come up with any better reason for wanting to marry her than her beauty. Well, we get the message, but it isn't reinforced by the rest of the film, and it's just way too forced to be an appealing or worthwhile gesture toward equality of the sexes. "The Swan Princess" remains an old-fashioned story of a young woman victimized by a ruthless old man and then rescued by a handsome young one. Pasted-on PC just doesn't cut it.

Voices are done nicely by John Cleese, Sandy Duncan and a bevy of lesser stars. "The Swan Princess" is a perfectly sturdy effort by a small studio.

It doesn't blaze any new trails, but then a good children's movie doesn't have to.

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