The Swan Princess sequels

[clearblacklines]

I've been searching the internet and looking up stuff on the Swan Princess sequels to write up their pages on wikipedia, and the few details I've come up with have lead me to a sad conclusion.

First of all, did you know that Escape from Castle Mountain/Secret of the Castle had a theatrical release? And it did so badly that they released the movie

Comments

[rosa_cotton]

Very interesting discovery. I wonder why they would be ashamed of SP2. I've seen all of the SP movies, but only am a fan of the first one. The animation of the sequels was, IMO, not as good as in the original.

[clearblacklines]

This is purely speculation, but one theory I have is that they were pressured to put out the first sequel very quickly, and because of that it was a rushed job. Richard Rich is not a shoddy filmmaker, you can see from his other works that he loves telling good stories, which is why I'm all the more surprised that Swan Princess II is the quality that it is.

[forsakenmermaid]

I'd have to agree that they are ashamed of the second one, and from what I've seen, the third one looked better. The funny thing is, it's the second one that I owned as a kid and watched over and over again (with the exception of the first of course which I loved the most), and by the time the third one came out I just didn't care anymore. I saw a piece of it on TV, though. I thought the ending was . . . weird O.o, but it did look like a better movie.

[clearblacklines]

Your comment makes me feel unbearably old. You say you were a kid when the sequels first sequel came out, but I was in high school and at the age where it was starting not to be cool to like animated movies. XD

[forsakenmermaid]

Really? I thought you were around the same age as me. How old are you?

[clearblacklines]

*shifty eyes* I'm turning 25 in a few months, and well into the working world.

[shadzane]

I remember when Swan Princess 2 came out, I read about that theatrical release. IIRC, this "theatrical release" was for one week only, in a few theaters in suburban Dallas. It was only done so the video box could claim that Swan Princess 2 was a real movie... (since then, Disney has legitimized the idea of direct-to-video animated sequels, but this was early...)

Also, I agree that SP2 is inferior, but I doubt that is why it hasn't made it to DVD. I think it is more likely there is some sort of contractual rights issue that we know nothing about...

[clearblacklines]

That's possible, but what makes me confused is that the production team for SP2 and SP3 are identical, right down to the writers and animators. Whatever the backstory is, I'd love to know what it is.

[ry_sabir]

Both sequels are a little iffy to me. I mean, The Swan Princess is one of my absolute favorite animated movies (and I love the music - I was even able to find a soundtrack CD a couple of years ago and snatched it up as quickly as possible!). I don't hate the sequels (because they're extra time with some beloved characters!), but I think it boils down to the fact that the sequels are both a little lacking in the story department. They're really the same basic story (except for the annoying Uberta birthday subplot from the 2nd film). And the characters are just a little more bland (also, if I'm not mistaken, the wonderful Liz Callaway doesn't reprise her singing role as Odette, and instead Michelle Nicastro does her own singing

[clearblacklines]

That's true, SP2 and SP3 are very similar in terms of story. I remember thinking that when I first watched it, because they don't really add anything new to the world of The Swan Princess other than putting the main couple temporarily in peril all over again.

Michelle Nicastro is actually a very talented Broadway performer, which I just discovered recently. (Such a Broadway n00b <---- me) The only thing is that Liz Callaway is much more established as a singer, I think that's why they brought her on as the Odette's singing voice.

I do hope that the trilogy gets another proper full release, though that might not happen for a while. The current UK DVD release of the trilogy is supposedly "widescreen", but they've just chopped off some of the top and bottom of the image, resulting in the viewer actually seeing less than in the video release. :(

[joeytheteapot]

You should rip all the songs from SP3 and upload them. :P

[clearblacklines]

I've ripped them, but haven't cleaned them up yet. ^^;;

[joeytheteapot]

Well get to it! :P