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Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure, The
Columbia/Tri-Star // G // March 30, 2004
List Price: $19.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
The DVD box-art proclaims that the title of this movie is "The Swan Princess The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure". However, the on-screen title is The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure. Sure, there are plenty of movies that go by multiple titles, but when they can't decide what to call a film in a single package, you know that you're in trouble.
The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure, originally released in 1998, is the direct-to-video sequel to "The Swan Princes" (1994) and "The Swan Princess II" (1997). As I haven't seen the first two films in the trilogy, I really can't comment on them, but they've certainly got to be better than this one.
In this film, the evil Zelda (voiced by Katja Zoch), who was apparently as assistant to Rothbart, the villain from the first film, is determined to find Rothbart's notes on the "Forbidden Arts". (Forbidden Arts? You mean like finger-painting while wearing a white shirt? Those forbidden arts?) She captures a bird named Whizzer (voiced by Paul Masonson) and sends him to the castle to find the papers. Meanwhile, at the castle, Prince Derek (voiced by Brian Nissen, who also co-wrote the film) and his beloved Odette (voiced by Michelle Nicastro) are preparing for "Festival Days". The subject of "Forbidden Arts" is brought up, and Derek admits that he kept some of Rothbart's papers, which greatly upsets Odette. Whizzer overhears this and reports back to Zelda. Now that she knows where the notes are, Zelda plans to infiltrate the castle, take the papers, and take over the world. And worst of all, she'll ruin "Festival Days"!
Those who feel that Disney animation has gotten worse over the years need to check out The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure to see had truly bad an animated film can get. To put it mildly, there are no redeeming qualities to this movie. The characters are whiny and inane. The story is hackneyed and pointless. The songs are irritating. And worst of all, the animation is very, very cheap-looking. Director Richard Rich helmed The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron for Disney back in the 80s, and while those aren't the best movies, they are watchable. But, none of that apparent talent shows through here. Even at 73 minutes, the movie drags on for far too long, especially the denouement, which allows the movie to go on for nearly 10 minutes after the finale. And if you're like me and haven't seen the first two films, you'll be completely lost, as The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure offers no real re-cap to describe what went on before this story. And if you don't buy my critique, here's the ultimate litmus test: my 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old left the room to go color. The movie gets a 1/2 star solely for the fact that there is a French frog named Jean-Bob. That took guts.
Video
The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure flies onto DVD courtesy of Columbia/Tri-Star Home Entertainment. The film is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and there is a title card which claims that the film has been altered from it's original format. If anything the movie was probably originally framed at 1.66:1, so I doubt we're missing much here. The image is slightly blurry throughout the film and there is a fine sheen of grain on the image for the duration of the movie. It's impossible to tell if this blurring effect is a defect from the source material or a problem with the transfer, but it robs the movie of any depth. The colors are good, but the movie lacks any truly vivid hues. The transfer does reveal flaws in the already shoddy animation, such as incomplete lines. Children may be able to watch this, but any adult will wonder if something is wrong with their TV.
Audio
The DVD features a Dolby 2-channel surround audio track, which is quite lackluster. The dialogue is always sharp and clear, and the songs come through fine, unfortunately. The surround effects are limited to musical cues, and these often seem to be replicating the music coming from the front channels. A serviceable audio track, but nothing spectacular.
Extras
The DVD contains two extra features. First, Oddette reads three stories about her friends Jean-Bob (classic), Puffin, and Speed. Secondly, the Tango is featured in the film, so the segment "Two to Tango: Dances from Around the World" features live-action dancers demonstrating the tango, swing, the waltz, the foxtrot, and samba. The DVD also contains a "trailer" (more like an ad) for the "Swan Princess Collection", as well as many bonus trailers.
I rarely question why movies are made, because the answer is usually the same: money. Films such as The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure exist because unknowing consumers will be any movie that looks like a Disney film. Hopefully, cut-rate productions such as this one will teach parents that children want quality animation and that they should hold out for truly great movies.
The DVD box-art proclaims that the title of this movie is "The Swan Princess The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure". However, the on-screen title is The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure. Sure, there are plenty of movies that go by multiple titles, but when they can't decide what to call a film in a single package, you know that you're in trouble.
The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure, originally released in 1998, is the direct-to-video sequel to "The Swan Princes" (1994) and "The Swan Princess II" (1997). As I haven't seen the first two films in the trilogy, I really can't comment on them, but they've certainly got to be better than this one.
In this film, the evil Zelda (voiced by Katja Zoch), who was apparently as assistant to Rothbart, the villain from the first film, is determined to find Rothbart's notes on the "Forbidden Arts". (Forbidden Arts? You mean like finger-painting while wearing a white shirt? Those forbidden arts?) She captures a bird named Whizzer (voiced by Paul Masonson) and sends him to the castle to find the papers. Meanwhile, at the castle, Prince Derek (voiced by Brian Nissen, who also co-wrote the film) and his beloved Odette (voiced by Michelle Nicastro) are preparing for "Festival Days". The subject of "Forbidden Arts" is brought up, and Derek admits that he kept some of Rothbart's papers, which greatly upsets Odette. Whizzer overhears this and reports back to Zelda. Now that she knows where the notes are, Zelda plans to infiltrate the castle, take the papers, and take over the world. And worst of all, she'll ruin "Festival Days"!
Those who feel that Disney animation has gotten worse over the years need to check out The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure to see had truly bad an animated film can get. To put it mildly, there are no redeeming qualities to this movie. The characters are whiny and inane. The story is hackneyed and pointless. The songs are irritating. And worst of all, the animation is very, very cheap-looking. Director Richard Rich helmed The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron for Disney back in the 80s, and while those aren't the best movies, they are watchable. But, none of that apparent talent shows through here. Even at 73 minutes, the movie drags on for far too long, especially the denouement, which allows the movie to go on for nearly 10 minutes after the finale. And if you're like me and haven't seen the first two films, you'll be completely lost, as The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure offers no real re-cap to describe what went on before this story. And if you don't buy my critique, here's the ultimate litmus test: my 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old left the room to go color. The movie gets a 1/2 star solely for the fact that there is a French frog named Jean-Bob. That took guts.
Video
The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure flies onto DVD courtesy of Columbia/Tri-Star Home Entertainment. The film is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and there is a title card which claims that the film has been altered from it's original format. If anything the movie was probably originally framed at 1.66:1, so I doubt we're missing much here. The image is slightly blurry throughout the film and there is a fine sheen of grain on the image for the duration of the movie. It's impossible to tell if this blurring effect is a defect from the source material or a problem with the transfer, but it robs the movie of any depth. The colors are good, but the movie lacks any truly vivid hues. The transfer does reveal flaws in the already shoddy animation, such as incomplete lines. Children may be able to watch this, but any adult will wonder if something is wrong with their TV.
Audio
The DVD features a Dolby 2-channel surround audio track, which is quite lackluster. The dialogue is always sharp and clear, and the songs come through fine, unfortunately. The surround effects are limited to musical cues, and these often seem to be replicating the music coming from the front channels. A serviceable audio track, but nothing spectacular.
Extras
The DVD contains two extra features. First, Oddette reads three stories about her friends Jean-Bob (classic), Puffin, and Speed. Secondly, the Tango is featured in the film, so the segment "Two to Tango: Dances from Around the World" features live-action dancers demonstrating the tango, swing, the waltz, the foxtrot, and samba. The DVD also contains a "trailer" (more like an ad) for the "Swan Princess Collection", as well as many bonus trailers.
I rarely question why movies are made, because the answer is usually the same: money. Films such as The Swan Princess III and the Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure exist because unknowing consumers will be any movie that looks like a Disney film. Hopefully, cut-rate productions such as this one will teach parents that children want quality animation and that they should hold out for truly great movies.
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