The story begins with King William having a daughter, Odette. At some point, King William has his friend, Queen Uberta, introduce her son, Derrick, to Odette. Their plan is to have the children see each other every summer and eventually get married.

However, their times together in their youth do not go well. They struggle to get along.

Years go by. Derrick and Odette are now in their teens/young adulthood. Odette is traveling with her father in a carriage.

They come across an evil wizard, Rothbart, whom King William banished many years ago. He fatally injures him and kidnaps Odette–eventually transforming her into a swan.

The kingdom, however, thinks that Odette died. Yet Derrick is destined to find her since he believes that she is still alive.

Odette is under a curse where she is a swan during the day. But at night, if she stands on the lake under the moon, she can temporarily turn back into a human.

While she is a swan, she befriends a few animals. There is Speed the turtle, Jean-Bob the French frog, and Lieutenant Puffin. They work together to help Odette and eventually break the hex she’s under.

At some point, Derrick finds Odette as a swan. He tries to hunt her a few times. But she goes under the moon and turns into a human. She tells him that in order for the curse to be broken, he has to make a vow of everlasting love.

Later, Derrick plans a ball. His mother and servants are inviting different princesses from different kingdoms to come. But Derrick doesn’t know that. He thinks Odette will come.

Can Odette break the spell and return to her human form?

I am going to be honest. This movie was a bit mediocre–it felt like the creators tried to compete against Disney. 

For example, there were musical numbers. But they were not as strong, fun, or heartwarming as I hoped.

The pacing was a little bit slow, too, even with the quick point-of-view switching–which, by the way, did not make the story hard to follow. In fact, the plot was easy to understand.

The characters were also unique. Although the idea of a boy and girl not liking each other before they fall in love has been done many times, meeting each other as kids because of their parents, but not getting along, is more original. I actually found it funny when Derrick and his friend went into a treehouse and posted a sign for Odette saying, “No girls allowed.”

The animals Odette befriended were memorable, as well. Speed’s voice and way of speaking reminded me of Garfield. I also appreciate how they could still talk to Odette when she transformed into a human.

But overall, I thought The Swan Princess was just okay. It even got mixed reviews on various platforms.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.