The Disney Renaissance brought some of the studio’s best movies, and one of the most underrated movies from the 1990s was a direct response to it – and it ended up launching a big movie series. After a couple of years during which Disney had some not-so-successful movies, the studio got a major boost in the late 1980s and 1990s in what’s now known as the “Disney Renaissance.” This era began in 1989 with The Little Mermaid and ended a decade later with the release of Tarzan.

Of course, the revived success and popularity of Disney during its Renaissance era served as motivation and inspiration for other studios, though not all of them could match Disney’s movies. Among them is The Swan Princess, released in 1994 and directed by Richard Rich. The Swan Princess is based on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet and introduces viewers to Princess Odette (Michelle Nicastro) and Prince Derek (Howard McGillin). The Swan Princess is not only a response to Disney’s Renaissance, but it also has a key connection to the Mouse House.

The Swan Princess Was Directed By A Former Disney Director (& Inspired By The Studio’s Renaissance)

Disney Brought This On Itself, Kinda

The Swan Princess turns the famous ballet into an animated musical movie, very much like Disney’s Princess movies. The tale takes viewers to the kingdom of King William, who has just welcomed a baby girl he names Odette. King William and his friend, Queen Uberta, who has a son, Prince Derek, decide it would benefit their kingdoms to merge through the marriage of their children. Although uninterested in each other for years, Odette and Derek eventually fall in love. However, at the same time, the sorcerer Rothbart wants to take King William’s kingdom, so he kidnaps Odette and places a curse on her.

In order for Odette to not be able to escape, Rothbart curses her to become a swan during the day, and, to turn back into a human, she has to be back on the lake when the moonlight touches it. Prince Derek sets out to find Odette, but Rothbart is a lot more dangerous than he seems. The Swan Princess’ director, Richard Rich, started his career at Walt Disney Studios, where he began as ᴀssistant director in the 1970s. Rich made his directorial debut in 1981 with The Fox and the Hound, followed by The Black Cauldron in 1985.

Rich was set to direct 1988’s Oliver & Company when he was fired by Disney feature animation president Peter Schneider, so Rich founded his own studio, Rich Animation Studios. The studio began with approximately 26 employees, most of them also coming from Disney, including marketing chief Matt Mazer (via LA Times). Inspired by the success of Don Bluth’s An American Tail and The Land Before Time, along with the Disney Renaissance, Rich found his next big project in The Swan Princess (via Deseret), originally inspired by the German folk tale that inspired Tchaikosvsky’s famous ballet.

The Swan Princess Got Positive Reviews, But Found Success Years Later

It Took A While For The Swan Princess To Find Its Audience

The Swan Princess faced big compeтιтion in theaters due to a re-release of The Lion King, but it was still well-received by critics. The Swan Princess was praised for its animation achievements despite the studio’s limited resources, pace, and tone, though its story and music faced some criticism. Some critics went as far as to call The Swan Princess a better movie than The Lion King, and others labeled it as one of the best non-Disney animated productions at the time. Still, The Swan Princess holds a 50% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Swan Princess underperformed at the box office, grossing $9.8 million against a $21 million budget, thus becoming a box-office bomb. The Swan Princess was released on home media in August 1995, and that’s when it finally found its audience. The Swan Princess built its own, loyal fanbase, and it launched a big but silent movie series.

The Swan Princess Launched A Big But Silent Movie Series

The Swan Princess Has A Lot Of Sequels

The great reception of The Swan Princess once it was released on VHS and DVD led to a movie series with a total of 12 movies, all of them directed by Rich and direct-to-video releases. The first sequel, The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain, was released in 1997, but it didn’t come close to the first movie’s good critical reception. The fourth movie, The Swan Princess: Christmas, released in 2012, broke tradition by being made with 3D CGI animation, and the most recent sequel is The Swan Princess: Far Longer Than Forever, released in 2023.

At the time of writing, it’s unknown if the world of The Swan Princess will continue to expand with more sequels, but its capacity for expansion is impressive. Surely, the sequels haven’t been able to even come close to the first movie’s good reception and quality, but it’s one of the biggest and most discreet animated movie series.

Sources: LA Times, Deseret.