One of the rare animated princess movies not by Disney, the Swan Princess is however directed by Richard Rich, a director for Disney during its low point in the early 1980s, and strives to unite all earlier Disney princess movies into one: a virtual "parade of princesses," which is dramatized in one of the final scenes. We have Sleeping Beauty in the story-book medieval castle, celebration of a royal birth, and final kiss; Cinderella in the ball; Aladdin/Jasmin in the Jaffar-like counselor and magician Rothbart; Beauty and the Beast in Rothbart's imprisonment of Odette and the idea of true love's charm; and the Little Mermaid in Odette's metamorphosis (ok so that's not exactly the same). Yes, I realize it's based on Swan. Lake, but it would have been better off developing more allusions to the ballet; the music, ironically, is mostly terrible. Before Rothbart's spell, Odette had refused to marry Derek because the immature prince was unable to name something appealing about the princess other than her beauty, which angers her and makes her think that they don't have a connection. He resolves to work on it, but, ironically, they get together at the end when he saves her from the monster and awakens her with a kiss, but never actually says what else he finds appealing about her!
Review of The Swan Princess
