Watch a video of Seldon here
Hello to everyone talking about The Swan Princess!
Thank you to all of you, regardless of your opinion of the brand, for your engagement and the feedback. A special thanks to our fans for their undying support.
The original Swan Princess was a huge project, but a dream come true for our little company. It was our first feature film and we poured our hearts into it, overcoming many hurdles, especially during our theatrical debut. Films are an exciting but competitive business. Without our fans we would not have great achievements like being the #1 animated, non-Disney film of the 90’s upon release to VHS.
Over the past 24 years the fans have motivated me to strive for big goals for The Swan Princess. There is a lot of work to be done in order to achieve my exciting vision. We must really push our little brand forward in todays market. This includes being relevant to children today! We have to create more content. This includes more stories, films, products, music, apps and games...more of everything!
2D versus 3D
I grew up watching Donald Duck, The Lone Ranger and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I think of this 2D, traditional, hand-drawn animation as the real deal, the authentic cartoons. Imagine my luck to be able to make them as an adult!
2D animation is a perfect example of "you don't know what you've got until its gone"! The problem we ran into by the time we endeavored to create new Swan Princess movies, 12 years after the last 2D sequel, was that the market changed. The size of talent pool to draw every cell by hand was no longer available because the artists had progressed with the industry and specialized in CGI. Transitioning to 3D animation was the only real choice we had.
This has been a huge adjustment for us. We have been learning a lot in the process. We strive to always improve the 3D animation and each film gets better.
We know that a huge part of our audience is still children and as one of our adult fans amply pointed out "I showed the original film to my little niece, she wasn't interested. Just not colorful enough". This may be unheard of to some, but it is the reality of current animation. We hope that our 3D approach will encourage our millennial fans to introduce their children to The Swan Princess.
Fortunately, we have millions of fans all over the world and it continues to build. This support and enthusiasm from the Swan Princess fans is the most important stepping stone to achieving a high definition version of the animated film and someday, a live action Swan Princess film!
Thank you again
Seldon O. Young
Producer and Owner of The Swan Princess brand.
About The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess is based upon the folk tale and ballet, Swan Lake. The story is transformed into a playfully fun adventure with exciting music, lovable forest friends, and of course, the handsome Prince Derek. The Swan Princess, Odette, has stayed true to original fairy tale princess with her kindness, grace, and loyalty.
Three reasons you should follow us on Facebook 1) Get a behind-the-scenes look as Princess Odette and Prince Derek continue their adventures 2) Be one of the first to be notified when new products are released and 3) Share your Swan Princess stories and tales with other die-hard fans.
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14 comments
I’m 22. I have acting experience. I would love to play Odette. Or any part! I know the original film almost word for word. Oh please, consider emailing me for casting.
I forgot to add — I agree that, as a millennial, I miss the magic and soul of 2D animation. I’ll always prefer 2D animation, but the times where I have felt that 3D animation has captured some of that magic was when the characters and environment were heavily stylized. You’ve done a great job translating the style of the original film into 3D, but it would be great to see the characters in a completely new style. One thing that really sticks out to me is the hair. I love the way Blizzard stylized hair for the in-game character models in Overwatch. I would love to see Odette, for example, in a similar 3D style.
The latest installment in the Swan Princess series, Kingdom of Music, was a step in the right direction in terms of story and character. I loved the dynamic Prince Li had with Princess Alise and how that changed over the events of the film. I also loved Princess Mei Li, and her commitment to Chen. I was so invested that I felt so sad after seeing the ballroom scene. I did like how the solution to the curse was handled (although bittersweet). These characters and their relationships really carried the film. The music was also very good! However, I must say that there are a bit too many characters in these films now, and the villain in this installment did not feel like much of a threat. It would be interesting to see a film that takes place within the same universe, but not including every character we’ve seen in the series so far.
I grew up on the original The Swan Princess film, and it’s initial two subsequent sequels. The newer films did not appeal to me personally, but i understand they were not created to appeal to me as a now-adult, and that’s fine as i realise from a business perspective why you’ve gone down that route. A live action Swan Princess movie could be amazing provided the budget is big enough, the commitment from everyone involved and perhaps increasing the sophistication of the original source material. I would imagine Sony would jump at the chance considering their limited success of adapting fairy tales into live action adaptations without a built in pre-existing fanbase. A remake on a already beloved property should build on the foundations of the original film and increase the depth, artistry and sophistication where possible. There is a reason the remakes of certain other animated features have been so successful, and perhaps tying it closer to the original ballet may help expand the story, the use of the original music as the score and expanding the characters of Rothbart, Odile (or Bridget as she’s known in your version), King William & Odette could really elevate it, but these are merely my own personal suggestions. Aspects of the original film, such as the transformation sequence, could really be incredible in LA, if done right. There is a reason i purchased some of the original animation art from this section of the film as i loved it so much and is such an iconic aspect of the Swan Princess franchise. I really hope a live action adaptation is on the horizon, and when it does i will be first in line with my movie ticket.
If you’re going to do a live-action movie, may I make a suggestion? I think you should cast Sam Elliott as Rothbart. And maybe add his daughter Odile to it. You know, the Black Swan.