More than 125 years ago, composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky premiered his first ballet production, SWAN LAKE. The first performance was a disaster, but since then, the ballet has become one of the most popular of all time. Many versions of the classic story have been filmed, and there are two animated adaptations in existence. The first is best known as THE SWAN PRINCESS, a 1994 animated feature from ex-Disney animator Richard Rich which flopped at the box office but sold well on video. But it did not employ the music of Tchaikovsky and was a more "Disneyfied" production at best. (It was a good film, however.) The second is a rather obscure, but rich and gorgeously drawn Anime production from Toei which won an award at the 1981 Moscow Film Festival. Since this movie is dark and somber, despite the presence of two comic squirrels (shy, bashful Hans and arrogant, sometimes prissy Margarita), it uses Tchaikovsky's melancholy yet masterful score. This is arguably the picture's biggest asset, as the music is ultimately the heart and soul behind the entire ballet.
Everyone knows the story of SWAN LAKE: Princess Odette has been transformed into a swan, and can only resume her human form at night. One day, young Prince Seigfried meets and falls in love with her. He invites Odette to come to the ball at his castle so that he can choose her as his bride. But Odette's evil captor, the wizard Rothbart, wants the girl for himself, and so he sends his daughter, Odile, to impersonate Odette at the ball. Naive and trusting to a fault, Seigfried falls for it when Odile shows up at the ball until he discovers, too late, that he has been deceived. He engages Rothbart in a duel and, in doing so, proves his love for Odette, breaking the evil curse.
Script writer Hirokazu Fuse expands the tale and provides some unique twists in this adaptation. As mentioned above, the story is seen through the eyes of the two squirrels, who bicker over their courtship, yet they do anything in their will to bring the lovers together, just like a comic duo would do. There are also several scenes involving Rothbart and Odile that, in a somewhat dark way, are appealing. Rothbart himself is not so scary, but rather comes across like an awkward schoolboy when he's dealing with Odette (a huge contrast to Seigfried's more mature approach). Yet his evil shines through whenever we see him cast spells, and, at the end, he even becomes murderous. Odile, by contrast, is cunning, and very seductive, perhaps even more sinister than her father, and shows a lot more brains than he does (it is SHE who comes up with the idea to fool Seigfried!). There is also a spine-tingling climax bursting with conflict and malice, leaving one with goosebumps. As far as the animation is concerned, the cel count varies in quality (like most Anime), and its age shows. But the colors, considering that this is a 1981 production, are lovely to look at, from the sunlight's reflection on the lake to the grotesque, macabre designs of Rothbart's castle. This kind of animation style may be old, but for animation buffs, SWAN LAKE displays some incredible work. (Indeed, it is hard to believe that 2,500 cels were stolen during the production period.)
It should be noted that there are two different English versions available. The dub on the HI-TOPS Video and the MEDIA HOME video release is absolutely DREADFUL, with uninspired to emotionless vocal performances: the squirrels' voices (Gerri Sorrells and Nancy Culluci) are shrill and disappointingly lifeless considering they're supposed to be comic characters. Nancy Link and Steve Knode are no more compelling as Odette and Seigfried; both sound bored (Knode sounds especially off). Probably the only voices that come close to decent are Joseph Zucatti's Rothbart and Patricia Kobayashi's Odile (who cackles a lot more than her father, strangely enough), but even then they falter on select scenes. In addition, this dub has some of the sloppiest lip-synching I've ever seen--more than half of the lines are off by about half of a second! The only benefit about this dub is that it adheres close to the Japanese script, but the flow of the dialogue is very choppy and unnatural sounding. Of course since it's an early dub, one shouldn't expect too much, but even the most loyal of dub fans (and the very young, no doubt) are likely to be appalled by the cringeworthy results.
The only other dub I know of was produced some time ago by Samuel Goldwyn and features, interestingly, some high-profile voice talent. (Apparently Studio Ghibli's movies aren't the only Anime that get high profile treatment.) Christopher Atkins (THE BLUE LAGOON) plays Seigfried (the emotional range of talent he displays in this role showed me that I underestimated him as an actor), Pam Dawber (MORK & MINDY) voices the lonely and fragile Odette, Kay Lenz (BREEZY) is an alternatingly bitchy and seductive Odile, and David Hemmings (THE WILD LITTLE BUNCH) hams it up as the villainous Rothbart. Even all the other characters are appropriately voiced. The ADR script in this dub isn't slavishly close, but it's better written and less bland-sounding than the literal translation. Not only that, but the synchronization is better--for the most part; some lines are a little behind, but they're minor compared to the mistiming on the first dub. It aired on television a few times stateside, but I have not found any information on whether it was released to video or not.
Despite showing its age, it feels like something of a shame that this Japanese Anime of SWAN LAKE never got the recognition it deserves. Gorgeously drawn, well scripted, and, of course, with Tchaikovsky's music underscoring every mood, this is a lost gem which deserves a better chance. Hopefully someday one U.S. Anime company will market this title to a lasting audience.
Everyone knows the story of SWAN LAKE: Princess Odette has been transformed into a swan, and can only resume her human form at night. One day, young Prince Seigfried meets and falls in love with her. He invites Odette to come to the ball at his castle so that he can choose her as his bride. But Odette's evil captor, the wizard Rothbart, wants the girl for himself, and so he sends his daughter, Odile, to impersonate Odette at the ball. Naive and trusting to a fault, Seigfried falls for it when Odile shows up at the ball until he discovers, too late, that he has been deceived. He engages Rothbart in a duel and, in doing so, proves his love for Odette, breaking the evil curse.
Script writer Hirokazu Fuse expands the tale and provides some unique twists in this adaptation. As mentioned above, the story is seen through the eyes of the two squirrels, who bicker over their courtship, yet they do anything in their will to bring the lovers together, just like a comic duo would do. There are also several scenes involving Rothbart and Odile that, in a somewhat dark way, are appealing. Rothbart himself is not so scary, but rather comes across like an awkward schoolboy when he's dealing with Odette (a huge contrast to Seigfried's more mature approach). Yet his evil shines through whenever we see him cast spells, and, at the end, he even becomes murderous. Odile, by contrast, is cunning, and very seductive, perhaps even more sinister than her father, and shows a lot more brains than he does (it is SHE who comes up with the idea to fool Seigfried!). There is also a spine-tingling climax bursting with conflict and malice, leaving one with goosebumps. As far as the animation is concerned, the cel count varies in quality (like most Anime), and its age shows. But the colors, considering that this is a 1981 production, are lovely to look at, from the sunlight's reflection on the lake to the grotesque, macabre designs of Rothbart's castle. This kind of animation style may be old, but for animation buffs, SWAN LAKE displays some incredible work. (Indeed, it is hard to believe that 2,500 cels were stolen during the production period.)
It should be noted that there are two different English versions available. The dub on the HI-TOPS Video and the MEDIA HOME video release is absolutely DREADFUL, with uninspired to emotionless vocal performances: the squirrels' voices (Gerri Sorrells and Nancy Culluci) are shrill and disappointingly lifeless considering they're supposed to be comic characters. Nancy Link and Steve Knode are no more compelling as Odette and Seigfried; both sound bored (Knode sounds especially off). Probably the only voices that come close to decent are Joseph Zucatti's Rothbart and Patricia Kobayashi's Odile (who cackles a lot more than her father, strangely enough), but even then they falter on select scenes. In addition, this dub has some of the sloppiest lip-synching I've ever seen--more than half of the lines are off by about half of a second! The only benefit about this dub is that it adheres close to the Japanese script, but the flow of the dialogue is very choppy and unnatural sounding. Of course since it's an early dub, one shouldn't expect too much, but even the most loyal of dub fans (and the very young, no doubt) are likely to be appalled by the cringeworthy results.
The only other dub I know of was produced some time ago by Samuel Goldwyn and features, interestingly, some high-profile voice talent. (Apparently Studio Ghibli's movies aren't the only Anime that get high profile treatment.) Christopher Atkins (THE BLUE LAGOON) plays Seigfried (the emotional range of talent he displays in this role showed me that I underestimated him as an actor), Pam Dawber (MORK & MINDY) voices the lonely and fragile Odette, Kay Lenz (BREEZY) is an alternatingly bitchy and seductive Odile, and David Hemmings (THE WILD LITTLE BUNCH) hams it up as the villainous Rothbart. Even all the other characters are appropriately voiced. The ADR script in this dub isn't slavishly close, but it's better written and less bland-sounding than the literal translation. Not only that, but the synchronization is better--for the most part; some lines are a little behind, but they're minor compared to the mistiming on the first dub. It aired on television a few times stateside, but I have not found any information on whether it was released to video or not.
Despite showing its age, it feels like something of a shame that this Japanese Anime of SWAN LAKE never got the recognition it deserves. Gorgeously drawn, well scripted, and, of course, with Tchaikovsky's music underscoring every mood, this is a lost gem which deserves a better chance. Hopefully someday one U.S. Anime company will market this title to a lasting audience.