The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain

The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain, alternatively known as The Swan Princess and the Secret of the Castle in European territories, is a 1997 American animated musical-fantasy film and the first direct-to-video sequel to the 1994 animated film The Swan Princess.[1] Directed by Richard Rich (who also directed the original), the film follows Derek and Odette's one-year anniversary of their wedding being disrupted by the actions of the wizard Sir Clavius, who wants to find a magical orb, the source of the Forbidden Arts, and take over the world. The film was released on July 18, 1997. It is the only film in the series to be released by Warner Bros., with the other eight released by Sony Home Entertainment.

The Swan Princess:
Escape from Castle Mountain
Release poster
Directed byRichard Rich
Produced by
  • Richard Rich
  • Jared F. Brown
Screenplay byBrian Nissen
Story by
  • Richard Rich
  • Brian Nissen
StarringMichelle Nicastro
Douglas Sills
Jake Williamson
Doug Stone
Steve Vinovich
Christy Landers
Donald Sage MacKay
Joey Camen
Music byLex de Azevedo
CinematographyTom Sheppard
Edited byJames Koford
Production
company
Distributed byLegacy Releasing (North America)
Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (International)
Release date
  • July 18, 1997 (1997-07-18)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$273,644 (US)

Plot

One year since the events of the first film, Prince Derek and Princess Odette's anniversary is interrupted by the dangerous vandalism of Knuckles, minion of the evil magician, Sir Clavius. It is revealed that Clavius was the former partner in crime of the villain Sir Rothbart; they conquered the Forbidden Arts together until Rothbart drove Clavius underground after betraying their partnership. Clavius now wants to claim the magical orb of the Forbidden Arts that is located somewhere in Swan Lake castle, which has become Prince Derek and Princess Odette's new home. Clavius has Knuckles perform acts of vandalism in the kingdom that keep Prince Derek very busy and make him neglect both his wife and mother.

On Queen Uberta's fiftieth birthday, she is abducted by Clavius, who wants to use her as leverage. When Derek sets out to rescue his mother, Clavius sneaks into Swan Lake castle, where he locks Odette in a tower and then goes after the orb himself. Bridget, who was once Rothbart's accomplice but has joined the side of good, recognizes Clavius and knows that he is after the Forbidden Arts. She takes Speed, Puffin, and Jean-Bob into the catacombs under the castle where they find the orb first. After claiming the orb, they race back upstairs and free Odette. Odette knows now that Derek is heading into a trap, but Puffin cannot fly because his tail has been injured by Knuckles, so she convinces Bridget to use the orb to change her into a swan. Once transformed, Odette flies off to warn Derek. Clavius stumbles upon the remaining group and a chase ensues. Clavius eventually obtains the orb, and locks Bridget and the animals in the watery dungeon, although they later manage to escape.

Meanwhile,Princess Odette reaches Derek in time to save him from drowning in a pit of quicksand. Racing back to the castle, Odette and Derek see Clavius escaping in his hot-air balloon, from which Speed, Puffin and Jean-Bob are secretly clinging to in the hopes of being able to regain the orb. Derek and Odette follow the balloon to Clavius' volcano lair. Knuckles tries to stop them, and after a fight, Knuckles falls into the lava pool beneath the volcano.

Clavius celebrates his regaining the Forbidden Arts again, but Derek arrives and the animals free Uberta from her prison. During the fight, Jean-Bob jumps on Clavius' head to stop him from delivering a killing blow to Derek, and Jean-Bob is killed when he is thrown off. Derek gets his hands on the orb, and the group rushes to escape in Clavius' balloon. Clavius tries to stop them, and during the struggle the orb is dropped. The orb shatters, causing an eruption. Clavius dies in the resulting explosion, while everyone escapes.

Later, everyone is at Swan Lake, waiting for the moon to rise on Odette, who is waiting on the surface with Jean-Bob on her wing. When the moonlight touches Odette, she is transformed back to her human form and Jean-Bob is revived. The gang celebrate their victory and Uberta's birthday. The following day, a royal guest from Lincolnshire arrives at the castle, but Derek asks Rogers to take care of it, as he wishes to spend the day with Odette. The two share a kiss, enjoying their time together alone at last.

Cast

Musical numbers
  • The Magic of Love
  • That's What You Do for a Friend
  • You Gotta Love It
  • Far Longer Than Forever (end credits)
  • No Fear Rap

Release

The film had a limited theatrical release on July 18, 1997 with a domestic gross of $273,644.[2][3] On September 2, 1997, Warner Home Video released the film on VHS in the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment collection. In 1999, it was included in a VHS gift set released in the United Kingdom containing all three The Swan Princess movies. The DVD of the film was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Home Enteratinment on August 18, 2009.[4] In February 2004 in Europe and March 30, 2004 in the United States it was released in a DVD set containing all three The Swan Princess movies with a bonus sing-a-long disc.

gollark: I've got a bunch with 10-20 minutes to go (3) so they're staying unfogged but ready to be viewed now.
gollark: I APd it. I wonder who got it.
gollark: Come on, ND experiment I was going to run but couldn't find catchers for but which is set to die in 40 seconds, hatch!
gollark: Ah, but my sound is off constantly.
gollark: I did not. Does it work in Firefox™?

References
  1. Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  2. Villa, Joan (June 23, 1997). "Swan sequel to have limited theatrical release". Video Business. Reed Business Information. 17 (26): 4.
  3. The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain at boxofficemojo.com
  4. The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain DVD Release in the USA
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