"Far Longer than Forever" is the theme song from the animated movie ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'', written by

Lex de Azevedo Alexis King de Azevedo (born January 14, 1943) is an American composer, song writer, pianist, actor and singer known primarily for his film scores and his work on '' The Swan Princess'' of which one of his songs was nominated for a Golden Globe ...

David Zippel David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American musical theatre lyricist, director, and producer. Early life and education Zippel was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Falling in lo ...

and composed by

. The song is performed by

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

and

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

. It was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1995 for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, but lost to "

Can You Feel The Love Tonight "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995 it won the Academy Award for Best Original So ...

" by Elton John and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

from ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

''.

Production

The Dreams Come True song "Eternity" was used as the B-side for this song.

Personnel

- vocals *

- vocals *Robbie Buchanan - producer, arranger, keyboards, synth, bass, drum programming * Michael Thompson - guitar

Critical reception

A writer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' noted, "The melody of 'Far Longer Than Forever'...echoes the first five notes of ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

.'' ''The Animated Movie Guide'' said the song had a theme of faith. This commercial single was jointly released by Sony Wonder and Sony 550 Music. ''MusicHound Soundtracks: The Essential Album Guide to Film, Television and Stage Music'' called the "seemingly mandatory big ballad" as "extremely annoying" due to "strik nga totally different artistic note" in the contect of the film's musical landscape. ''The Motion Picture Guide 1995 Annual: The Films of 1994'' said the song was deserving of the Golden Globe. ''Star-News'' deemed the song "insistent" noting that audiences may "quickly get heirfill" of the tune

Context

It is sung within the context of the film as a love song, and again performed over the credits as an RnB ballad by Regina Belle and Jeffrey Osborne. In the 1994 animated film, the song was performed by

vocalists Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in '' Anastasia'', Odette in ''T ...

, as the singing voice of Princess Odette, and

Howard McGillin Howard McGillin (born November 5, 1953, in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. He is known for his role of John Jasper in ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' and for portraying the role The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Phantom of ...

, as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Derek. In the closing credits, a popular rendition of the song was performed by renowned R&B recording artists,

and

. Michelle Nicastro and Kenneth Cope sing a reprise of the song in the 1997 sequel '' The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain''. The lyrics of the song revolve around the bond between two lovers who, although they are far apart, have faith that their love would eventually draw them together once again. In the film version, Princess Odette and Prince Derek are pledging their love for each other, despite the fact that distance and circumstances separate them. However, they truly believe that their love shared could overcome any barrier.

References

{{authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs 1990s ballads American pop songs Contemporary R&B ballads Song recordings produced by Robbie Buchanan Songs based on fairy tales Songs written for animated films The Swan Princess Songs with music by Lex de Azevedo Songs with lyrics by David Zippel Regina Belle songs Jeffrey Osborne songs Liz Callaway songs Love themes Pop ballads Soul ballads Male–female vocal duets