Swan Lake (1981 Film)
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is an
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
based on the
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
'' by
Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
. The film was released in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
on 14 March 1981 by Toei. It was the first animated film to be distributed by
The Samuel Goldwyn Company The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1978. Background The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from ...
, and was made in Japan by Toei to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Represents the fourth episode of Toei's ''World Masterpiece Fairy Tales'', preceded by ''
The Wild Swans The Wild Swans (Danish: ''De vilde svaner'') is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell cast by an evil queen. The tale was first published on 2 October 1838 in Andersen's '' ...
'' (1977), ''
Thumbelina Thumbelina (; da, Tommelise) is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Travelling Companion" in t ...
'' (1978) and '' Twelve Months'' (1980), and continued with '' Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'' (1982). The film was produced by
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in partnership with
Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...
from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and directed by
Kimio Yabuki Kimio Yabuki ( ja, 矢吹 公郎) is a Japanese animator. Known in Japan for his work on many early classic works by the Toei Animation studio, his best-known film in the West is ''Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer'' from 1985, produced by the ...
. Manga artist
Yumiko Igarashi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for illustrating the manga series ''Candy Candy''. Career In 1968, as a third-year high school student at the Asahi Gaoka High School in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Igarashi made her debut in Shueisha's ''Ri ...
also worked on the film as character designer. The adaptation uses Tchaikovsky's score and remains relatively faithful to the story. Two separate English dubs were made, one featuring regular voice actors, and one using celebrities as the principal characters (
Pam Dawber Pamela Dawber (born October 18, 1951) is an American actress best known for her lead television sitcom roles as Mindy McConnell in ''Mork & Mindy'' (1978–1982) and Samantha Russell in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988). Early life Dawber was bor ...
as Odette,
Christopher Atkins Christopher Atkins Bomann (born February 21, 1961) is an American actor and businessman, perhaps best known for his debut in the 1980 film '' The Blue Lagoon'' and playing Peter Richards in ''Dallas'' (1983–1984). Early life Christopher Atki ...
as Siegfried,
David Hemmings David Edward Leslie Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1966 mystery film ' ...
as Rothbart, and
Kay Lenz Kay Ann Lenz (born March 4, 1953) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Saturn Award. Lenz is best known for her title role in the ...
as Odille). The second dub was recorded at Golden Sync Studios and aired on
American Movie Classics AMC is an American multinational basic cable television channel that is the flagship property of AMC Networks. The channel's programming primarily consists of theatrically released films, along with a limited amount of original programming. ...
in December 1990 and
The Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
in January 1994. It was distributed in North America by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It was also distributed in France and the United Kingdom by Rouge Citron Production. The film was released on DVD by
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
on November 28, 2017. It has the original Japanese version and the two English dubs.


Plot

The hero, Prince Siegfried, is out riding one day with his friends when he sees a
swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
with a crown on its head swimming on a lake. One of his friends, Adolf, tries to shoot the swan, but just before his arrow flies, Adolf is transformed into a statue. Siegfried's other friend Benno accuses the swan of practicing witchcraft, neither of them pondering the presence of an
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
just behind them. Siegfried is unable to stop thinking about the swan, and decides to follow it as it swims away from its spot on the lake. Siegfried soon finds himself at a castle. Siegfried watches in surprise as the swan transforms into a beautiful woman in a royal white dress. He approaches her - at first, she is frightened for him and tries to get him to leave. But at his perseverance, she starts to tell him her story. She is Princess Odette. And three years prior, she was kidnapped by the evil sorcerer Rothbart (the owl) who wanted her hand in marriage. Rothbart cursed her to be a swan by day so that no one will fall in love with her, as the only way Rothbart's power can be defeated is when a man loves her with all his heart and soul. Siegfried explains that he already felt something for her the moment he saw her eyes, and asks her to go to his birthday ball the next night, where he will choose her as his bride. Although at first she refuses, Siegfried is intent and will not take no for an answer, convinces her and when she returns to her room, she daydreams of him. The entire story is being seen through the eyes of Hans and Margarita, two
squirrels Squirrels are members of the family (biology), family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flyi ...
who are watching them. Enter Rothbart. His daughter Odille tells him about Siegfried, and Rothbart goes to Odette to tell her to forget about the prince and consider marrying him. She rejects, revealing she has been in love with Siegfried for the past three years. Rothbart is not going to let Odette go to the ball. So he bars the door and lifts the drawbridge. He and his daughter, Odille, then plot to get Odette to forget Siegfried by getting him to fall in love with someone else—Odille, disguised as Odette. Odille, disguised as Odette in a black dress, goes to the ball and tricks Siegfried into believing she is the same woman he fell in love with. Meanwhile, Odette manages to escape from Rothbart's castle with the help of the squirrels Hans and Margarita, and hurries to Siegfried's castle. But just as Odette is about to storm into the ballroom, Rothbart, who was there already there observing Odille, disguised as Odette, carrying out her deception, grabs Odette, holds her mouth shut and brings her closer where she is able witness Siegfried dancing with Odille, disguised as Odette. Thus she watches in horror as Siegfried pledges his love to Odille, disguised as Odette, and announces her as his wife-to-be. Overcome with sorrow, Odette faints into Rothbart's arms. Rothbart's laughter gets Siegfried's attention and the prince quickly realises his mistake. Odille reveals her true form and the three of them transform into their avian forms and fly back to the castle. Siegfried follows on horseback, where the final showdown between the two men takes place. Hans goes to help the Prince Siegfried but Rothbart transforms him into a
toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...
. Rothbart initially only wants to scare Siegfried away since he pledged himself to his daughter, but when Siegfried rebuffs his pledge, Odille demands he be killed. After a long fight with Rothbart, the sorcerer has Siegfried cornered and held at sword-point. To save his life, Odette promises to Rothbart that she will love and marry him, but Siegfried, unable to bear the thought of Odette being a prisoner to Rothbart forever, grabs and plunges the sword into his own heart and causes a flash of yellow light which obliterates both Rothbart and Odille. Consequently, all of Rothbart's magic is undone: His castle collapses, Adolf transforms back into a human, Hans and Margarita are reunited, and Odette's curse is broken. Odette and Siegfried, who survive the castle's collapse, reunite and run into each other's arms. Margarita states that Odette and Siegfried's love was more powerful than all of Rothbart's magic, and Hans agrees he would love Margarita just as much. As the sun rises upon the ruins of Rothbart's castle, all the swans from the lake fly around Odette and Siegfried in celebration.


Voices


Music

The songs were composed by Masashi Wakamatsu and performed by Columbia Orchestra, while lyrics were written by Etsuko Bushika. Ending Theme * "Lake of Love" (愛のみずうみ, ''Ai no mizuumi'') (Singer: Kyōko Ishige) Insert Song * "Bright Day of Spring" (かがやく春の日, ''Kagayaku haru no hi'' ) (Singer: Kyōko Ishige)


References


External links


Official website
* * * {{Soyuzmultfilm feature films 1981 anime films 1981 drama films 1981 films Japanese animated feature films Discotek Media Soviet animated films Swan Lake Toei Animation films Toei Company films The Samuel Goldwyn Company films Films based on fairy tales Films set in castles Films set in Russia Films based on Russian folklore Japanese animated fantasy films Japanese fantasy adventure films Films directed by Kimio Yabuki