''The Swan Princess: Christmas'' is a 2012 American computer-animated fantasy family film directed by

Richard Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He wa ...

, produced by

Crest Animation Productions Crest Animation Productions (formerly RichCrest Animation Studios, Rich Animation Studios and originally Rich Entertainment) was an Indian-American animation studio located in Burbank, California, United States. The studio's most well known work ...

and

Nest Family Entertainment Nest Family Entertainment is an American family entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It was formed in 1980 as Family Entertainment Network by Jared F. Brown, Stephen W. Griffin, and Seldon O. Young. The company has produced several dram ...

. It is the fourth film in ''

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 ...

'' series, and the first in 14 years. It follows the adventures of Odette and Derek celebrating their first Christmas together. While the three previous films in the series were animated using traditional 2D hand-drawn techniques, ''The Swan Princess Christmas'' was the first in the series to be created entirely with 3D CGI animation. Out of all of the cast members James Arrington is the only one to return from the original film and its sequels,

Doug Stone Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and actor. He debuted in 1990 with the single "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epic Recor ...

reprises his role as Speed from the sequels and Sean Wright reprises his role of Rothbart from '' The Swan Princess III: The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure''. The movie is followed by a fifth 3D computer-animated direct-to-DVD entitled '' The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale'' released one year later. Chronologically, it is revealed that this takes place after

the first film ''The First Film'' is a 2015 British documentary film about cinema pioneer Louis Le Prince, made by David Nicholas Wilkinson. It argues the case that Le Prince, rather than the Lumière brothers, was the true inventor of moving pictures, making ...

, but before the second film, because it is said that this is Odette's first Christmas with Derek and without her father; in the second film, Odette and Derek have been married for a year, meaning one Christmas must have gone by between the two films.

Plot

Princess Odette and Prince Derek are on their way to Queen Uberta's castle to celebrate their first Christmas together. Unbeknownst to them, the evil sorcerer Rothbart has returned from the dead as a spirit and enlisted a

black cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

named Number 9 for help by promising him nine extra lives. Number 9 lures Derek to the cellar of Uberta's castle where he opens a chest with the initial R on it. When Derek leaves, Rothbart emerges from the chest as a

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

. From here, Rothbart starts his plan to destroy the kingdom's Christmas spirit, the only thing more powerful than the Forbidden Arts, as this will give him the power to be revived in bodily form. Rothbart is able to cast minor spells that cause people to fight; he does this to Queen Uberta and Lord Rogers, and later to the villagers until almost the entire village is in disharmony. Derek and Odette learn of Rothbart's return as a ghostly spirit when wind chimes playing "Far Longer than Forever" make him visible and hold him immobile. They set up chimes all around the castle, but Rothbart eventually re-enlists the help of Bridget (his

hag HAG is a Swiss maker of model trains. The company was founded by Hugo and Alwin Gahler on 1 April 1944 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Gahler brothers originally manufactured model trains in O scale but due to competition, particularly by Märk ...

henchwoman from the first film who had turned good) and she helps remove the wind chimes for him. As part of the Christmas festivities, Uberta and Rogers are staging musical performances, but because of Rothbart's spell they have become aggressive and competitive with each other. Odette, who is staging her own song, invites the children to perform "Christmas is the Reason" which momentarily weakens Rothbart's power over Uberta and Rogers. Odette follows up on this by inviting Uberta and Rogers to give gifts and food to the poor. This time the good will breaks the spell on the whole kingdom, and Rothbart is severely weakened. Rothbart's last chance to ruin the kingdom's Christmas spirit is to sabotage the royal Christmas tree. He sends Number 9 to steal one of the Christmas lights, and Rothbart casts a dark spell on it that will destroy the tree. Derek learns of this plan thanks to Bridget, who has double-crossed Rothbart and traps him inside a giant chime. Derek rushes back to the Christmas Eve party to stop the tree from being lit, but they are too late. The enchanted light bulb bursts the tree and its ornaments into flames. Rothbart becomes fully restored to his physical body, takes Uberta's crown which he turns into his own, and kidnaps Odette where he takes her back to Swan Lake. At Swan Lake, Rothbart once again turns Odette into a white

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 ...

and traps her inside a cage made of roots, just as Speed, Puffin and Jean-Bob arrived. Puffin tries to attack Rothbart, but the evil sorcerer knocks the bird down and turns him into a

Christmas ornament Christmas ornaments, baubles, "Christmas bulbs" or "Christmas bubbles" are decoration items, usually to decorate Christmas trees. These decorations may be woven, blown (glass or plastic), molded (ceramic or metal), carved from wood or expande ...

. He then casts a spell on the moonlight, so that when it touches Odette's wings, she will turn into a golden swan-shaped ornament forever. Derek arrives to rescue Odette and Rothbart has assumed the form of the Great Animal again to fight Derek. At first Derek is overpowered, but Odette starts singing "The Season of Love," which weakens Rothbart until he bursts into flames and dies. With Rothbart defeated for a second time, Odette changes back into a human and Puffin returns to his normal self. Derek dies in her arms due to his injuries, but a distraught Odette sings again, the great spirit of Christmas returns him to life and restores the royal Christmas Tree. At the Christmas party, the kingdom puts up a new Christmas ornament on the tree, honoring Derek and Odette.

Cast

Laura Bailey Laura Bailey is an American voice actress. She made her anime debut as Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Her other anime credits include Emily / Glitter Lucky in '' Glitter Force'', Tohru Honda in ''Fruits Basket'', Lust i ...

(credited as Elle Deets) as Princess Odette ** Summer Eguchi as her singing voice *

Yuri Lowenthal Yuri Lowenthal (born March 5, 1971)Birthday references: * * * is an American voice actor, producer and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime and video games. Some of his prominent roles in animations and anime include S ...

as Prince Derek ** Michaelangelo as his singing voice * Jennifer Miller as Queen Uberta * Joseph Medrano as Lord Rogers * Sean Wright as Sir Rothbart * David Lodge as Number 9 and

Footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

#1 * Catherine Lavine as Bridget and Village Woman * James Arrington as Sir Chamberlain * Clayton James Mackay as Jean-Bob * Gardner Jaas as

Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

as Speed, Sir Peter, and

#2 * Joey Lotsko as Bromley, Butler, and

#3 * Brian Nissen as Ferdinand the

Chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

* Maxine Blue as Wood Cutter's Wife * G.K. Bowes as Caretaker * Gabriela Miller as a Girl * Catherine Parks as

Maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

* Ashley Spain as a Girl * Joseph De Tacht as a Boy

Music

The film's music was composed by Vassal Benford. Two albums were released in conjunction with the film. A Christmas album, "17 Songs from The Swan Princess Christmas" was released on October 22, 2012, containing the film's Christmas songs and a few instrumental pieces from the film. A more complete soundtrack album, "The Swan Princess Christmas Soundtrack", was released on November 8, 2012, containing 34 tracks of the film's songs and instrumental pieces. Both albums contain a studio version of "Season of Love", Odette's song from the film, performed by Anna Graceman.

Reception

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the film 2 out of 5 stars. The website reads, "Animated sequel lacks magic; some mild violence."

References

External links