In honor of the 25th anniversary of “The Swan Princess,” the animated classic will be available in brilliant high definition for the first time ever, with a collectible anniversary edition Blu-ray and in 4K HDR on digital from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment October 29th. To celebrate the new release of this fan-favorite, creator and producer Seldon Young is bringing the film back to the big screen for a special Pink Carpet Premiere event showcasing the new, fully remastered version at the famed ArcLight Cinemas – Hollywood on October 24th.
One of the last major theatrically-released films in the US to utilize a hand-drawn, hand-painted CEL animation style, “The Swan Princess” opened to critical acclaim. The film went on to receive a 1995 Golden Globe®-nomination and become the number one selling home video title in the United States when first released. As the franchise creator and owner for the last 25 years, Seldon Young has helped spread the story of “The Swan Princess” across more than 119 countries and out to millions of fans worldwide, through the franchise’s ongoing distribution partnership with what is now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Columbia TriStar Home Video at the time), which has seen the series grow to nine full-length feature films and a vast social media following.
“How has the legacy of our original ‘The Swan Princess’ film continued for 25 years?” asks Young, who can often be seen in his native Utah and at fan conventions around the world in a custom, pink argyle suit, dotted with images of the beloved Swan Princess characters. “It’s all because of the fans, and now we’re so excited to share this beautifully restored version with them and new generations to come!”
“For the restoration and remastering process we retrieved the vintage, vaulted negatives and set to work using the amazing advances in HD conversion technology, to create an even more vivid and stunning film than ever before,” continued Young.
The story of “The Swan Princess” began with Director Richard Rich, an animation filmmaker trained in the Disney tradition of animation where he went to direct films at the studio. Inspired by the German fairytale and ballet about a princess who is a swan by day and princess by night, Rich worked with film founder Seldon Young and Executive Producer Jared Brown, to make Princess Odette the subject of their first joint venture onto the silver screen with “The Swan Princess.”
The result is a magical, musical animated adventure film based on the classic fairy tale “Swan Lake,” now celebrating its 25th anniversary. A Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence and the Parents’ Choice Award winner, “The Swan Princess” is the heartwarming story of the beautiful princess Odette, who is transformed into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s spell. Held captive at an enchanted lake, she befriends Jean-Bob the frog, Speed the turtle and Puffin the bird. Despite their struggle to keep the princess safe, these good-natured creatures can do nothing about the sorcerer’s spell, which can only be broken by a vow of everlasting love. “The Swan Princess” is bursting with color, dazzling animation, beautiful music and the vocal talents of greats from the Broadway stage and film screen including, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin and Liz Callaway.
The 25th anniversary Blu-ray release includes an all-new featurette entitled “A Look Back, Tease Ahead,” plus a variety of additional archival features. “The Swan Princess” has a runtime of approximately 90 minutes.
Available on Blu-ray and 4K HDR Digital from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment October 29th
