The Swan Princess (1994)

The film begins with an aging king named William

(Dakin Matthews) who has a baby daghter named
!dette and a friend of "een #berta (Sandy Dncan)$
While %ing William&s newborn daghter !dette and
"een #berta&s toddler'aged son Derek get
ac(ainted) e*il was afoot$ +othbart (,ack Palance) is
an e*il enchanter who desires %ing William&s kingdom
for himself$ -efore he can go ahead with his .lot) his
tower is attacked by %ing William&s men$ -efore he
was banished from the kingdom) +othbart *owed that
one day) e*erything %ing William owned and lo*ed will
be his$
When !dette and Derek are children) %ing William
and "een #berta decide to ha*e !dette (/drian
0ahiri) and the "een&s son) Prince Derek (/dam
Wylie)) meet e*ery smmer with ho.es they&ll fall in
lo*e so as to nite their kingdoms$ /t first) while
!dette and Derek are still children) this fails
miserably) bt as years .ass and the two reach yong
adlthood) they finally begin falling *ery dee.ly in
lo*e$ 1owe*er) dring a royal ball) Derek (1oward
Mc2illin) e3.resses his wish to marry !dette
((Michelle 4icastro)) citing her beaty as his reason
forlo*ing her) which .sets her into re5ecting him
again$ She lea*es the ne3t day with her father) bt
they are interce.ted en rote by +othbart who
transforms into a 62reat /nimal6 (a hybrid monster
with the head of a wolf) the body of a bat) the tail
of a li7ard) and the feet of an eagle)$ 1e kidna.s
!dette and fatally in5res William$ %ing William&s
ca.tain retrns to "een #berta&s castle and informs
e*eryone .resent that they were attacked by a 2reat
/nimal$ Derek arri*es on the scene where William tells
him with his dying breath that they were attacked by
a 2reat /nimal that is 6not what it seems6$ Des.ite
#berta&s efforts to find another .rincess for her son
to marry) Derek becomes fiercely determined to find
!dette$ 1e and his best friend -romley (,oel
Mc%innon Miller) .ractice hnting each day to
ho.eflly kill the 2reat /nimal and sa*e !dette$
8lsewhere) +othbart has taken !dette to his castle
lair at Swan 9ake and cast a transformational s.ell on
her that makes her trn into a swan dring the day
and a hman again dring the night$ The s.ell can only
be broken by a *ow of e*erlasting romantic lo*e$ 1e
asks her to marry him e*ery night so he can rle
William&s kingdom legally) as taking it by force is too
mch troble) bt she always refses$ Dring her
ca.ti*ity) she befriends an old trtle named S.eed
(Ste*en Wright)) a frog named ,ean'-ob (,ohn
:leese)) and Pffin (Ste*e ;ino*ich)) a .ffin bird$
Pffin) after learning abot the workings of
+othbart&s e*il s.ell) de*ises a .lan to renite !dette
with Derek$ Together with Pffin) !dette finds
Derek) who has gone searching for her with -romley<
howe*er) he mistakes her for the 2reat /nimal and
tries to kill her$ The ensing chase leads Derek to
Swan 9ake) where he witnesses !dette change from
swan to woman$ The two share a ha..y lo*ing renion)
bt almost immediately) +othbart comes calling$ /t
!dette&s insistence) Derek lea*es with the ho.es of
meeting her at a ball being held by #berta the
following night$ #nfortnately) +othbart finds Derek&s
bow (which Derek left behind)) tells !dette that
there will be no moon the ne3t night) and has her) in
swan form) im.risoned within the castle dngeon along
with -romley$ 1e then .lans to send his hag sidekick
-ridget) disgised as !dette) to the ball instead$
!dette&s friends free her) bt when she reaches the
ball) she sees that she has been re.laced and tries to
warn Derek< she fails) .artly de to -ridget&s
attem.ts to kee. Derek from seeing her) and Derek
makes the *ow to -ridget$ +othbart arri*es and
re*eals that Derek&s *ow) gi*en to the wrong woman)
will case his s.ell to kill !dette$ She flies back to
Swan 9ake as +othbart&s crse drains her life force
while Derek) des.erate to sa*e her) races after< he
arri*es too late) and she dies in his arms) bt not
before she tells him she lo*es him$ / frios Derek
confronts +othbart) demanding that he not allow
!dette to die$ To Derek&s sr.rise) +othbart
transforms into the 2reat /nimal and an intense
battle enses with +othbart o*er.owering Derek and
nearly killing him$ =ortnately) !dette&s animal
friends retrn Derek&s longbow to him) and -romley)
who has esca.ed the dngeon) .ro*ides Derek with a
single arrow< Derek catches it and fires the arrow
straight'and'tre into +othbart&s heart as he
e3.lodes .on crashing into the lake$
With +othbart&s defeat) his s.ell on !dette is broken
and she retrns to life to hear Derek say that he
trly does lo*e her for her corage and kindness and
always had$ The two are soon married and li*e ha..ily
e*er after$