Beyond the Physicality of Love: Review of the Swan Princess (1994)

Synopsis of The Swan Princess (1994)

The Swan Princess (1994) follows the love story of the ebullient Prince Derek and the beautiful but headstrong Princess Odette. Thanks to their over-zealous parents, Queen Uberta and King William, the duo were promised to each other in marriage—a fact that neither child relished. As the movie kicks off, we see them grow into teenagers. Despite their changing bodies and raging hormones, one thing remains constant: their dislike for each other. When they became adults, however, things changed, and frissons of feelings began to form. As Derek courts Odette, it becomes apparent they are both smitten by each other. So Derek’s proposal came as no surprise. Odette’s response, however, was…quite uncharacteristic.

Not yes, not no, but a terrified “Wait!”

Everyone was perplexed. Who the hell pauses their happily ever after?

The Prince assures her of her beauty and empathically states she is all he ever wanted. She thanks him and, in a manner reminiscent of the famous post-coital “what are we?” question, Odette asks, “What else? Is beauty all that matters to you?”

Everyone—even his mother—is interested to know Derek’s “what else.” In a show of muscled dumbness, Derek replies. “What else is there?”

Understandably, the wedding is called off. Derek’s mother is distraught, and everyone lives happily never after.

Just kidding

King William’s disgruntled enchanter, Rothbart, attacks the princess’s traveling crew. King William is killed, Odette is turned into a swan, and that’s where the real story starts.

Analysis

From this production by New Line Cinema down to the Barbie remake, there have been many brilliant takes on the Swan Princess. Like every other romantic fairytale, the themes of bravery, chivalry, romance, and evil triumphing over good abound in the Swan Princess (1994). However, the primary theme of this particular story is love that supersedes the physical.

Love, as we know, has a physical and an emotional component. We see this person, and something in us smiles and flutters to life. Our hearts beat to the footfalls of a thousand horses, our palms sweat, and when they are not there, our mind replays their voices. However, beyond this physicality and emotionality of love, there is something deeper—a “what else,” as Odette insightfully puts it—that we hope the other person feels.

As idealistic and unrealistic as it may sound, we want to know their soul recognizes ours as well as their eyes recognize our faces, that they could pick us out of a crowd by just the sound of our voice or the briefest and lightest of touch. While Odette’s transformation might have ruffled her feathers‌ (pun intended), it kicked off Derek’s journey to finding his “what else.” If he could still love her as a swan—wattles, feathers, and all—then theirs was really the stuff of fairytales, a love that transcended the physical, a soul-recognizing love.

This quest for a love that transcends the physical is apparent even in the marriage rites of some traditions worldwide. For the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya, during an event called the gucagura muka wake, the groom must find his bride from amongst a group of women who are not only around the same age but are also dressed the same. With the Igbos in Nigeria, the new bride carries a gourd/cup of wine and goes looking for her husband among a group of excited and eager young men, some of whom will catcall and entice her to bring the wine to them. She must stand firm in her choice to marry the groom and the belief that he is there somewhere. There is even a modern twist to some of these traditions, with blindfolded grooms tasked with touching the hands of different ladies and picking which one belongs to the bride.

Proving that his was a true and undying love, Derek believes Odette is alive. That thing inside him that responds to Odette’s existence makes him cling to this belief. And even when everyone had moved on, he kept practicing and thinking of ways to find her. While Prince Derek may be as sharp as a fluffy pillow, he makes up for his lack of intelligence with excellent fighting skills and personal faith in Odette’s existence. He finally finds her—after an embarrassing debacle where he felt she, in her swan form, was the great evil he was looking for—and vows to make a proclamation of love to her on the night of the ball. Finally, the spell would be broken.

Unfortunately, there’s no instant noodles approach to happily ever after. Rothbart locks up Odette, turns his witch sidekick into Odette, and sends her to the ball instead. In a final checkmate, Rothbart reveals there would be no moon that night. So even if Odette escapes, she cannot return to her human form, and if Prince Derek proposes to the wrong Odette, the real Odette dies.

The hag turns up to the ball, looking like Odette. Everyone is awestruck, including our bozo prince. He is once again blinded by beauty, but something feels off. Although the woman standing before him was lithe and had Odette’s blond and pouty-mouthed good looks, something seemed off. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. However, he pushed that aside. If it looks like Odette, walks like Odette, and talks like Odette, then it is Odette, right?

Wrong.

The Prince declares love to the hag and the real Odette, who is still a swan, drops dead. At this point in the movie, I was confused and excited. My expectations had been successfully subverted. I had expected the Prince to propose to the right Odette and then fight Rothbart. Normie fairytale stuff. Prince Ditzy’s internal journey was to learn to see beyond the physical, and he had failed at that. How could he be redeemed now that his avian inamorata was dead?

And this is where the film experiences a vertiginous drop.

The Prince tearfully declares the proclamation was for the “feathered one” and asks for the terms of the spell to be changed. He challenges Rothbart to a duel. The curse is broken when he kills Rothbart and Odette comes to life. With one fell swoop, the movie’s message changed from “looking beyond the physical” to the eye-roll-inducing “brawn always wins” trope.

In a last-ditch attempt to sellotape over a cavernous plot hole, the relieved Derek finally answers Odette’s “what else.” Something corny about her being kind and courageous. At that point, I was already fast-forwarding to the credits. I’ll give Derek his feathers—sorry, flowers. He sensed something was off but let visuals get in the way of real value and that, my friends, is where most of us get it wrong. With its wholesome art (the pubescent Odette had acne), endearing animal sidekicks and funny quips, the Swan Princess (1994) could’ve easily been a 7.5, but the last segment of the movie made a mess of a genuinely brilliant beginning. So for me, it is a 3 out of 10. But hey! It has catchy songs, and the kids will enjoy it. 

When I’m not looking for grown-up themes in children’s movies, I write about my random thoughts and psychology. Check out Dualism: Chapters from the Book of Harsh Realities and The Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why We Stay In Uncomfortable Situations to read some of my works.