Much like my recent Pocahontas vs Anastasia article, I'm continuing my movies vs movies article with Sleeping Beaty vs The Swan Princess. A little background is that both movies are based off plays by Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Although Sleeping Beauty is also based-off the original fairy-tale by Charles Perrault and a little bit off the story of Briar Rose by the Brothers Grim. Unfortunately, for both the Charles Perrault Sleeping Beauty and the original play of Swan Lake, it ends in tragedy. Sleeping Beauty didn't wake up from her deep sleep from true love's kiss, it was from being raped. Swan Lake ended with Odette committing suicide after seeing Prince Seigfried make his vow of ever lasting love to the fake Odette (Rothbart's daughter, Odile). Later Siegfried finds out and kills himself because if they couldn't be together in life, they would be together in death. However, over the years in writing and film media, especially The Swan Princess and Disney's Sleeping Beauty, those endings have been modified to satisfy the audiences and give the characters happy endings.
Now some backgrounds on the reception on both films. Neither one were big successes at the box office, though for different reasons. Sleeping Beauty at that time was Disney's most expensive film ever made, especially which it's artistic animation style. Unfortunate, it cost more to make than it actually earned back, it actually almost caused Walt Disney to stop making animated movies. It also wasn't a critical success when it first came out. They criticized lack of character development and both Aurora and Phillip being such boring characters. It's odd to think that because it's considered to be a timeless classic nowadays, not just by fans but also by critics. The Swan Princess was made by a small company called Nest Entertainment, though was made by a formal Disney director, Richard Rich, who had pitched this story to Disney but for some reason wasn't ever touched upon. It's odd to think that a small and unknown company actually made such a famous and well-known film like The Swan Princess. The film was very well advertised but didn't make much money at the box office because it unfortunately came out during the same weekend as The Lion King. Talk about LOUWSY LUCK! The critical reception was mixed, unfortunately that's due to not very many critics on Rotten Tomatoes reviewed it. However, Roger Ebert, a famous and highly respected critic, gave the movie a positive review. So who knows? Thirty years from now it could be considered a critically acclaimed classic like Sleeping Beauty. So which one of these phenomenally brilliant movies is the better movie? Well, let's find out. But once again, keep in mind that this is all just opinion based.
Round 1: Best Protagonist
Well, technically Aurora isn't the protagonist, the Three Good Fairies are. Oh well, it's easier to compare Aurora and Odette. Anyway, I'll be perfectly honest when I say that Aurora is so freaking BORING! Yes, she does have a personality but there is no denying that it's not a very well-developed personality. It's very generic, basic, and standard. She's just the typical, unoriginal fairy-tale princess. Unfortunately, this comes from her HUGE lack of screentime. Much like Elsa, who also has a personality but not a well-developed one, Aurora is a blank slate. People like the idea of being a lost princess or prince that is shy but somewhat mischievous and has an interesting story. The idea of Aurora's character is interesting but the execution of her character is not interesting. We don't get to know her well-enough to actually care what happens to her. In Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs when Snow White dies we actually care because we REALLY got to know Snow White and see her relationship with the dwarfs, which makes her death a lot more emotional and meaningful. Yes, Aurora does give up being with the guy she just met to go back to her family and be a princess. But we don't get to know her feelings about the situation, besides just the fact that she can never see the man she just met ever again. How does she feel about her seeing her parents that she probably thought were dead her entire life? How does she feel about the Fairies lying to her all her life? How does she feel about being a princess with duties, responsibilities, and likely even less freedom that she already has? And most importantly, how does she feel about the fact that she was cursed when she was a baby to die on her sixteenth birthday just because she wasn't invited? I'd think all of this are FAR more important and emotional things to focus on than just not being allowed to see a man she just met. There is no such thing as a character with no personality but we hardly know anything about Aurora because they don't use what little screentime she has to advance her. There's really nothing much to her except her beauty. She's not even a real protagonist, she's a false protagonist and a plot device. That's not to say that a plot device can't be an enjoyable character because Jasmine and Eric are plot devices and I LOVE them. But they're also fleshed out. Aurora's a complete snore fest in my opinion. I know there are some Aurora fans that like that she's shy and relate to that. They also like that for once there is a shy character that doesn't come out of their shyness because it makes them feel like there is something wrong with being shy. First of all, I don't see how she's shy. Having a strange man come up to you and randomly holding onto you isn't being shy. She had the common sense to know stranger danger and try to get away from him, until she fells for him because he sings (I don't nitpick about that because this is a fairy-tale, that's just now it works). Even if she is shy, which I don't think she is, being shy is a bad thing. I'm a shy person and shy people let their shyness consume them, never talk to anyone, and keeps them from being able to survive in the real world. Saying that staying shy is alright is what I think sends a bad message, though Aurora doesn't portray shyness at all, she seems very social. But even if she was, staying shy is a bad thing and it's something I struggle to try to overcome everyday, so I won't be alone. Anyway, I understand why she has her fans but I'm not one of them, though I DON'T dislike her.
Odette on the other hand, is just a million times better than Aurora! She's unfortunately been accused of having no personality ever since the Nostalgia Critic did a review of the movie. But he labels WAY TOO MANY characters as having no personality and people are really too easily influenced by his opinions. Get minds of your own. I love the Nostalgia Critic but I disagree with a lot of his opinions. Odette has a three-dimensional and interesting personality. I can actually describe Odette's personality quite well. She's kind, caring, and sweet, which is shown with the way she's always kind to her friends and the way she was tended to Puffin's wounds when he was hurt from an arrow. She's very strong, self-reliant, and brave, which is shown with the way she's constantly standing up to Rothbart and refusing to give her, her father's kingdom and let him cause suffering for her people in the process, along with being able to stay emotionally strong during this tough situation. She's very selfless because she tells Derek that he needs to leave and not fight Rothbart because he could be hurt or killed. She's witty, fun, and playful, which is shown with the way she's always playing off of Jean-Bob with him trying to get her to kiss him and convince everyone he's a prince. Her wittiness is definitely shown with how Odette responds to Rothbart saying that she's starting to bug him by saying "I should think you'd be used to it by now." She's also very smart and quick thinking, which is shown when the sun goes down and Derek is about to shoot at her and Puffin by telling him to go and hide in the trees. She's quite heroic in her swan form because she saves Jean Bob quite a bit, saved Puffin in that scene I mentioned, and saving Bromley from drowning when he's thrown into the dungeon with her. She's also very confident and independent, which is shown with how she won't marry Derek (who she loves) until he tells her what he loves about her besides her looks. She's also a little reckless because she rushed off to Derek in her swan form without thinking. I can see and describe her personality quite vividly. She's a very unique heroine for the time she was created. During the 90's we were getting interesting female characters that where also action characters like Ariel, Mulan, Anastasia, Lola Bunny, Pocahontas, and so forth. But Odette was someone who was very much a modern woman but wasn't an action girl, yet she still spoke her mind and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. Plus we get to know her emotional struggle with her father being killed, being kidnapped, cursed to become a swan when the moon goes down, not being able to leave because she doesn't know where she is and she could be killed by hunters, and being separated from her true love. Unlike Aurora, we get more of her emotional turmoil about her situation and not just about her being separated from her love interest. While Aurora isn't a bad character, she's a one-dimensional character. Odette on the other hand is more fleshed out and has a three-dimensional personality. So, obvious point goes to Odette.
Round 2: Best Love Interest
Phillip often gets credit for being the first Disney Prince to actually do anything. The reason the past Disney Princes didn't do anything was because back then it was too expensive and difficult to draw handsome young men, like the princes. But does actually "doing stuff" make him a three-dimensional and interesting character? The answer, in my opinion, is NO! In fact, he's even more boring than Aurora. In the second half he doesn't even get a line. At least she has an excuse, she's put to sleep in the second half. We barely know anything about Phillip, he's even less developed than Aurora and is just as much of a plot device as her. He's just there to be who wakes up Aurora and are always being helped by the fairies. Yes, granted anyone would need help escaping a dungeon and fighting a dragon. But in real life, throwing a regular sword at a dragon, especially as all powerful as Maleficent, wouldn't kill it. If it wasn't for it being enchanted by the fairies, there is no way Maleficent would've died. But even before that he's constantly having things handed to him by the fairies and didn't have to show any effort. Phillip is a worse case of just letting someone do the dirty work for you than Aurora. Again, she's cursed and can't really do anything. Now do I think Phillip is useless and does nothing, no, I wouldn't go that far. I just think he gets WAY TOO MUCH credit for actually "doing stuff." Besides, his actions are one this, his personality is something completely different. Like Aurora, he's not fleshed out, he has a personality but it's not well-developed, he's bland, generic, standard, boring, and basic. But we at least see more of Aurora's personality and she has at least one interesting moment. When she's being all mischievous about meeting a stranger when it was all just a dream, that was interesting! I wanted to see more of that from her. Why couldn't they do that with her and him? He's just the stereotypical knight in shining armor, only without the shining armor lol.
Then we have Prince Derek, who in my opinion is definitely better than him. For those of you who say that he's a jerk that only cares about looks, I want to point out that a lot (not all) of those same people say this about Dimitri (whose an even bigger jerk) "He's a jerk but it's entertaining and interesting." Plus I'd like to point out that Derek's only "jerky" moment was saying "What else is there?," which he later said it only said that because he didn't know what else to say (yes, there's the moments he is mean to Odette growing up, but a lot of kids do that and he was just a kid). A lot of people, both male or female, don't know what to say in situations like that and end up saying stupid things. Although, when a guy does this he's apparently a jerk but if a girl does this than she's just so sympathetic and awkward. Either way, Dimitri was a much bigger jerk than Derek an was horribly developed. Derek simply didn't know what to say, which I identify with because I'm shy and never know what to say. I'm actually so shy that I sometimes get nervous just to message something to someone. But I digress. Being awkward with expressing yourself and how you feel about people don't make you a jerk. That's actually really closed-minded, ignorant, and prejudice. Not everyone is comfortable with it and it's something he learns to overcome. I think it's unique that there is an animated fairy-tale prince that actually doesn't know how to blurt out extremely romantic and poetic speeches to his princess on the spot. He's able to do that when he's along, as we see in Far Longer Than Forever. If you notice, he's only awkward about saying that kind of thing in front of people, especially Odette. He's trying to learn how to overcome this and eventually does. Plus I love how he just never stops fighting for Odette and is incredibly protective of her but knows she has a mind of her own. He won't let anything hurt her and is completely crushed when something bad does happen to her. He doesn't care if he dies in the process, as long as Odette doesn't stay dead. I'll get more into this during the best couple round. I love how he does have the typical personality traits of a hero like being dashing, daring, brave, determined, kind, charming, selfless, caring, sweet, and romantic but he also has his own unique traits. He's not good with words, he's a a little awkward (not much), confident but at the same time insecure (mainly about how to express words), admits immediately when he makes a mistake or is stupid, is a little bit of a jokester, and (though it's a minor moment) he lets his servants take a few days off after they get more hurt during practice than he thought they would. I can really tell A LOT of growth in him and that he really matures throughout the movie. So no contest for me, point goes to The Swan Princess.
Round 3: Best Villain
Well, this sure is a HUGE improvement over the last villains. These two are both great villains! Rothbart's plan is pretty complicated because he suddenly decides to let Odette die, just so Derek will make is vow to the wrong girl. Yes, there's the whole not just turning into the King and have the Hag turn into Odette, but to be fair, this was the same thing that happened in the original Swan Lake. As for the having Odette die, the spell does need to be broken by a vow of ever lasting love, but unfortunately the wrong vow can kill her. In the original Swan Lake, Rothbart would lose his powers if Odette broke the spell. But I digress. Unlike the original Rothbart, he realized that Odette wasn't going to do what he wanted and decided to just make sure the spell would never be broken and by having Derek make the vow to the wrong girl and let her die. He had finally had enough of Odette's sass and stubbornness, so he also did it out of spite, much like how Maleficent cursed Aurora in order to get back at her parents for not inviting her. He's menacing but he can also be entertaining and funny. Unlike Rasputin, there's a good balance and he doesn't look pathetic. As Naveen said about Dr. Facilier, "He was very charismatic." He's evil but isn't a stiff about it, clearly is over-the-top about loving how evil he is, especially during No More Mr. Nice Guy. He's like an animated Jim Carrey or a male Cruella De Vil, there's no doubt that he's sinister, loves every minute of it, is enjoyably hammy about it, and clearly is just doing whatever that hell he wants and doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks. I love villains that can be menacing and intimidating but also really fun and entertaining. I absolutely love him! He's an awesome and underrated character!
But then we have the Mistress of All Evil herself, Maleficent. Now let's ignore that awful live-action movie and just focus on the original animated character herself. There is no doubt that she's just an awesome villain and is considered the best Disney villain of all time. She's always been portrayed as the leader of the Disney villains, particularly in Kingdom Hearts. I mean she's classy, elegant, sinister, clever, cruel, despicable, and is everything you want in a great villain. She's my absolute favorite thing about Sleeping Beauty, so I guess I'm spoiling who won this round by saying Maleficent obviously wins. Not just because female villains are much more interesting than male villains (which they are), but also because she is such so deliciously evil. She curses a baby just because she gets snubbed at a party, but the extremes that she'll go to just to get what she wants is just so freaking awesome. She knows that letting the child grow up and have her parents get to know her and love her (along with everyone else) and then die would be a lot more cruel than just killing the child at that moment. She even says in her gift that she will be beloved by all who know her, just so she hurts more people. BOY THAT IS SO AMAZINGLY CRUEL! I also just LOVE the scene where she loses her temper at her idiotic minions. She acts calm and level-headed most of the time but when she loses her temper, you better watch out. Plus she turns into a freaking DRAGON! The Great Animal was awesome but it can't compete with a dragon! So both are great but point goes to Sleeping Beauty.
Round 4: Best Sidekicks
One of the things that makes both of these movies so fantastic is that the sidekicks are so likable, memorable, and actually do help with the story. They're not just pointless comedy relief that was meant to have a point but you really you wouldn't miss in terms of story like Olaf from Frozen or the Mice from Cinderella. The Three Good Fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) are all so unique for the time they were created. They were describe as old women versions of Huey, Dewey, and Louie but still have their own distinct personalities, unlike Donald Duck's nephews that basically had the same personality. It would've been really easy to just to give them the same personality but instead they did the smart thing and gave them their own individual personalities. They're the real protagonists in this movie! Most of the time is spent with them, it's seen through their perspective, and they're pretty much doing all the work. They're the first Disney females to be this proactive. Forget Aurora, they're the real protagonists! Forget Phillip, they're the real heroes! They come up with all the plans and try to fix any mistakes they make. They're just so entertaining and funny! The scene where they're preparing for Aurora's birthday but they're doing a horrible job and then later they do a good job because they're using magic but Flora and Merryweather are fighting over the color of the dress. I wonder why they didn't just make a compromise and just make it purple. They're definitely one of the main highlights of the movie, second best thing after Maleficent. They're a little ditzy but they're still very smart, resourceful, and brave. I guess when people say that a movie was just about the character they like the most that isn't the main character, that's what they did with the fairies. They're just AWESOME!
Then we've got Puffin, Speed, and Jean-Bob from The Swan Princess, who are also really likable and unique. Puffin acts like a leader (similarly to Flora) that comes up with all the ideas and plans, Speed that is a slow (except when he's in the water) and has a voice that matches it but is also a wisecracker, and then Jean-Bob who is a French Frog that thinks he's a prince and is always trying to get Odette to kiss him to turn him back into a prince but is still a good friend that (while he'll resist at first) will ultimately help his friends (especially the lovely Odette). They're so entertaining and are really useful. I've head some people complain that they should've been swans because in Swan Lake, Odette's friends were swans. But I feel like this gives them more of their own identity and it's better not to have them be swans. These characters are so likable and funny. I mean, John Cleese actually does the voice of Jean-Bob and he actually passed up a chance to voice Zazu from The Lion King to be Jean-Bob. Besides, an African bird with a French accent? I DON'T THINK SO! But while they're incredibly likable, I think I'll have to go with the Three Good Fairies. So point goes to Sleeping Beauty!
Round 5: Best Side Characters
Both movies have likable side characters but it's time to see whose more likable. Sleeping Beauty's side characters are King Stephan, King Hubert, Sampson, Queen Leah, and the guitar playing servant who gets drunk. The Kings are very entertaining, even though the scene where they're drinking really doesn't lead to anywhere in terms of story. But they're very funny and enjoyable, even though they're scenes aren't all that essential. Sampson is a very enjoyable character, that surprisingly is more interesting than his rider. But there's not much to him like most of the side characters. The drunk is pretty funny but again, not much to him. Although I do wonder how Disney managed to get away with having a character being drunk in one of their animated movies. With the way people complain about anything small in a Disney film, I'm surprised no one has complained about this. Anyway, the last character we have is Queen Leah, who honestly doesn't have much to her. She's even more boring than Aurora and Phillip and definitely doesn't have anything else to her but her beauty. So the side characters are good, not great, and don't have much to them.
But then we have an incredible cast of characters in The Swan Princess! You've got Queen Uberta, King William, Rogers, Chamberland, and Bromley. Queen Uberta has always been one of the most popular characters in the franchise, she's especially loved in the second movie where she's kidnapped by the villain but is pretty much making him miserable, having his evil minion act as her servant, and is making everyone watching laugh their asses off in the process. She's very entertaining in the original movie and it figures because she's voiced by funny girl, Sandy Duncan. She'll fool people with her elegant, classy, and demure behavior but will act comedic and crazy. She's not a traditional queen like Aurora's mother, which is one of the great things about her. She doesn't depend on a king, in fact, I'm willing to bet when Derek's father was alive that she was the one calling the shots. She's energetic, short-tempered, hilarious, crazy, and knows how to intimidate people. She's everything you want in a comedic female side character. Then you have Rogers, who is again, one of the most popular characters in the franchise. He's funny, clever, logical, manipulative towards Bromley, is a great advisor to Derek, and clearly isn't afraid to share his opinion. He definitely is a great character to work off of Uberta in their comedic moments, along with tormenting Bromley and his stupidity. Plus, he says something that definitely will win The Swan Princess this round, which we will get to later. King William is shown as a kind and caring man towards his people, friends, and daughter. He's also pretty funny during This Is My Idea. I love how unlike most father's during this time period that just force their daughter to marry, that he just tries to talk to her and asks what else he wanted Derek to say. They actually talk about the situation and try to understand each other. Is it long enough to be extremely developed? No, but he did die just a few minutes later. I really did feel sad about his death, not like I did with the deaths of Mufasa, Littlefoot's mother, or Bambi's mom, but still sad enough. Plus his death and the love he had for his daughter help Odette stay strong with not giving in to Rothbart. I will give Aurora's parents credit that they gave up raising their child, just to make sure she'd be safe. But we don't get to see much of the emotion that Aurora felt for them or much interaction between them. I mean when they're reunited, Aurora just casually hugs her mother like it's no big deal and her father just strokes her like she's a pet. Rapunzel's being reunited with her parents is really emotional and is the perfect way to be reunited. But I digress. Chamberland, while he doesn't have much to him, is funny and is clearly afraid of Uberta, which gives potential to some really good comedic moments. Bromley is sort of just Derek's fat and stupid friend, but he does have a necessary point at the end of the movie and is pretty funny, especially when it comes to Rogers tormenting him. If all of this isn't enough to prove that The Swan Princess deserves to win this round, this should. Rogers saying to Derek after the whole "what else is there?" thing this "You should write a book! How to offend women in five syllables or less!" POINT GOES TO THE SWAN PRINCESS!
Round 6: Best Evil Minions
Ehhh... I think the win is obvious here. The Swan Princess, but I guess I'll explain why. Maleficent's evil minions are complete idiots that thought for sixteen years that they were looking for a baby. As Maleficent put it, "they're hopeless, a DISGRACE to the forces of evil." Her bird is alright but nothing all that special or interesting. In fact, he can be a little annoying. The evil minion in The Swan Princess, Bridget, who would later go to become a reformed sidekick in the sequels, is WAY better. But first a little background on her character. Her character is based off Rothbart's daughter, Odile, that turned into Odette to get the Prince to make the vow to the wrong girl. He had only known Odette for one day, so Odile corrected him by saying her name is Odile, which made more sense when he made the vow to the wrong girl. That of course couldn't work here because Derek and Odette have known each other all their lives. Although, in Swan Lake, Odile was a young beautiful woman that was about Odette's age, here her name is Bridget and is an ugly old woman. She has a lot of funny moments and a lot of the time doesn't even talk. It's pretty unique that an evil minion would be an old lady. I LOVE her! She's freaking hilarious! Point goes to The Swan Princess.
Round 7: Best Songs
I'm actually in the minority here but I don't find the songs in Sleeping Beauty to be memorable, with the exception of Once Upon A Dream, of course. But the others, I hardly even remember or think about. I can hum the tunes but the songs really aren't that memorable, with the exception of Once Upon A Time. I Wonder is a good song but not memorable, The Gifts is pretty to listen to but is easy to forget, the song the Kings thing isn't memorable and is pretty lame, and the song that plays when the Fairies are putting everyone to sleep is nice but I don't remember the lyrics or the name of it. This movie doesn't even really have very many songs when you think of it. The Swan Princess has a huge variety of songs that transition well, help move the story along (for the most part), and has a great broadway feel to it that I just LOVE! I absolutely ADORE these songs and can listen to all of them CONSTANTLY and never get tired of it. I'm usually listening to The Swan Princess songs when I'm getting dressed, even some when I was writing this article. I think it's just as good as any of the Disney movies soundtracks. It's one of the best soundtracks of any animated movie in my opinion. So point goes to The Swan Princess!
Round 8: Best Instrumental Score
The score in The Swan Princess is definitely beautiful, however, it's kind of odd that a movie based off a ballet didn't use any of the music from the original ballet. I think that maybe the movie would've done better if it used Tchaikovsky's music but kept the songs in the movie and just found a way to get it to fit the style. But again, the instrumental score is beautiful but after listening to the original score from Swan Lake, it's really not as good. The instrumental score in Sleeping Beauty actually does have Tchaikovsky's music and it's of course fantastic. It's romantic, suspenseful, exciting, epic, and absolutely brilliant! So, while I do love the instrumental score in The Swan Princess, I definitely have to go with the score from Sleeping Beauty.
Round 9: Best Animation
Both movies have beautiful animation but is it really fair to compare their animation? Sleeping Beauty's animation was very expensive and The Swan Princess was made by a small company and didn't have as much money as Disney. If it had the same budget as a Disney movie it probably would've had better animation. But the animation is still very beautiful to look at, even if it is a little lackluster. But Odette's transformation definitely is gorgeous to look at and is easily the best piece of animation in the movie. The backgrounds are also very beautiful. However, Sleeping Beauty did have a bigger budget and was Disney's attempt at making an animated movie have a style different from the past movie, which they definitely succeeded at. But does that mean it's good. Well, one problem I have with the animation is that that character's eyes are black and colorless, their skin is pink, and a lot of their colors are pretty inconsistent, particularly with Aurora. The background I've actually grown to love but is still a little too detailed in my opinion. But it's still beautiful, not as good as the animation in the Disney Renaissance but still pretty impressive. The characters to have more details to their looks than the characters in The Swan Princess. Plus when the scenes are paintings, like the gifts and Aurora sleeping, it looks absolutely gorgeous. So while both movies animation have their problems, they're still beautiful, but I definitely have to go with the animation in Sleeping Beauty.
Round 10: Best Couple
I'll be perfectly honest when I say, even for a fairy-tale love at first sight movie, Aurora and Phillip aren't a good couple at all. With these kinds of stories, I'll cut them slack if they have chemistry or a decent amount of interaction, which Aurora and Phillip don't. They meet, she tries to get away from him, he can't take a hint and keeps pursuing her, he sings to her, and suddenly they're in love. They don't even know each others names. Yes, he fight a dragon for her but why should I care? If I haven't gotten invested in the couple with their VERY LITTLE amount of interaction and lack of chemistry. They're just a typical, standard, basic, boring, generic, and lackluster fairy-tale couple. Nothing special and I don't care about them as a couple in my brutally honest opinion.
Then we've got Odette and Derek, who surprisingly get A LOT of hate from people. Yet a lot of these people love Anya and Dimitri, who are A LOT worse as a couple. With Odette and Derek, yes they don't get a long at first and fight over the years but there are subtle hints to them secretly liking each other. I mean, Odette as a preteen is constantly following Derek and Bromley, like most girls at that age with when it comes to boys, unfortunately boys at that age think that girls have cooties. Along with that, Derek as a teenager is shown to have some interest in her, though he won't show it. When Bromley said that he thinks Derek kind of, sort of like her, Derek doesn't deny it, he simply says that he'd like her better if she'd lose them cards. He doesn't deny it, whenever a guy doesn't like someone and someone says they do, they'll instantly deny it, which he doesn't. Plus if you noticed, when Odette and her father are leaving on their boat, at first Derek is just pouting, but then his face softens up, and he slowly turns to look at Odette leaving when he thinks no one is looking (right until she sling-shots a tomato at him lol).
Then we have them when they're grown up and I've said already that Derek just isn't good at expressing himself, which is why he said "What else is there?" and not because he's superficial. Odette loves him but refuses to marry him until he can express what he loves about her besides her looks. Derek obviously loves her for more than just her looks, if he didn't than he would've just gave up on her when it got difficult. Would you hunt down a dangerous animal, try to break a spell, and risk your life to defeat an evil wizard just for someone you love for their looks and nothing more? I don't think so! Derek learns how to grow and his love for Odette is what helps with it. He thought he'd be able to express his feelings for Odette but was so blinded by his love for Odette that he mistook the take Odette for the real one. He was even suspicious of the fake Odette because he felt something was different about her, it was only when she present to him her locket that he returned to her when he found her that he thought she must be the real Odette. He even runs after Odette in her swan form, knowing she was dying, to find some way of saving her and to at least say some final word about his love for her and how he's sorry. Odette doesn't say "Derek... how could you?" because she knows that he meant the vow to be for her, he even says that the vow was for her, and she simple replies "I know... I love you Derek..." before she died. But he refused to let her die and was willing to risk his life to save hers. He didn't care if he died, as long as she would live. He fought with even fiber of his being to save her, even though he was close to death himself, since Rothbart as the Great Animal is too powerful. But in the end Derek did defeat him and his love for Odette is part of what helped bring her back and broke the spell. The vow said he had to make a vow of ever lasting love and prove it to the world. However, the spell didn't specify what it meant by the world. From what I see, having a room full of people isn't the world but rather is just one person who is Derek's entire world to him, Odette herself. He finally said what else he loved about her, her kindness and courage, which is what broke the spell. He learns how to express his feelings and appreciate the ones he loves while they're in his life because you might not always have them, so you should always cherish every moment with them while you can. They vow to love each other far longer than forever. "Well, there you have it... ever lasting love." Point definitely goes to The Swan Princess!
Round 11: Best Plot/Writing
Unlike with Anastasia and Pocahontas, which were movies that depended on logic (for the most part), these films depend completely on emotion like any fairy-tale does. So any "plot-holes" these have I cut them slack because they're not suppose to have logic. It's like in The Wizard of Oz, you don't question how the Witch could've gone her whole life without having water on her. However, that's not to say there aren't some problems with the writing. But for now let's just talk about the plot. Both of them have interesting plots that involve princesses under a curse that can only be broken by true love, that's pretty much the bases but are still different. However, I do find the story of The Swan Princess to be a lot more interesting because the whole deep sleep has been done a lot more and isn't as unique. About the writing, The Swan Princess unfortunately has one big problem and that's the whole moon thing. What I mean by that is that one night it was a full moon but the very next night is was a crescent and then there would be no moon the next night. How did that happen? I think it would've made sense if Rothbart was aware of Odette wondering off to find Derek and knew that Derek was throwing a ball where he would likely invite Odette if he found her then Rothbart just decided to use magic to change the shape of the moon. That would be clever and diabolical. But really, that's the only real plot-hole in The Swan Princess. However, while the romance is fantastic, they could've had them fall in love slower during This Is My Idea, so it's more believable to other people who don't notice subtle hints. But overall, at a movie that depends on emotion, it's a very well-written fairy-tale movie. As for Sleeping Beauty, it doesn't really have any plot-holes but it's writing it a little unbalanced. Aurora and Phillip hardly have any scenes because most of the time is spent with the Fairies, Maleficent, and even the Kings (which doesn't really lead to anywhere). We don't get to see enough of Phillip and Aurora, they're not very well-developed in personalities, we don't get to see their inner emotional struggles like we do with Odette and Derek, we don't get a good insight on their relationships with the other characters, and it's odd that Maleficent depended on her idiotic evil minions that she CLEARLY shouldn't trust with something so important. Plus like I said, the songs aren't very memorable with the exception of Once Upon A Dream. So, I think The Swan Princess deserves this point for having a good character balance, better relationships, great focus on emotional struggles, and just an overall more interesting plot.
Round 12: Best Ending
Both movies had amazing climaxes but what about the happy endings that happen afterwards? Well, in my opinion, Sleeping Beauty's was good but was pretty lackluster. Phillip kisses Aurora, the unrealistically nonchalant reunion of Aurora with her parents, and the Fairies fighting over the color of the dress. It's just nothing really special. The Swan Princess ending is beautiful in my opinion. They Derek and Odette are married, Rogers gets to torment Bromley one last time, Odette kisses Jean-Bob and he thinks he turned into a prince (but he didn't), Odette and Derek proclaim their love for each other one last time before their iconic kiss, we zoom out with a stunning painting, and swans flying by. It's a fantastic and perfect ending to the movie. So point goes to The Swan Princess.
Overall Winner: The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess: 8 Points
Sleeping Beauty: 4 Points
Now some backgrounds on the reception on both films. Neither one were big successes at the box office, though for different reasons. Sleeping Beauty at that time was Disney's most expensive film ever made, especially which it's artistic animation style. Unfortunate, it cost more to make than it actually earned back, it actually almost caused Walt Disney to stop making animated movies. It also wasn't a critical success when it first came out. They criticized lack of character development and both Aurora and Phillip being such boring characters. It's odd to think that because it's considered to be a timeless classic nowadays, not just by fans but also by critics. The Swan Princess was made by a small company called Nest Entertainment, though was made by a formal Disney director, Richard Rich, who had pitched this story to Disney but for some reason wasn't ever touched upon. It's odd to think that a small and unknown company actually made such a famous and well-known film like The Swan Princess. The film was very well advertised but didn't make much money at the box office because it unfortunately came out during the same weekend as The Lion King. Talk about LOUWSY LUCK! The critical reception was mixed, unfortunately that's due to not very many critics on Rotten Tomatoes reviewed it. However, Roger Ebert, a famous and highly respected critic, gave the movie a positive review. So who knows? Thirty years from now it could be considered a critically acclaimed classic like Sleeping Beauty. So which one of these phenomenally brilliant movies is the better movie? Well, let's find out. But once again, keep in mind that this is all just opinion based.
Round 1: Best Protagonist
Well, technically Aurora isn't the protagonist, the Three Good Fairies are. Oh well, it's easier to compare Aurora and Odette. Anyway, I'll be perfectly honest when I say that Aurora is so freaking BORING! Yes, she does have a personality but there is no denying that it's not a very well-developed personality. It's very generic, basic, and standard. She's just the typical, unoriginal fairy-tale princess. Unfortunately, this comes from her HUGE lack of screentime. Much like Elsa, who also has a personality but not a well-developed one, Aurora is a blank slate. People like the idea of being a lost princess or prince that is shy but somewhat mischievous and has an interesting story. The idea of Aurora's character is interesting but the execution of her character is not interesting. We don't get to know her well-enough to actually care what happens to her. In Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs when Snow White dies we actually care because we REALLY got to know Snow White and see her relationship with the dwarfs, which makes her death a lot more emotional and meaningful. Yes, Aurora does give up being with the guy she just met to go back to her family and be a princess. But we don't get to know her feelings about the situation, besides just the fact that she can never see the man she just met ever again. How does she feel about her seeing her parents that she probably thought were dead her entire life? How does she feel about the Fairies lying to her all her life? How does she feel about being a princess with duties, responsibilities, and likely even less freedom that she already has? And most importantly, how does she feel about the fact that she was cursed when she was a baby to die on her sixteenth birthday just because she wasn't invited? I'd think all of this are FAR more important and emotional things to focus on than just not being allowed to see a man she just met. There is no such thing as a character with no personality but we hardly know anything about Aurora because they don't use what little screentime she has to advance her. There's really nothing much to her except her beauty. She's not even a real protagonist, she's a false protagonist and a plot device. That's not to say that a plot device can't be an enjoyable character because Jasmine and Eric are plot devices and I LOVE them. But they're also fleshed out. Aurora's a complete snore fest in my opinion. I know there are some Aurora fans that like that she's shy and relate to that. They also like that for once there is a shy character that doesn't come out of their shyness because it makes them feel like there is something wrong with being shy. First of all, I don't see how she's shy. Having a strange man come up to you and randomly holding onto you isn't being shy. She had the common sense to know stranger danger and try to get away from him, until she fells for him because he sings (I don't nitpick about that because this is a fairy-tale, that's just now it works). Even if she is shy, which I don't think she is, being shy is a bad thing. I'm a shy person and shy people let their shyness consume them, never talk to anyone, and keeps them from being able to survive in the real world. Saying that staying shy is alright is what I think sends a bad message, though Aurora doesn't portray shyness at all, she seems very social. But even if she was, staying shy is a bad thing and it's something I struggle to try to overcome everyday, so I won't be alone. Anyway, I understand why she has her fans but I'm not one of them, though I DON'T dislike her.
Odette on the other hand, is just a million times better than Aurora! She's unfortunately been accused of having no personality ever since the Nostalgia Critic did a review of the movie. But he labels WAY TOO MANY characters as having no personality and people are really too easily influenced by his opinions. Get minds of your own. I love the Nostalgia Critic but I disagree with a lot of his opinions. Odette has a three-dimensional and interesting personality. I can actually describe Odette's personality quite well. She's kind, caring, and sweet, which is shown with the way she's always kind to her friends and the way she was tended to Puffin's wounds when he was hurt from an arrow. She's very strong, self-reliant, and brave, which is shown with the way she's constantly standing up to Rothbart and refusing to give her, her father's kingdom and let him cause suffering for her people in the process, along with being able to stay emotionally strong during this tough situation. She's very selfless because she tells Derek that he needs to leave and not fight Rothbart because he could be hurt or killed. She's witty, fun, and playful, which is shown with the way she's always playing off of Jean-Bob with him trying to get her to kiss him and convince everyone he's a prince. Her wittiness is definitely shown with how Odette responds to Rothbart saying that she's starting to bug him by saying "I should think you'd be used to it by now." She's also very smart and quick thinking, which is shown when the sun goes down and Derek is about to shoot at her and Puffin by telling him to go and hide in the trees. She's quite heroic in her swan form because she saves Jean Bob quite a bit, saved Puffin in that scene I mentioned, and saving Bromley from drowning when he's thrown into the dungeon with her. She's also very confident and independent, which is shown with how she won't marry Derek (who she loves) until he tells her what he loves about her besides her looks. She's also a little reckless because she rushed off to Derek in her swan form without thinking. I can see and describe her personality quite vividly. She's a very unique heroine for the time she was created. During the 90's we were getting interesting female characters that where also action characters like Ariel, Mulan, Anastasia, Lola Bunny, Pocahontas, and so forth. But Odette was someone who was very much a modern woman but wasn't an action girl, yet she still spoke her mind and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. Plus we get to know her emotional struggle with her father being killed, being kidnapped, cursed to become a swan when the moon goes down, not being able to leave because she doesn't know where she is and she could be killed by hunters, and being separated from her true love. Unlike Aurora, we get more of her emotional turmoil about her situation and not just about her being separated from her love interest. While Aurora isn't a bad character, she's a one-dimensional character. Odette on the other hand is more fleshed out and has a three-dimensional personality. So, obvious point goes to Odette.
Round 2: Best Love Interest
Phillip often gets credit for being the first Disney Prince to actually do anything. The reason the past Disney Princes didn't do anything was because back then it was too expensive and difficult to draw handsome young men, like the princes. But does actually "doing stuff" make him a three-dimensional and interesting character? The answer, in my opinion, is NO! In fact, he's even more boring than Aurora. In the second half he doesn't even get a line. At least she has an excuse, she's put to sleep in the second half. We barely know anything about Phillip, he's even less developed than Aurora and is just as much of a plot device as her. He's just there to be who wakes up Aurora and are always being helped by the fairies. Yes, granted anyone would need help escaping a dungeon and fighting a dragon. But in real life, throwing a regular sword at a dragon, especially as all powerful as Maleficent, wouldn't kill it. If it wasn't for it being enchanted by the fairies, there is no way Maleficent would've died. But even before that he's constantly having things handed to him by the fairies and didn't have to show any effort. Phillip is a worse case of just letting someone do the dirty work for you than Aurora. Again, she's cursed and can't really do anything. Now do I think Phillip is useless and does nothing, no, I wouldn't go that far. I just think he gets WAY TOO MUCH credit for actually "doing stuff." Besides, his actions are one this, his personality is something completely different. Like Aurora, he's not fleshed out, he has a personality but it's not well-developed, he's bland, generic, standard, boring, and basic. But we at least see more of Aurora's personality and she has at least one interesting moment. When she's being all mischievous about meeting a stranger when it was all just a dream, that was interesting! I wanted to see more of that from her. Why couldn't they do that with her and him? He's just the stereotypical knight in shining armor, only without the shining armor lol.
Then we have Prince Derek, who in my opinion is definitely better than him. For those of you who say that he's a jerk that only cares about looks, I want to point out that a lot (not all) of those same people say this about Dimitri (whose an even bigger jerk) "He's a jerk but it's entertaining and interesting." Plus I'd like to point out that Derek's only "jerky" moment was saying "What else is there?," which he later said it only said that because he didn't know what else to say (yes, there's the moments he is mean to Odette growing up, but a lot of kids do that and he was just a kid). A lot of people, both male or female, don't know what to say in situations like that and end up saying stupid things. Although, when a guy does this he's apparently a jerk but if a girl does this than she's just so sympathetic and awkward. Either way, Dimitri was a much bigger jerk than Derek an was horribly developed. Derek simply didn't know what to say, which I identify with because I'm shy and never know what to say. I'm actually so shy that I sometimes get nervous just to message something to someone. But I digress. Being awkward with expressing yourself and how you feel about people don't make you a jerk. That's actually really closed-minded, ignorant, and prejudice. Not everyone is comfortable with it and it's something he learns to overcome. I think it's unique that there is an animated fairy-tale prince that actually doesn't know how to blurt out extremely romantic and poetic speeches to his princess on the spot. He's able to do that when he's along, as we see in Far Longer Than Forever. If you notice, he's only awkward about saying that kind of thing in front of people, especially Odette. He's trying to learn how to overcome this and eventually does. Plus I love how he just never stops fighting for Odette and is incredibly protective of her but knows she has a mind of her own. He won't let anything hurt her and is completely crushed when something bad does happen to her. He doesn't care if he dies in the process, as long as Odette doesn't stay dead. I'll get more into this during the best couple round. I love how he does have the typical personality traits of a hero like being dashing, daring, brave, determined, kind, charming, selfless, caring, sweet, and romantic but he also has his own unique traits. He's not good with words, he's a a little awkward (not much), confident but at the same time insecure (mainly about how to express words), admits immediately when he makes a mistake or is stupid, is a little bit of a jokester, and (though it's a minor moment) he lets his servants take a few days off after they get more hurt during practice than he thought they would. I can really tell A LOT of growth in him and that he really matures throughout the movie. So no contest for me, point goes to The Swan Princess.
Round 3: Best Villain
Well, this sure is a HUGE improvement over the last villains. These two are both great villains! Rothbart's plan is pretty complicated because he suddenly decides to let Odette die, just so Derek will make is vow to the wrong girl. Yes, there's the whole not just turning into the King and have the Hag turn into Odette, but to be fair, this was the same thing that happened in the original Swan Lake. As for the having Odette die, the spell does need to be broken by a vow of ever lasting love, but unfortunately the wrong vow can kill her. In the original Swan Lake, Rothbart would lose his powers if Odette broke the spell. But I digress. Unlike the original Rothbart, he realized that Odette wasn't going to do what he wanted and decided to just make sure the spell would never be broken and by having Derek make the vow to the wrong girl and let her die. He had finally had enough of Odette's sass and stubbornness, so he also did it out of spite, much like how Maleficent cursed Aurora in order to get back at her parents for not inviting her. He's menacing but he can also be entertaining and funny. Unlike Rasputin, there's a good balance and he doesn't look pathetic. As Naveen said about Dr. Facilier, "He was very charismatic." He's evil but isn't a stiff about it, clearly is over-the-top about loving how evil he is, especially during No More Mr. Nice Guy. He's like an animated Jim Carrey or a male Cruella De Vil, there's no doubt that he's sinister, loves every minute of it, is enjoyably hammy about it, and clearly is just doing whatever that hell he wants and doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks. I love villains that can be menacing and intimidating but also really fun and entertaining. I absolutely love him! He's an awesome and underrated character!
But then we have the Mistress of All Evil herself, Maleficent. Now let's ignore that awful live-action movie and just focus on the original animated character herself. There is no doubt that she's just an awesome villain and is considered the best Disney villain of all time. She's always been portrayed as the leader of the Disney villains, particularly in Kingdom Hearts. I mean she's classy, elegant, sinister, clever, cruel, despicable, and is everything you want in a great villain. She's my absolute favorite thing about Sleeping Beauty, so I guess I'm spoiling who won this round by saying Maleficent obviously wins. Not just because female villains are much more interesting than male villains (which they are), but also because she is such so deliciously evil. She curses a baby just because she gets snubbed at a party, but the extremes that she'll go to just to get what she wants is just so freaking awesome. She knows that letting the child grow up and have her parents get to know her and love her (along with everyone else) and then die would be a lot more cruel than just killing the child at that moment. She even says in her gift that she will be beloved by all who know her, just so she hurts more people. BOY THAT IS SO AMAZINGLY CRUEL! I also just LOVE the scene where she loses her temper at her idiotic minions. She acts calm and level-headed most of the time but when she loses her temper, you better watch out. Plus she turns into a freaking DRAGON! The Great Animal was awesome but it can't compete with a dragon! So both are great but point goes to Sleeping Beauty.
Round 4: Best Sidekicks
One of the things that makes both of these movies so fantastic is that the sidekicks are so likable, memorable, and actually do help with the story. They're not just pointless comedy relief that was meant to have a point but you really you wouldn't miss in terms of story like Olaf from Frozen or the Mice from Cinderella. The Three Good Fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) are all so unique for the time they were created. They were describe as old women versions of Huey, Dewey, and Louie but still have their own distinct personalities, unlike Donald Duck's nephews that basically had the same personality. It would've been really easy to just to give them the same personality but instead they did the smart thing and gave them their own individual personalities. They're the real protagonists in this movie! Most of the time is spent with them, it's seen through their perspective, and they're pretty much doing all the work. They're the first Disney females to be this proactive. Forget Aurora, they're the real protagonists! Forget Phillip, they're the real heroes! They come up with all the plans and try to fix any mistakes they make. They're just so entertaining and funny! The scene where they're preparing for Aurora's birthday but they're doing a horrible job and then later they do a good job because they're using magic but Flora and Merryweather are fighting over the color of the dress. I wonder why they didn't just make a compromise and just make it purple. They're definitely one of the main highlights of the movie, second best thing after Maleficent. They're a little ditzy but they're still very smart, resourceful, and brave. I guess when people say that a movie was just about the character they like the most that isn't the main character, that's what they did with the fairies. They're just AWESOME!
Then we've got Puffin, Speed, and Jean-Bob from The Swan Princess, who are also really likable and unique. Puffin acts like a leader (similarly to Flora) that comes up with all the ideas and plans, Speed that is a slow (except when he's in the water) and has a voice that matches it but is also a wisecracker, and then Jean-Bob who is a French Frog that thinks he's a prince and is always trying to get Odette to kiss him to turn him back into a prince but is still a good friend that (while he'll resist at first) will ultimately help his friends (especially the lovely Odette). They're so entertaining and are really useful. I've head some people complain that they should've been swans because in Swan Lake, Odette's friends were swans. But I feel like this gives them more of their own identity and it's better not to have them be swans. These characters are so likable and funny. I mean, John Cleese actually does the voice of Jean-Bob and he actually passed up a chance to voice Zazu from The Lion King to be Jean-Bob. Besides, an African bird with a French accent? I DON'T THINK SO! But while they're incredibly likable, I think I'll have to go with the Three Good Fairies. So point goes to Sleeping Beauty!
Round 5: Best Side Characters
Both movies have likable side characters but it's time to see whose more likable. Sleeping Beauty's side characters are King Stephan, King Hubert, Sampson, Queen Leah, and the guitar playing servant who gets drunk. The Kings are very entertaining, even though the scene where they're drinking really doesn't lead to anywhere in terms of story. But they're very funny and enjoyable, even though they're scenes aren't all that essential. Sampson is a very enjoyable character, that surprisingly is more interesting than his rider. But there's not much to him like most of the side characters. The drunk is pretty funny but again, not much to him. Although I do wonder how Disney managed to get away with having a character being drunk in one of their animated movies. With the way people complain about anything small in a Disney film, I'm surprised no one has complained about this. Anyway, the last character we have is Queen Leah, who honestly doesn't have much to her. She's even more boring than Aurora and Phillip and definitely doesn't have anything else to her but her beauty. So the side characters are good, not great, and don't have much to them.
But then we have an incredible cast of characters in The Swan Princess! You've got Queen Uberta, King William, Rogers, Chamberland, and Bromley. Queen Uberta has always been one of the most popular characters in the franchise, she's especially loved in the second movie where she's kidnapped by the villain but is pretty much making him miserable, having his evil minion act as her servant, and is making everyone watching laugh their asses off in the process. She's very entertaining in the original movie and it figures because she's voiced by funny girl, Sandy Duncan. She'll fool people with her elegant, classy, and demure behavior but will act comedic and crazy. She's not a traditional queen like Aurora's mother, which is one of the great things about her. She doesn't depend on a king, in fact, I'm willing to bet when Derek's father was alive that she was the one calling the shots. She's energetic, short-tempered, hilarious, crazy, and knows how to intimidate people. She's everything you want in a comedic female side character. Then you have Rogers, who is again, one of the most popular characters in the franchise. He's funny, clever, logical, manipulative towards Bromley, is a great advisor to Derek, and clearly isn't afraid to share his opinion. He definitely is a great character to work off of Uberta in their comedic moments, along with tormenting Bromley and his stupidity. Plus, he says something that definitely will win The Swan Princess this round, which we will get to later. King William is shown as a kind and caring man towards his people, friends, and daughter. He's also pretty funny during This Is My Idea. I love how unlike most father's during this time period that just force their daughter to marry, that he just tries to talk to her and asks what else he wanted Derek to say. They actually talk about the situation and try to understand each other. Is it long enough to be extremely developed? No, but he did die just a few minutes later. I really did feel sad about his death, not like I did with the deaths of Mufasa, Littlefoot's mother, or Bambi's mom, but still sad enough. Plus his death and the love he had for his daughter help Odette stay strong with not giving in to Rothbart. I will give Aurora's parents credit that they gave up raising their child, just to make sure she'd be safe. But we don't get to see much of the emotion that Aurora felt for them or much interaction between them. I mean when they're reunited, Aurora just casually hugs her mother like it's no big deal and her father just strokes her like she's a pet. Rapunzel's being reunited with her parents is really emotional and is the perfect way to be reunited. But I digress. Chamberland, while he doesn't have much to him, is funny and is clearly afraid of Uberta, which gives potential to some really good comedic moments. Bromley is sort of just Derek's fat and stupid friend, but he does have a necessary point at the end of the movie and is pretty funny, especially when it comes to Rogers tormenting him. If all of this isn't enough to prove that The Swan Princess deserves to win this round, this should. Rogers saying to Derek after the whole "what else is there?" thing this "You should write a book! How to offend women in five syllables or less!" POINT GOES TO THE SWAN PRINCESS!
Round 6: Best Evil Minions
Ehhh... I think the win is obvious here. The Swan Princess, but I guess I'll explain why. Maleficent's evil minions are complete idiots that thought for sixteen years that they were looking for a baby. As Maleficent put it, "they're hopeless, a DISGRACE to the forces of evil." Her bird is alright but nothing all that special or interesting. In fact, he can be a little annoying. The evil minion in The Swan Princess, Bridget, who would later go to become a reformed sidekick in the sequels, is WAY better. But first a little background on her character. Her character is based off Rothbart's daughter, Odile, that turned into Odette to get the Prince to make the vow to the wrong girl. He had only known Odette for one day, so Odile corrected him by saying her name is Odile, which made more sense when he made the vow to the wrong girl. That of course couldn't work here because Derek and Odette have known each other all their lives. Although, in Swan Lake, Odile was a young beautiful woman that was about Odette's age, here her name is Bridget and is an ugly old woman. She has a lot of funny moments and a lot of the time doesn't even talk. It's pretty unique that an evil minion would be an old lady. I LOVE her! She's freaking hilarious! Point goes to The Swan Princess.
Round 7: Best Songs
I'm actually in the minority here but I don't find the songs in Sleeping Beauty to be memorable, with the exception of Once Upon A Dream, of course. But the others, I hardly even remember or think about. I can hum the tunes but the songs really aren't that memorable, with the exception of Once Upon A Time. I Wonder is a good song but not memorable, The Gifts is pretty to listen to but is easy to forget, the song the Kings thing isn't memorable and is pretty lame, and the song that plays when the Fairies are putting everyone to sleep is nice but I don't remember the lyrics or the name of it. This movie doesn't even really have very many songs when you think of it. The Swan Princess has a huge variety of songs that transition well, help move the story along (for the most part), and has a great broadway feel to it that I just LOVE! I absolutely ADORE these songs and can listen to all of them CONSTANTLY and never get tired of it. I'm usually listening to The Swan Princess songs when I'm getting dressed, even some when I was writing this article. I think it's just as good as any of the Disney movies soundtracks. It's one of the best soundtracks of any animated movie in my opinion. So point goes to The Swan Princess!
Round 8: Best Instrumental Score
The score in The Swan Princess is definitely beautiful, however, it's kind of odd that a movie based off a ballet didn't use any of the music from the original ballet. I think that maybe the movie would've done better if it used Tchaikovsky's music but kept the songs in the movie and just found a way to get it to fit the style. But again, the instrumental score is beautiful but after listening to the original score from Swan Lake, it's really not as good. The instrumental score in Sleeping Beauty actually does have Tchaikovsky's music and it's of course fantastic. It's romantic, suspenseful, exciting, epic, and absolutely brilliant! So, while I do love the instrumental score in The Swan Princess, I definitely have to go with the score from Sleeping Beauty.
Round 9: Best Animation
Both movies have beautiful animation but is it really fair to compare their animation? Sleeping Beauty's animation was very expensive and The Swan Princess was made by a small company and didn't have as much money as Disney. If it had the same budget as a Disney movie it probably would've had better animation. But the animation is still very beautiful to look at, even if it is a little lackluster. But Odette's transformation definitely is gorgeous to look at and is easily the best piece of animation in the movie. The backgrounds are also very beautiful. However, Sleeping Beauty did have a bigger budget and was Disney's attempt at making an animated movie have a style different from the past movie, which they definitely succeeded at. But does that mean it's good. Well, one problem I have with the animation is that that character's eyes are black and colorless, their skin is pink, and a lot of their colors are pretty inconsistent, particularly with Aurora. The background I've actually grown to love but is still a little too detailed in my opinion. But it's still beautiful, not as good as the animation in the Disney Renaissance but still pretty impressive. The characters to have more details to their looks than the characters in The Swan Princess. Plus when the scenes are paintings, like the gifts and Aurora sleeping, it looks absolutely gorgeous. So while both movies animation have their problems, they're still beautiful, but I definitely have to go with the animation in Sleeping Beauty.
Round 10: Best Couple
I'll be perfectly honest when I say, even for a fairy-tale love at first sight movie, Aurora and Phillip aren't a good couple at all. With these kinds of stories, I'll cut them slack if they have chemistry or a decent amount of interaction, which Aurora and Phillip don't. They meet, she tries to get away from him, he can't take a hint and keeps pursuing her, he sings to her, and suddenly they're in love. They don't even know each others names. Yes, he fight a dragon for her but why should I care? If I haven't gotten invested in the couple with their VERY LITTLE amount of interaction and lack of chemistry. They're just a typical, standard, basic, boring, generic, and lackluster fairy-tale couple. Nothing special and I don't care about them as a couple in my brutally honest opinion.
Then we've got Odette and Derek, who surprisingly get A LOT of hate from people. Yet a lot of these people love Anya and Dimitri, who are A LOT worse as a couple. With Odette and Derek, yes they don't get a long at first and fight over the years but there are subtle hints to them secretly liking each other. I mean, Odette as a preteen is constantly following Derek and Bromley, like most girls at that age with when it comes to boys, unfortunately boys at that age think that girls have cooties. Along with that, Derek as a teenager is shown to have some interest in her, though he won't show it. When Bromley said that he thinks Derek kind of, sort of like her, Derek doesn't deny it, he simply says that he'd like her better if she'd lose them cards. He doesn't deny it, whenever a guy doesn't like someone and someone says they do, they'll instantly deny it, which he doesn't. Plus if you noticed, when Odette and her father are leaving on their boat, at first Derek is just pouting, but then his face softens up, and he slowly turns to look at Odette leaving when he thinks no one is looking (right until she sling-shots a tomato at him lol).
Then we have them when they're grown up and I've said already that Derek just isn't good at expressing himself, which is why he said "What else is there?" and not because he's superficial. Odette loves him but refuses to marry him until he can express what he loves about her besides her looks. Derek obviously loves her for more than just her looks, if he didn't than he would've just gave up on her when it got difficult. Would you hunt down a dangerous animal, try to break a spell, and risk your life to defeat an evil wizard just for someone you love for their looks and nothing more? I don't think so! Derek learns how to grow and his love for Odette is what helps with it. He thought he'd be able to express his feelings for Odette but was so blinded by his love for Odette that he mistook the take Odette for the real one. He was even suspicious of the fake Odette because he felt something was different about her, it was only when she present to him her locket that he returned to her when he found her that he thought she must be the real Odette. He even runs after Odette in her swan form, knowing she was dying, to find some way of saving her and to at least say some final word about his love for her and how he's sorry. Odette doesn't say "Derek... how could you?" because she knows that he meant the vow to be for her, he even says that the vow was for her, and she simple replies "I know... I love you Derek..." before she died. But he refused to let her die and was willing to risk his life to save hers. He didn't care if he died, as long as she would live. He fought with even fiber of his being to save her, even though he was close to death himself, since Rothbart as the Great Animal is too powerful. But in the end Derek did defeat him and his love for Odette is part of what helped bring her back and broke the spell. The vow said he had to make a vow of ever lasting love and prove it to the world. However, the spell didn't specify what it meant by the world. From what I see, having a room full of people isn't the world but rather is just one person who is Derek's entire world to him, Odette herself. He finally said what else he loved about her, her kindness and courage, which is what broke the spell. He learns how to express his feelings and appreciate the ones he loves while they're in his life because you might not always have them, so you should always cherish every moment with them while you can. They vow to love each other far longer than forever. "Well, there you have it... ever lasting love." Point definitely goes to The Swan Princess!
Round 11: Best Plot/Writing
Unlike with Anastasia and Pocahontas, which were movies that depended on logic (for the most part), these films depend completely on emotion like any fairy-tale does. So any "plot-holes" these have I cut them slack because they're not suppose to have logic. It's like in The Wizard of Oz, you don't question how the Witch could've gone her whole life without having water on her. However, that's not to say there aren't some problems with the writing. But for now let's just talk about the plot. Both of them have interesting plots that involve princesses under a curse that can only be broken by true love, that's pretty much the bases but are still different. However, I do find the story of The Swan Princess to be a lot more interesting because the whole deep sleep has been done a lot more and isn't as unique. About the writing, The Swan Princess unfortunately has one big problem and that's the whole moon thing. What I mean by that is that one night it was a full moon but the very next night is was a crescent and then there would be no moon the next night. How did that happen? I think it would've made sense if Rothbart was aware of Odette wondering off to find Derek and knew that Derek was throwing a ball where he would likely invite Odette if he found her then Rothbart just decided to use magic to change the shape of the moon. That would be clever and diabolical. But really, that's the only real plot-hole in The Swan Princess. However, while the romance is fantastic, they could've had them fall in love slower during This Is My Idea, so it's more believable to other people who don't notice subtle hints. But overall, at a movie that depends on emotion, it's a very well-written fairy-tale movie. As for Sleeping Beauty, it doesn't really have any plot-holes but it's writing it a little unbalanced. Aurora and Phillip hardly have any scenes because most of the time is spent with the Fairies, Maleficent, and even the Kings (which doesn't really lead to anywhere). We don't get to see enough of Phillip and Aurora, they're not very well-developed in personalities, we don't get to see their inner emotional struggles like we do with Odette and Derek, we don't get a good insight on their relationships with the other characters, and it's odd that Maleficent depended on her idiotic evil minions that she CLEARLY shouldn't trust with something so important. Plus like I said, the songs aren't very memorable with the exception of Once Upon A Dream. So, I think The Swan Princess deserves this point for having a good character balance, better relationships, great focus on emotional struggles, and just an overall more interesting plot.
Round 12: Best Ending
Both movies had amazing climaxes but what about the happy endings that happen afterwards? Well, in my opinion, Sleeping Beauty's was good but was pretty lackluster. Phillip kisses Aurora, the unrealistically nonchalant reunion of Aurora with her parents, and the Fairies fighting over the color of the dress. It's just nothing really special. The Swan Princess ending is beautiful in my opinion. They Derek and Odette are married, Rogers gets to torment Bromley one last time, Odette kisses Jean-Bob and he thinks he turned into a prince (but he didn't), Odette and Derek proclaim their love for each other one last time before their iconic kiss, we zoom out with a stunning painting, and swans flying by. It's a fantastic and perfect ending to the movie. So point goes to The Swan Princess.
Overall Winner: The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess: 8 Points
Sleeping Beauty: 4 Points