The Trumpet of the Swan

Now, I haven't read the book so I can't exactly compare and even with movies for which I'm familiar with the source material I try to judge the movie on its own. But judged on its own I personally found Trumpet of the Swan very nice. It's not flawless, but then again few movies are. The animation is nice and crisp, if a little dry at times, and I don't understand why people complain about the swans having hair because otherwise it would be hard to tell them apart. As for the songs, they aren't actually that bad. "Louie, Louie, Louie" I always have a hard time getting out of my head and "Serena" is a lovely song. Trumpet of the Swan's weakness is that it's a little slow at times and I wish Serena had been a bit more developed, but for the most part The Trumpet of the Swan is still pretty enjoyable. It's not Secret of NIMH, The Last Unicorn, Spirited Away, or Lady and the Tramp but neither is it Secret of NIMH 2, Titanic the Animated Movie, or Spider's Web: A Pig's Tale.

With so few votes, it appears that few have seen this movie. I am a bit shocked at its low rating. It is barely 70 minutes long, the voice-acting is very good, with Reese Witherspoon, Jason Alexander, Carol Burnett, and others. It is about a hatchling trumpeter swan who doesn't have a voice. How can he "trumpet" and attract a mate? How about if he gets a real trumpet and learns to play?? I got this DVD on loan from my county library system, I planned to watch a few minutes of it late last night, to see if I wanted to see the whole thing, but found it so captivating that I couldn't stop. It is a total fantasy, with a brief commentary about the plight of trumpeter swans, but overall a nice diversion which would be enjoyed by any children, or childish grandfathers like me!

The critic Ebert has a complete review, however I believe his rating is a bit low for this charming little cartoon.

Now, I'm not one who likes picking apart a film, because of differences from the book, but ... I'm okay with praising it for accuracy.

My children and I had just finished reading the book, when we saw this in the discount section at the store. Well, we just couldn't resist giving it a try. We all truly enjoyed it.

Most of the details are true to the book, but more important than that, the spirit of it remained in tact.

With a strong moral lesson (or two) I really enjoy this just for causing you (and kids) to spend some time thinking about things that matter. It is also very upbeat overall, despite some more serious moments while the characters face large personal dilemmas. The voice talents were impressive and the animation was adorable and engaging.

The only negatives I have to say about this one are not a big deal, but there are two very weak characters. The 'mean kid' is totally unconvincing and pretty annoying and the camp coach is just confusing. (I don't understand what he says or why he is like that. Is it supposed to be funny?) But, since both of their roles are relatively minor, they don't ruin the film. So, sit back with the kids and maybe some popcorn and enjoy.

You don't have to tell me that cuteness alone is not a factor by which an entire movie can be judged. But even so, this movie just has so much cuteness that one could actually sit through it and keep him engrossed. Besides which the movie isn't very long at all and barely touches 70 minutes and therefore, you aren't really likely to get bored. The dubbing or lip syncing does seem a bit subpar though and I don't know if they've done that intentionally? I would recommend this movie for young children as they would certainly appreciate. As an adult or parent, if you have nothing better to do than watching this short film may leave you warm and fuzzy inside. Nothing wrong with that is there?

This movie was not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but I did enjoyed far more than I thought I would. Most of the story is true the book of the same name by E.B. White. Except of course for the song & dance numbers (which were terribly annoying and for the most part unessecary) and a couple of characters were

also not in the book (the talking squirrels are a few).

The Trumpet Of the Swan would be best enjoyed by children ages 3-10, beyond

that the movie seems hokie.

4 out of 10 stars.