The very thin plot is a rehash of the previous film, involving another betrayed accomplice of the original villain, Rothbart - this time, a witch named Zelda - trying to get at some magic left in Rothbart's old castle...which our heroes are inexplicably living in.
The original three animal sidekicks are still the closest this series has to memorable characters. Speed the turtle and Puffin the puffin are OK, by virtue of their cool voices. Jean-Bob the would-be frog price is tolerable. Every other character in the film is annoying - bickering, whining and generally acting like jerks - except the titular princess, Odette, who can't muster enough character to be anything, including annoying.
Each film in the trilogy involves Prince Derek being wrong and having to find a way to make it up to Odette - she is, as one character states, "always right." This makes Derek an unlikable idiot and Odette dull and one-dimensional.
A bird named Whizzer joins the cast. Picture Fife from Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas on massive amounts of sugar and helium. He fills the role of "reluctant villain's accomplice" that seems to pop up a lot in these direct-to-video films. And for some reason, the whole first scene is about him.
There's a lot of fluff about a festival, including a talent show and an obstacle course. There's also a romantic subplot of sorts for Lord Rogers (or as I call him, Grimsby Cogsworth), that goes nowhere, save for killing more time with a long musical number.
The animation is passable - Rogers actually looks a little less creepy in this one - but it says something about the budget when they re-use the title card (and its fancy effects animation) from the original film.
I suppose children or adults who remember it from their own childhoods might like it. But there are much, much better animated films out there that also feature princesses in pretty dresses, animal sidekicks, scheming villains and musical numbers - and actually know what to do with them! :)
The original three animal sidekicks are still the closest this series has to memorable characters. Speed the turtle and Puffin the puffin are OK, by virtue of their cool voices. Jean-Bob the would-be frog price is tolerable. Every other character in the film is annoying - bickering, whining and generally acting like jerks - except the titular princess, Odette, who can't muster enough character to be anything, including annoying.
Each film in the trilogy involves Prince Derek being wrong and having to find a way to make it up to Odette - she is, as one character states, "always right." This makes Derek an unlikable idiot and Odette dull and one-dimensional.
A bird named Whizzer joins the cast. Picture Fife from Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas on massive amounts of sugar and helium. He fills the role of "reluctant villain's accomplice" that seems to pop up a lot in these direct-to-video films. And for some reason, the whole first scene is about him.
There's a lot of fluff about a festival, including a talent show and an obstacle course. There's also a romantic subplot of sorts for Lord Rogers (or as I call him, Grimsby Cogsworth), that goes nowhere, save for killing more time with a long musical number.
The animation is passable - Rogers actually looks a little less creepy in this one - but it says something about the budget when they re-use the title card (and its fancy effects animation) from the original film.
I suppose children or adults who remember it from their own childhoods might like it. But there are much, much better animated films out there that also feature princesses in pretty dresses, animal sidekicks, scheming villains and musical numbers - and actually know what to do with them! :)