Movies

Find Jobs | News | Advice/Tools | How to Search

6.29.2001
Young children will like Ugly Duckling spinoff
BY MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal Arts Writer

Movie credits and rating

The Trumpet of the Swan is a pleasant animated feature geared to small children that puts a new spin on The Ugly Duckling.

In that Hans Christian Andersen tale, a misfit duckling later turns into a beautiful swan.

In The Trumpet of the Swan, based on a children's book by E.B. White, author of Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, little Louie is already a swan. Louie's problem is that he was born unable to make a sound.

This distresses Louie's father (voice by Jason Alexander), a trumpet swan who is famous across the lakes of Montana for his trumpeting call. Louie's mother (Mary Steenburgen) frets that he won't be able to mate with a lady swan . . . and Louie has already shown an interest in the pretty Serena (Reese Witherspoon).

In order to give his son a voice, Papa Swan smashes into a music store window and steals a trumpet. Now Louie has a "voice," but he still can't communicate with the other swans. So Louie goes to school to learn to read and write, although later he discovers that that hasn't helped at all since none of the other swans can read or write and so can't understand him. However, Louie's schooling leads to my favorite line in the movie, delivered by a human boy who says to a bully: "You can't discriminate against him just because he's poultry."

That's about as clever as the writing gets in The Trumpet of the Swan, which is built around a series of small adventures. Louie saves a boy from going over a waterfall. Louie heads to Boston, becomes famous for his trumpet-playing and moves into the Ritz Carlton Hotel with his agent, a former hobo. Louie makes lots of money and flies back to Montana so his father, who is feeling guilty, can pay the music store owner for the stolen trumpet.

The story is presented simply and straightforwardly with few frills. One of the most amusing moments comes when Louie meets a Boston squirrel who has the voice of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Very young children will probably like The Trumpet of the Swan, although there is one violent scene near the end when for a moment it appears that Papa Swan has been assassinated. Older children will probably wish they'd been taken to Atlantis or Lara Croft: Tomb Raider instead.

***

The Trumpet of the Swan

Starring : Voices by Jason Alexander, Mary Steenburgen, Reese Witherspoon, Seth Green, Carol Burnett, Joe Montegna.

Producers: A TriStar Pictures release written by Judy Rothman Rofe from the book by E.B. White, directed by Richard Rich and Terry L. Noss.

Playing : Patriot East Providence cinemas.

Rated : G, contains violence.

Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.