Happily Ever After (1993 film)

Happily Ever After

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Howley
Produced by Lou Scheimer
Written by Robby London
Martha Moran
Starring Irene Cara
Malcolm McDowell
Carol Channing
Edward Asner
Dom DeLuise
Phyllis Diller
Music by Frank Becker
Edited by Joe Gall
Jeffrey C. Patch
Rick Gehr
Production
company
Filmation Associates
Kel Air Productions
Distributed by First National Film Corp.
Release dates
  • June 20, 1990 (1990-06-20) (France)
  • May 28, 1993 (1993-05-28) (United States)
Running time
 75 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $3,299,382[1]

Happily Ever After (also known as Snow White in the Land of Doom, Snow White: Happily Ever After and Happily Ever After: Snow White's Greatest Adventure) is a 1993 American animated film written by Robby London and Martha Moran and directed by John Howley. The film stars Irene Cara, Malcolm McDowell, Edward Asner, Carol Channing, Dom DeLuise and Phyllis Diller. Its story is a continuation of the fairy tale "Snow White", wherein the titular heroine and the Prince are about to be married, but the late evil Queen's brother Lord Maliss appears to seek revenge upon them. The film replaces the Dwarfs with their female cousins, called the Dwarfelles.

Happily Ever After is unrelated to Filmation's fellow A Snow White Christmas, a television animated film that was the company's earlier Snow White sequel. It was troubled by severe legal problems with The Walt Disney Company, and had a poor financial and critical reception, resulting in the bankruptcy of Filmation. A video game adaptation was released in 1994.

Plot

The Looking Glass recaps the story of "Snow White." The wicked Queen has been vanquished and the kingdom is at peace as Snow White and the Prince prepare to marry. But the Queen's equally evil wizard brother, Lord Maliss, comes to her castle, where he learns of his sister's demise and vows to avenge her death. He transforms into a dragon and attacks Snow White and the Prince as they travel to the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. He kidnaps the Prince, but Snow White manages to flee.

Snow White reaches the cottage and meets the Dwarfs' female cousins, the Seven "Dwarfelles": Muddy, Sunburn, Blossom, Marina, Critterina, Moonbeam, and Thunderella. The Dwarfs have left the cottage, but the Dwarfelles gladly assist Snow White, taking her to visit Mother Nature at Rainbow Falls. Mother Nature has given the Dwarfelles individual powers to assist her; she holds Thunderella accountable for not mastering her powers, and accuses the other Dwarfelles of improperly using their powers. Lord Maliss, in his dragon form, attacks them but Mother Nature shoots him with lightning, causing him to crash and return to his human form. Before leaving, Lord Maliss tells Snow White that the Prince is held in his castle.

Snow White and the Dwarfelles travel to Lord Maliss' castle in the Realm of Doom, along the way encountering a strange cloaked humanoid known as the "Shadow Man." Lord Maliss sends his one-horned wolves after the group, and they manage to escape with the help of the "Shadow Man." Lord Maliss is furious at this failure and transforms into his dragon form, finally successfully capturing Snow White and taking her to the castle. The Dwarfelles follow them and sneak into the castle as well.

In the castle, Snow White is reunited with her Prince, who takes her through a secret passage to supposedly escape. The Prince is actually Lord Maliss in disguise, and attempts to throw a magic red cloak on Snow White in order to petrify her into stone. He almost succeeds, but is attacked by the "Shadow Man." The Dwarfelles arrive and attack Lord Maliss but fail and become petrified themselves. The last to be unharmed is Thunderella, who finally regains control of her powers and assists Snow White subdue Lord Maliss. The cloak is thrown on him, and Lord Maliss is petrified in mid-transition between his human and dragon forms.

As the sun shines onto the castle, Snow White mourns the "Shadow Man" until Mother Nature arrives. The "Shadow Man" actually turns out to be the Prince, having been transformed into that form by Lord Maliss, and he is restored to his normal form. Mother Nature states that the Dwarfelles have proven themselves, and are permitted to attend Snow White's wedding. Snow White and the Prince are reunited, and begin to live happily ever after.

Cast

Songs

Production

Filmation had previously developed a plan to create a series of direct-to-video sequels to popular Disney motion pictures, but only this film and Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night were ever completed. The film was eventually released during the same summer that Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was re-released theatrically.[2] Sued by The Walt Disney Company in 1987,[3] Filmation promised their characters would not resemble the ones from the Disney version.[4] It was also the reason Filmation changed the title of the film from the original Snow White in the Land of Doom to Happily Ever After.[5]

Release

Happily Ever After was originally supposed to be a 1990 release in the United States. While it received a 1990 theatrical release in France, it was not released to theaters in the United States until May 28, 1993.[6] when it took only $1.76 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend[7] preceded by a $10 million advertising campaign from the distributor First National Film Corp.[3] The distributor tried to popularize it by creating and selling dragon stickers as well as Seven Dwarfelle dolls; it also gained a commercial tie-in with Chiquita bananas. First National's bankruptcy followed just weeks after the film's failed premiere.

Reception

Despite a substantial advertising campaign and having been expected to become "one of the biggest hits of the year," Happily Ever After did poorly in the box office during its theatrical run.[4] Its domestic gross was only $3,299,382.[1]

Critics generally disliked the film. According to Stephen Holden of The New York Times, "visually, Happily Ever After is mundane. The animation is jumpy, the settings flat, the colors pretty but less than enchanting. The movie's strongest element is its storytelling, which is not only imaginative but also clear and smoothly paced."[8] Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times opined the characters (especially the Prince) were "bland" and called the film's songs "instantly forgettable."[9] Rita Kemple of The Washington Post derided the "inane" humor attempts as well as "badly drawn characters" and their "clumsy" animation.[10] Steve Daly of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a score of F and recommended to "give this Snow White the big kiss-off."[11] Chicago Tribune's Mark Caro wrote that the comparison with Disney's classic Snow White "couldn't be more brutal."[12]

Some other reviews were more positive. Jeff Shannon of Seattle Times opined "this one's a cut above in the animation contest, deserving attention in the once-exclusive realm of Disney and Don Bluth. It almost, but not quite, escapes those nagging comparisons."[13] Ralph Novak of People wrote that although "the animation is less sophisticated than the Disney standard," the story "moves nicely, though," with a "colorful" cast of voices.[14] Candice Russell of Sun-Sentinel called it "a sweet and likable film," crediting a screenplay "that avoids cuteness and sentimentality and remembers that kiddie fare is fun" and "a few charming songs adding to the merriment."[15]

Video game

An unreleased Nintendo Entertainment System video game was planned in 1990.[16] A Sega game was also considered in 1993.[3] An eventual Super Nintendo Entertainment System version was developed by ASC Games and released by Imagitec Design four years later (and one year after the film's release) in 1994.

References

  1. 1 2 "Happily Ever After (1993)". Box Office Mojo. 1993-06-18. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  2. ↑ Bates, James (1993-05-17). "Someday the Film Will Come". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  3. 1 2 3 "A Snow White For The '90s - Orlando Sentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 1993-05-27. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  4. 1 2 "Non-Disney 'Snow White' Sequel Has Unhappy Box-Office Opening". Apnewsarchive.com. 1993-06-01. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  5. ↑ SNOW WHITE REVISITED: THE QUEEN'S DEAD, BUT CONFLICT ISN'T BANISHED, Dayton Daily News, May 28, 1993.
  6. ↑ "Snow White through the years - Timelines - Los Angeles Times". Timelines.latimes.com.s3-website-us-west-1.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  7. ↑ Snow White sequel opens on a sad note, Lodi News-Sentinel, June 2, 1993.
  8. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1993-05-29). "Review/Film; 56 Years Later, More of Snow White". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  9. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (1993-05-28). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Happily Ever After': Sadly Disappointing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  10. ↑ Rita Kempley, Happily Ever After’, The Washington Post, May 29, 1993
  11. ↑ Steve Daly, Happily Ever After, Entertainment Weekly, Jun 04, 1993.
  12. ↑ Mark Caro (1993-05-31). "Dwarfed By The Real Thing - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  13. ↑ Shannon, Jeff (1993-05-28). "Entertainment & the Arts | Snow White Cartoon Nice To Look At But Too Preachy | Seattle Times Newspaper". Community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  14. ↑ Novak, Ralph. "Picks and Pans Review: Happily Ever After". People.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  15. ↑ CANDICE RUSSELL, Film Writer (1993-06-02). "Feature Takes Children Beyond Happy Ending Of `Snow White` - Sun Sentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  16. ↑ Nintendo Power 16.

External links

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