- published: 09 May 2015
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World Masterpiece Fairytale Swan Lake (世界名作童話 白鳥の湖, Sekai Meisaku Dōwa Hakuchō no Mizūmi?) is an anime film based on the ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The film was released in Japan on 14 March 1981 by Toei.
The film was produced by the Japanese company Toei Animation and directed by Kimio Yabuki. The adaptation uses Tchaikovsky's score and remains relatively faithful to the story. Two separate English dubs were made, one featuring regular voice actors, and one using celebrities as the main principles (Pam Dawber as Odette, Christopher Atkins as Siegfried, Kay Lenz as Odille, and David Hemmings as Rothbart). The second dub aired on The Disney Channel in the early 1990s. It is presently distributed in France and the United Kingdom by Rouge Citron Production.
The hero, Prince Siegfried, is out riding one day with his friends when he sees a swan with a crown on its head swimming on a lake. One of his friends tries to shoot the swan, but just before his arrow flies, the friend is turned to stone. Siegfried's other friend accuses the swan of practising witchcraft, neither of them pondering the presence of a very wicked-looking owl just behind them. Siegfried is unable to stop thinking about the swan, and decides to follow it as it swims away from its spot on the lake. Siegfried soon finds himself at a tower-like castle.