maringlecoq
Because of the circumstances surrounding its release, "Happily Ever After" has a reputation as a cheap knockoff of the Walt Disney feature film, a lazy cashgrab relying on the original's good name. And while I won't argue that this sort of thing wasn't the executives' reasoning... watching "Happily Ever After" is a far more pleasant experience than you'd think.Of course, the animation can't hope to match the theatrical wonder of the 1937 classic, but it's actually pretty solid. There's never an off-model frame and the characters are rarely static; some of the character animation is also lively and, if not exactly Disney-quality, at least the sort of thing you'd see in a Don Bluth film. I'm thinking especially of Lord Maliss, Mother Nature and Snow White. There are also some nice effects, such as lightning, sprinkled through the feature. It's direct-to-video, but it's *good* direct-to-video; I daresay it's better than *some* of what Disney themselves have put out over the years.Naturally, Filmation could only skirt towards Disney's iconic designs, and perhaps the different appearance of Snow White and co. may be off-putting to some, but in truth, those designs *work*. Sure, Prince Florian is now a red-head, but... who cares, really? The design for Snow White in particular manages to be both pretty and original without straying *too* jarringly from the classic look. The only real downside here might be the Magic Mirror (inexplicably voiced by Dom DeLouise of all people), who feels like a badly-done parody of the original. The new characters aren't too bad either. Lord Maliss isn't exactly a complex villain, nor does he have the most original design in the book, but Malcom McDowell's acting is delightful in an over-the-top, Corey-Burton-as-Captain-Hook sort of way, and there's no denying his evil powers are, to put it simply, "way cool". The Dwarfelles may have the tackiest name in the history of animation, but they are actually engaging in their own way, and far from being just genderbent versions of the original Dwarfs; tying them to different elements and making them the apprentices of a personified Mother Nature is an... off-the-wall idea, to be sure, but not actually a bad one. It's entertaining. Scowl the Owl and Batso are decent comic relief on the villains' side, though they feel more like Iago than like Queen Grimhilde's Norman the Raven in the original.That's really the best thing to say about "Happily Ever After": for all that it curries favor based on the original's fanbase, it's not a lazy retread of the original. The plot and scenes (despite one or two echo, like Snow's run through the Black Forest) are quite original, not a thinly disguised remake. That's not to say it's the best plot ever, but it's engaging and will definitely keep kids watching, though aspects of it are predictable for adults. The big flaw of "Happily Ever After" is neither in its visual nor plot, but in the soundtrack. Some of the acting is fine or even great (Irene Cara is a surprisingly great Snow White, and I've already mentioned McDowdell as Lord Maliss), but some of it on incidental characters is weaker; and most glaringly... god, the *music*. I didn't come in expecting another "Someday, My Prince Will Come", of course; but it is just about the blandest, most 90's-esque *mess* imaginable. Consider that Scowl the Owl has a rap number of a villain song. Yes. A RAP NUMBER. I kid thee not. To make matters worse, these songs are poorly segued into the story, with characters talking one moment and then suddenly, abruptly breaking into (terrible) singing. Did I mention the singing was terrible? Because yup, it is.Tracey Ullman's Thunderella sounds cute and nice when talking, but her lack of singing skill turns what might simply have been a *mediocre* song into an awful experience to sit through. As for the instrumental music playing behind non-singing scenes, it's similarly bland and uninspired, though rarely distracting.Still, a poor soundtrack is not enough to make a movie bad. It's no Disney Classic, but I'd definitely take "Happily Ever After" over a lot of Disney's own direct-to-DVD sequels (such as "Belle's Magical World" and "The Fox and the Hound II"). If you like the original "Snow White", or fairy-tale-type animation in general, I'd recommend you give it a watch... though you shouldn't come in with too high expectations.
wicks27
I really enjoy this movie. Yes it is corny and the animation is not the very best, which I still have it on v.h.s,( maybe if they digitally remastered it) since it is already 20 yrs old in technology. The songs are still inspirational as an adult, and it definitely has adult humor that I actually understand now and I enjoy the characters.I think for young kids it's really not suitable as Lord malice is scary (more so than a lot of other bad guys) and an owl that smokes.Overall I still watch this movie twice a year at most I never enjoyed the original snow white So I do generate towards this version a lot more I really like thunderella and the character mother nature.The comedy of a door mouse is so funny
Wizard-8
Even when I was a kid, I didn't like the various animated programs coming from the Filmation company - I thought that their cartoons were extremely crude. The only reason why I decided to see their production of "Happily Ever After" was that it was a feature length movie aimed at theaters, and I was curious to see if the animation would be any better. Not much, as it turns out. The art design and animation is only a hair better than their television product, and the general look of the movie is inconsistent, sometimes looking American while other times looking like it was made by European animators. But what really sinks the movie is the sorry script. The characters are thin and lacking any memorable personalities, and the story is extremely padded despite the running time being only around seventy-five minutes. This movie is certainly not for adults, but what about kids? Well, (really) young kids may be entertained, but if they have seen Disney's SNOW WHITE before seeing this sequel, I think even they would admit that this sequel is really lacking in comparison.
Julia Arsenault (ja_kitty_71)
I have an Aunt Sharon, and she had this film on VHS, and I would watched it every time I visit her; after that it has become one of my favorite animated films. I had love both Snow White films : Disney's version and this one, and now, I have the film on DVD.Like I said (a million times), I was shocked and surprised by the negative reviews I would see on the web, I thought it's a great sequel to the Snow White story by The Brothers Grimm, only instead of Seven Dwarfs there are Seven Dwarfelles in the film. I love the ending theme performed by Irene Cara, who also played the voice of Snow White in the film.
