One of the many adaptations of this story. It is funny that the fairy tale is attributed to the authorship of both Hans Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, although in fact they only recorded it. In fact, the Wild Swans, aka the Twelve Swans, is a Danish legend, probably from the 12th century. There are many variants, but they differ only in detail, in particular - the number of brothers.
This film adaptation contains a certain amount of semen, for example, communication with hallucinatory men, tears, but the main plot remains completely true. Everything is done beautifully, emotionally, with dignity. Anime of the early period, which was absolutely adequate, so almost did not differ from the world animation.
Alas, there is a huge amount of stupidity. I am aware that half of the disadvantages listed below are centuries old and it is too late to criticize, but I will do it anyway. The director of the film adaptation can insert something from himself, patch holes, but he left them:
- The king travels and hunts alone, without an entourage.
- His children live in an idyllic but wild place, also without any guards. And that is why such an unpleasant incident happens to them.
"No one knows the way there, not even the king himself" - he has gone after the ball many times. The place is within walking distance. The king couldn't remember the easy road?
- Eliza is acting like an exile for no reason. Going to see my father after the incident would be the first idea. Some versions of the tale explain that the king kicked her out because she was enchanted by her appearance, he did not recognize her. But here she doesn't just go to him.
- Why don't they fly to the palace by sunset and meet with their father to explain the situation to him?
"In the winter we have to fly to the cold countries" - is it not a mistake of translators?
"He will turn into a man in the sky, fall and break" - why not the swan land to spread on the ground?
"We exchanged our crowns for warm clothes" - six crowns of the royal family for one set of children's clothes? And how did they do it on the day they were swans?
- Princes know how to break their spell. How?
- The king learned of his wife's betrayal. How? It happened in a place where witnesses couldn’t even get in.
- Eliza escapes from the cave to avoid seeing her brothers. Why? She could knit her shirts in front of them.
- Animals provide food and shelter – why do they? In other fairy tales, the hero deserves the patronage of animals by deed or has the ability. There's nothing like that here.
- Why didn’t the princess ask for help? If she had found a guardian first, explained the situation to him, and then taken a vow of silence, things would have been much easier.
- How a girl survived in the woods for 6 years, why did she not freeze is perhaps the least of the questions.
- She meets the king of another country during his hunt. This means that the child walked from one country to another.
- It is clear that Eliza gave a vow of silence, and also does not know how to write, but she can still communicate with nods and for a simple yes / no from her you could get an approximate picture of her story in one evening. But nobody did.
- The young king is weak and infantile. He invites a mute commoner to become his queen almost immediately after meeting him, without even knowing her name. The trial takes place without his will. The decision to execute is made without him. Is he the one we have to empathize with?
- Five shirts have been tied for years. Last one in a few days.
- How did the princes know where to fly?
- Eliza asks for mercy on the witches. It is probably that they came to some other kingdom and there, too, someone poisoned, bewitched, slandered, seized power. A terrible shaking of the finger and "Shame on you" - the most ridiculous retribution that the villains received.
- Eliza marries the man who nearly burned her at the stake, and it is presented as a happy ending. Yes, he was misled, but would you live with someone who mistakenly put you on the fire?
- History has clearly shown its attitude towards witches. But wait a minute, and the mother of Eliza and the brothers, who hid the children in the wonder valley and created a guiding ball, who was she?
In general, this is, of course, a typical fairy tale from ancient times. It is written to convey certain values and behaviors to children: sacrifice for the sake of the family, the desire for a successful marriage, the fight against witchcraft at the same time as its use. It worked in its time. There was no better school than myth. Well, for a children's cartoon, all this is not bad either. But if you watch it for adults, the work just cracks at the seams.
