Young King Benjamin and vain Princess Carolina seem hardly fated to be mated in this Czech 3-D animation, Proud Princess, now coming to on-demand streaming.
It’s an old-fashioned fairy tale where royal courts rule side by side, one fair and one foul. The princess Carolina is peevish, vain, selfish, and pompous, but King Benjamin loves her anyway.
He seeks to prove himself in both disguise and action – The Desert Song, anyone? – and heads for her kingdom in peasant garb, flouting numerous rules imposed by the king’s villainous advisers.
They steal his money, terrorise the poor and needy, and seek influence by fear and violence. You can’t wait to see them get their comeuppance.
In Proud Princess, which has excellent animation and a strong English voice cast, we follow the love story as it surmounts the predictable obstacles from prison to misunderstandings.
A magic flower, a cute little dog, a cunning weasel, a mysterious portrait, and a kingdom that can seemingly run itself without wondering where its ruler has gone, all add to the mix. The 3-D aspect of the animation gives a depth to scenes, and the ending offers a smidge of humour.
Directed by David Lisý and Radek Beran, with a screenplay by Bevan, this is based on the 1952 romantic comedy film Pyšná princezna, directed by Bořivoj Zeman. The film took 141,879 hours of team time to produce more than 105,000 frames.
William Attenborough, Georgia Lowe, and Max Bennet lead the voice cast in this English-dubbed version, offering an emotional understanding of their roles. The music has new compositions by Ondfej Brzobohaty and Ondfej Brousek, which include motifs from the original feature film.
The story will appeal to those who seek out romance with a touch of peril. There’s nothing too scary or unpleasant, and although Proud Princess is a bit sugary, and it might have been good to see a stronger character arc for Carolina, this is absolutely fine for its genre.
Proud Princess is released on demand from 7 Apr from Level 33 Entertainment.