Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams is a 2007 American direct-to-videoanimatedmusical film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Disneytoon Studios. It was the first film in a planned Disney Princess Enchanted Tales series of direct-to-video films, each featuring new stories about the Disney Princesses. It was released on September 4, 2007 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams | |
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Directed by | David Block |
Produced by | Kurt Albrecht Douglas Segal |
Written by | Shirley Pierce |
Starring | Erin Torpey Linda Larkin Corey Burton Gilbert Gottfried Lea Salonga Barbara Dirikson Jeff Bennett Roger Craig Smith Russi Taylor Tress MacNeille Tara Strong Zack Shada Flo Di Re Frank Welker |
Narrated by | Susanne Blakeslee |
Music by | Jeff Danna (score) Amy Powers Russ DeSalvo Denise Gruska Shirley Pierce |
Edited by | Kevin Locarro |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
Release date
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Running time
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56 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The film features new stories about Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Princess Jasmine from Aladdin (1992).
- 2Segments
- 4Critical reception
Production[edit]
This film was originally intended to be the first of a series of spinoffs 'in which short stories about the various princesses from the Disney canon were paired according to some thematic overlap'.[1] Originally, the first film in the series, was to be titled A Kingdom of Kindness and feature a completely different Aurora story as well as a story about Belle from Beauty and the Beast rather than Jasmine. Trailers were released for this installment on various Disney DVDs, but it was never released. The second film in the series, referred to simply as Disney Princess Enchanted Tales in previews on various Disney Princess related DVDs, was originally scheduled for a 2008 release. It was to have a new Cinderella story as well as a new Mulan story. It too was never released, due to poor sales of Follow Your Dreams.[2]
The fan blog Antagony & Ecstasy speculates that this specific project was the catalyst for newly appointed Chief Creative Officer for Disney animated projects John Lasseter shutting down and halting all DisneyToon Studios sequel projects that weren't too far into production.[1]
Segments[edit]
Keys to the Kingdom[edit]
Keys to the Kingdom features characters from Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty.King Stefan (Corey Burton), Queen Leah (Barbara Dirikson), King Hubert (Jeff Bennett), and Prince Phillip (Roger Craig Smith) have left the kingdom for two days for a Royal Conference, leaving Princess Aurora (Erin Torpey) to reign over it in their absence. The three good fairies, Flora (Barbara Dirikson), Fauna (Russi Taylor), and Merryweather (Tress MacNeille), offer to help her, but Aurora declines their offer, because she believes she can do it alone. Merryweather gives Aurora her wand in case she needs any assistance and warns her to be very careful with it. Her tasks include planning banquets, dealing with peasants, and organizing servants who look after the kitchens and the gardens. Aurora believes she can do her job without the use of the wand, but later at night before bed, Aurora can't help but play with it and uses magic to make herself a big yellow ballgown. Eventually, after a long day dealing with complaints, Aurora gives in and uses the wand to help a local farmer in need of new chickens and pigs. Her magical inexperience leads to unusual consequences, including massive chickens, green pigs, and transforming the farmer into a duck. After she realizes that using the wand was a mistake, she promptly comes up with ideas to solve the problems on her own.
More Than a Peacock Princess[edit]
More Than a Peacock Princess features characters from Walt Disney's Aladdin.Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) is tired and bored of her usual princess duties. She is no longer satisfied with overseeing shop openings and assisting in the sale of a camel at the local market place. While having her portrait painted as a 'Peacock Princess,' Jasmine loses patience and says she wants more responsibility. The Sultan (Jeff Bennett) gives her the job of 'Royal Assistant Educator' at the Royal Academy. Jasmine is thrilled until she meets her pupils. They misbehave, draw on the walls, pillow fight, and throw books. She calls her pet tiger Rajah (Frank Welker) to scare the children into behaving, but they ignore him before chasing him and Jasmine into the mud and up a tree. Jasmine gives up. Later that night, her lady-in-waiting tells her that she needs patience and perseverance and that with these tools, she can do anything she wants. The next day, Hakeem (Zack Shada), the stable boy, seeks Jasmine's help. The Sultan's prized horse, Sahara, is missing from the Stables and if he isn't located, Hakeem will lose his job. Jasmine takes it upon herself, with Carpet, Abu (Frank Welker), and Iago's (Gilbert Gottfried) help, to find Sahara and return him to the Palace.
Song numbers[edit]
- Keys To The Kingdom - Lyrics and Music by Amy Powers and Russ DeSalvo, Performed by Cassidy Ladden
- Peacock Princess - Lyrics and Music by Amy Powers and Russ DeSalvo, Performed by Lea Salonga and Gilbert Gottfried
- I've Got My Eyes On You - Lyrics and Music by Amy Powers and Russ DeSalvo, Performed by Lea Salonga
Disney Princess Christmas
Critical reception[edit]
Common Sense Media assessed that the film had 'perseverance lessons for princess fans ages 3-6' and gave it a rating of 2 out of 5 stars. It noted the prevalent themes of 'follow your dreams and never give up', the 'plucky, brave and determined' role model nature of the princess protagonists, and the notion that 'as a Disney property, this film inevitably works as brand reinforcement for the Disney Princess line of products.'[3] CineMagazine gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 stars, noting: 'It is unfortunate that the two stories have such varying quality. If it had been a little more balanced then [the film could have] become a great movie. Now it remains weak due to the Sleeping Beauty segment being entirely mediocre and barely worthy of Disney'. It concluded that this project was focused on turning a profit than upholding artistic integrity'.[4]
Antagony & Ecstasy described it as 'the first in an aborted attempt to create a new series of cheap-even-by-the-standards-of-cheapquels videos', and concluded 'I cannot entirely hate this dreadful little cast-off. It's too short; it's too ebulliently random; and it might very well be the reason that the Disney sequels were finally strangled to death.'[1] AnimatedReviews said 'This is Disney Product with a capital P'[5] and 'I thought Disney had turned a corner in getting away from this low-level quality, but this is just poor, poor, poor'.[6] It added 'Personally, I’d like to see this kind of thing where it belongs' which is on a television show called 'Disney Princesses, with a new episode with a different Princess every time', as opposed to dressing up things like this, Cinderella II, and Belle’s Magical World as movies.[5]
DVDizzy said 'It is hard to praise a pairing of two half-hour 'movies', created with standards not much higher than those of a Saturday morning cartoon, that are being marketed as a full-length movie'[7] In a review of the DVD, InsidePulse said 'The special features with the games are aimed at girls and Lord knows you won’t enjoy them unless you’re under the age of..6 years.'[8] It added that it 'does provide a modicum in fun in that it lets us see these winning characters again and more of their lives. But in contrast to the excitement and entertainment of their big screen outings, their lives here are a bit boring and didactic.'[9]
Mary Costa, the original voice of Aurora, was not fond of the new film and felt that it did not work.[10]
Awards[edit]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Amy Powers, Russ DeSalvo, Jeff Danna | Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production | Won[11] |
References[edit]
- ^ abc'Disney Sequels: Not Just One More Silk in Daddy's Caravan'. Blogger. June 15, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^Hill, Jim (June 20, 2007). 'Say 'So Long !' to direct-to-video sequels : DisneyToon Studios tunes out Sharon Morrill'. Jim Hill Media. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^Nancy Davis Kho (August 29, 2007). 'Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams Movie Review'. Common Sense Media. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^Meijer, Monica (November 6, 2007). 'Disney Princess Betoverende verhalen: Volg je droom - Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)'. Cinemagazine.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^ abSimon, Ben (September 20, 2007). 'Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams'. Animated Views. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
- ^Simon, Ben (September 10, 2009). 'Disney Princess Enchanted Tales (with Bonus Disc)'. Animated Views. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^Joy, Renata (September 3, 2007). 'Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams DVD Review'. DVDizzy.com. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^Cox, Danny (November 30, 2009). 'Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams – DVD Review'. Inside Pulse. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^Bonanno, Luke (September 2, 2009). 'Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams Special Edition DVD with Bonus Disc Review'. DVDizzy.com. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^Mary Costa Interview - Page 2. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- ^'Nominees for the 35th Annual Annie Awards'. Variety. December 3, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
External links[edit]
- Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams at AllMovie
- Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams on IMDb
- Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams at Rotten Tomatoes
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Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams DVD Review
Disney Princess Learning Adventures
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams Program & DVD Details Director: David Block Voice Cast: Susanne Blakeslee (Narrator), Erin Torpey (Aurora), Corey Burton (King Stefan), Barbara Dirikson (The Queen, Flora), Jeff Bennett (The Duke, King Hubert, Sultan), Roger Craig Smith (Prince Phillip), Russi Taylor (Fauna), Tress MacNeille (Merryweather), Linda Larkin-Vasquez (Jasmine), Gilbert Gottfried (Iago), Zack Shada (Hakeem), Tara Strong (Sharma), Frank Welker (Rajah, Abu) Running Time: 56 Minutes / Rating: G / Release Date: September 4, 2007 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, Spanish, French) Subtitles: English; Closed Captioned Single-sided, dual-layered disc (DVD-9) Suggested Retail Price: $26.99 White Keepcase with Embossed, Holographic Cardboard Slipcover |
Disney Princess Christmas Images
In 2009, Disney re-packaged this DVD in a 'Special Edition' with a brief bonus disc promoting The Princess and the Frog.Click here to read our review of that edition, which replaced this original release.
By Renata Joy Wanted or not, the Disney Princess line is back with its newest DVD creation. Unlike the previous releases, sing-along songs and recycled animation are not the main course. Lo and behold, the two stories presented in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams are both entirely new; the first in a series of direct-to-DVD shorts featuring the Disney Princesses. This debut volume focuses on events involving Princesses Aurora (of Sleeping Beauty fame) and Jasmine (Aladdin's spirited love interest). It can't be denied that this strange pairing causes one to suspect a lame attempt at political correctness, Aurora being the traditional 'white' princess, with Jasmine representing the non-European cultures. Whether such logic actually exists or not, here they are, Aurora and Jasmine. One can only hope that their tales will not be too painful to bear. First up is 'Keys to the Kingdom.' Aurora is given reign of the castle while King Stefan is away at a royal convention with King Hubert, Prince Phillip, and Aurora's mother (who is disturbingly unnoticeable). Merryweather gives Aurora her wand in case things get too difficult for the princess to handle. Trouble arises when Aurora give in to the easy way out (i.e. magic) when overwhelmed with stacks of paperwork and a number of complaining peasants. Comic relief (in intent rather than actuality) is provided by the easily frazzled duke, who strangely resembles The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Clopin, sans mask and Gypsy attire. Next comes 'More Than a Peacock Princess', in which Jasmine is feeling a little underwhelmed by her daily princess routine. As a remedy for the royalty blues, the Sultan finds her a job as teacher to a school full of unruly children. When Sahara -- the horse originally belonging to her mother -- escapes, Jasmine uses the lesson she learns in perseverance to deal with her students. Meanwhile, Jasmine's servant/nursemaid of sorts (who apparently still bathes her) attempts to create a diversion in order to prevent the Sultan from discovering the horse's absence. It can also be noted that while Abu, Iago, and Rajah are shown often, Aladdin is inexplicably out of town. Apparently princesses aren't allowed to have fun when their man is around. A semi-automatic saw will make one cut, raise the blade back up out of the material. Band tension of a horizontal saw, thus causing squareness problems. Behringer saws inc. Parts & Service - With over 55,000 parts in stock, Behringer will keep you up and running. Tips, How To's & FAQs - Find answers to your sawing questions. Days before rodeo tracklist. Added: by flybeats09. Official Release; Instant Download: No Waiting! New free album from Travis Scott 'Days Before Rodeo'. 1,144,639; 438,316. The stories are on par with the typical direct-to-video release. Each one is briefly introduced by the appropriate princess, setting up the events the are about to occur and giggling a bit about the situation, all while clearly talking down to the audience. While neither is great, Jasmine's story is a little less grating on the nerves. That is most likely because she has appeared in the Aladdin sequels, not to mention the countless television episodes. The shock of seeing her design fluctuate from time to time or to hear her sing a song that is not up to theatrical release standards has long faded. However, this is Aurora's first appearance since Sleeping Beauty, a film in which she stops speaking halfway in. I hate to classify Aurora as a passive heroine, but her character is underdeveloped to a large extent in the 1959 classic. For the most part, things happen to her rather than her making things happen. Therefore, it is more than a tad bit disconcerting to see her portrayed as an air-headed teenager who has an unexplained fondness for the color pink. I can only assume that many studies were conducted as to what color is found most appealing by a young girl, and blue must not have been the winner. Not much more than a decade has passed since the release of Aladdin, and while the animation of this DVD is definitely not up to the same standards of Disney's mid-nineties features, the style has not changed greatly. Sleeping Beauty is not only a much older film, but also very stylized in design. I had at first believed that the animators who worked on this project had chosen to leave this aspect out until I noticed three very widely spaced trees that were mildly geometric in form. Well, at least they tried. In the nearly fifty years that have passed since Sleeping Beauty was first released, artistic ideals have changed. Aurora's new singing voice sounds more on the order of the modern princesses and is thus better suited to belting out pop tunes than art songs. In some ways, this is an improvement upon the unnaturally operatic voice that appeared in 2005's Princess Christmas Album. At the same time, it's hard to believe that a happier medium couldn't have been found. Jasmine, thankfully, is still voiced by Linda Larkin (now with the surname Vasquez) with Lea Salonga returning as her singing voice. The amount of time since the respective princesses' first film appearance makes a huge difference in easily one can digest what is being presented. Perhaps if there had been a few Sleeping Beauty sequels released in the past decades' DTV boom, I might be less critical, but a viewing of The Wrath of Maleficent probably would not have increased my fondness in any way for this new story. And, as already stated, the Jasmine story is not necessarily any better, it's just more expected. After all, to be blunt, the original Aladdin is the only genuinely good thing Jasmine has appeared in during her long animated career. It is obvious that this release is aimed only at female viewers of pre-school age, and there is never any attempt at covering up this fact. Disney has always been known to produce output that is kid-friendly, but until recent years, their productions have also been known to appeal to families as a whole, i.e. viewers of all ages and genders. With each new DVD release (take a look at their depressing recent schedule), it becomes clearer that the Playhouse Disney sect has taken over. Inevitably, this DVD will be met with mixed reactions by the older Disney fans (those over the age of six). Some will be so overjoyed to see the princesses newly animated, Aurora especially, that they will overlook the many flaws. I place myself on the opposite, disillusioned side of the spectrum. Naturally, the Walt Disney Company is a business, and it is entirely understandable that making money is the primary goal. Milking popular franchises for all they're worth is obviously the approach Disney has taken to remain profitable. The Enchanted Tales series has not been created because somebody felt that the Disney Princesses had more stories to tell. If that was the case, a lot more effort would have been put into this production, and more consideration would have been given to the people who have supported Disney long before any of today's pre-schoolers were born and who will probably continue to do so long after Little Einsteins DVDs have been packed away with baby clothes. VIDEO and AUDIO Being a brand new feature, there isn't much to complain about pertaining to picture quality. Granted, there is that sterile feel generally associated with direct-to video releases, but that is hardly unexpected. At least Disney hasn't disregarded widescreen TV owners, as the clean, vibrant 1.78:1 presentation is enhanced for 16x9 displays. As far as sound goes, one might complain about the ever-present perky instrumentals, but that would belong in a different category altogether. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track employs the rear speakers primarily for gentle soundtrack reinforcement, but on occasion, there is the off-screen voice calling out from either direction. BONUS FEATURES, MENUS, PACKAGING and DESIGN Two games and a promotional music video are all that's to be had here. It can be assumed that there wasn't enough creative energy available to supply both completely original material surrounding the Disney Princesses and an abundant supply of bonus features to boot. Either that or laziness is to blame. In the first game, 'Aurora Dress Up', it is apparent that Aurora lacks fashion sense. Therefore, it's up to you to decide exactly what she should wear. There are a few silly options to choose from, such as jester shoes and a nice big ruff collar. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to pick anything that is not fit to be worn by a princess of the Disney variety, greatly lessening the fun aspect of the game. 'Find Sahara' requires a little more thought, thank goodness. The goal is to put clues together to find the said horse. Once again, however, you are forbidden to follow the wrong clues. Is there any room for silliness in the Disney Princess realm? I guess not. There are only three versions of the game, so unless you happen to have a very bad memory, there isn't a lot of replay value. With the games out of the way, all that is left is the music video, 'You'll Never Lose This Love' (2:03), supposedly from a future Enchanted Tales release entitled Kingdom of Kindness (one of this volume's working titles). Sung by Belle, it resembles the songs from the two shorts on this DVD in that it is neither memorable nor entirely repulsive. The animation is also on the same scale. At moments, Belle becomes almost grotesquely off-model and Mrs. Potts tends to resemble a very pale and rosy-cheeked elephant instead of a teapot. I suppose this was included to make the viewer anticipate the upcoming release. I consider it to be a friendly warning that the quality of the Disney Princess line will not be improving any time soon. The disc opens with previews for The Jungle Book: Platinum Edition, Enchanted, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, and Little Einsteins: Race For Space. From the menu, you are given the privilege of viewing additional trailers for Meet the Robinsons, Tinker Bell, High School Musical 2: Extended Edition, and more Disney Princess Enchanted Tales (a yet-to-be-titled disc with Cinderella and Mulan stories), and a Disney Parks promo. The menu opens with a voiceover channeling Julie Andrews that introduces what is called the 'storybook cawstle', apparently a place where you go to hear stories about princesses. That is funny, because I watched this DVD at my home, which is definitely not a castle, British accent or not. The menus resemble the storybook from the opening sequence of Sleeping Beauty, probably the only aspect that emulates the original classic. The DVD case is shockingly white, unlike the typically pink cases of previous Princess releases, and is encased in a holographic gold slipcover. Those who frequent the toy aisle or have recently checked out what The Disney Store has to offer by way of Princess merchandise might have noticed the same garish gold motif. Most will be relieved to know that these gold items play no role in the features themselves; they're merely a marketing ploy to dupe people into buying things they already have in different packaging. However, everyone knows that all princesses in their right minds much prefer platinum to gold, or, if they happen to be on a budget, white gold to yellow gold. Inside the DVD case are the expected advertisements, including some for those products I just mentioned with all the ugly gold frills. Unfortunately, there are no coupons. Just ads, ads, a Disney World contest entry form, and some more ads. And just in case you wanted to check out some more advertising, there is a spot reserved on the insert to promote 'Hannah Montana' DVDs. CLOSING THOUGHTS Those who have read this and my past reviews probably think that I don't like the Disney Princesses at all and wonder why such a hater is allowed to repeatedly cover the latest additions to their DVD line. However, a true aficionado is capable of recognizing when something is amiss, and that is the case here. It is hard to praise a pairing of two half-hour 'movies', created with standards not much higher than those of a Saturday morning cartoon, that are being marketed as a full-length movie. Many will purchase this DVD regardless. But, if you can't resist temptation, at least make sure that you don't buy it at its $26.99 list price. Not all Disney Princess merchandise should be boycotted, but selective purchasing habits should definitely be practiced. Hold out for something better worth your time and money. Updated 2009 Release with Bonus Disc: Read our Review, Buy from Amazon.com Greatest blues love songs. Whether you fall or rise in love, it’s the most wonderful feeling in the world. Or it could creep up behind you, sneak into your heart, and firmly places itself there, without even letting you know that you’re already in too deep. And there’s no better way to spend a lazy afternoon, cuddling your love in your arms and listening to love songs. And in my opinion, jazz love songs are the best kind to create that invisible bubble, where only you and your lover are there, gazing at each other lovingly, and let the jazz ballads weave their magic around you, forgetting the world altogether. |
Related Reviews:
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (Special Edition with Bonus Disc)
Sleeping Beauty (Platinum Edition) • Aladdin (Platinum Edition) • The Return of Jafar & Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Disney Princess Stories: Volume 1 - A Gift from the Heart • Disney Princess Stories: Volume 2 - Tales of Friendship
Disney Princess Stories: Volume 3 - Beauty Shines from Within • Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Volume 1 - Once Upon a Dream
Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Volume 2 - Enchanted Tea Party • Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Volume 3 - Perfectly Princess
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Treat • Cinderella III: A Twist in Time • Disney Princess: A Christmas of Enchantment
Disney DVD Game World: Disney Princess Edition • Return to Halloweentown • Little Einsteins: Rocket's Firebird Rescue
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Reviewed September 3, 2007.