The Princess and the Goblin (film)
| The Princess and the Goblin | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | József Gémes |
| Produced by | Robin Lyons |
| Written by | Original 1872 novel: George MacDonald Screenplay: Robin Lyons |
| Starring | Joss Ackland Claire Bloom Roy Kinnear Rik Mayall Sally Ann Marsh Peter Murray Victor Spinetti Peggy Mount Mollie Sugden Robin Lyons |
| Music by | István Lerch |
| Editing by | Magda Hap |
| Distributed by | United States: Hemdale Film Corporation United Kingdom: Entertainment Film Distributors[1][2] Hungary: Budapest Film[2] |
| Release date(s) | Hungary: December 20, 1991 United Kingdom: December 18, 1992 United States: June 3, 1994 |
| Running time | 82 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom Hungary Japan |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$10 million[3] |
| Box office | $2,105,078 |
The Princess and the Goblin (Hungarian: A hercegnő és a kobold) is a 1991 European animated fantasy film directed by József Gémes. It is an adaptation of 1872 novel of the same name by George MacDonald.
When a peaceful kingdom is menaced by an army of monstrous goblins, a brave and beautiful princess joins forces with a resourceful peasant boy to rescue the noble king and all his people. The lucky pair must battle the evil power of the wicked goblin prince armed only with the gift of song, the miracle of love, and a magical shimmering thread.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Princess Irene gets lost in the woods one night and is attacked by a swarm of monstrous animals, called "goblin pets." A young boy, Curdie, finds her and wards the beasts off with music, which goblins find painful. Curdie manages to get her back to the castle. The King leaves for a short time, hoping that nothing will happen to his daughter while he is away. Irene goes off exploring in the castle and finds a tower where her great great grandmother Irene comes to her to help her. Meanwhile, Curdie is helping his father in the mines, when he finds himself overhearing the goblin's plot to overtake the "sun people" and regain their ability to live above ground. Part of Prince Froglip's plot is to marry Princess Irene, so that the sun people will have to accept the goblins as their rulers. Before Curdie can run and tell the others, the goblins find him and put him away in a dungeon, but Irene manages to find him with the help of magic string her great great grandmother Irene gave to her. The goblins finally manage to flood the mines and attack the castle, but with the help of Curdie and Irene, the people fight the goblins off and save the kingdom.
At the end of the VHS release, a public service announcement would play, with Claire Bloom (as Great Great Grandmother Irene) talking about a support hotline, where lonely children could talk to her, Princess Irene, or Curdie.
[edit] Cast
- Joss Ackland - King Papa, Irene's father
- Claire Bloom - Great Great Grandmother Irene
- Roy Kinnear - Mump. This was Kinnear's final role before his death on September 20, 1988.
- Sally Ann Marsh - Princess Irene, the princess of the castle and the main protagonist
- Rik Mayall - Prince Froglip, the Goblin Prince and the main antagonist
- Peggy Mount - Goblin Queen, Froglip's mother and the secondary antagonist. This was Mount's final film role.
- Peter Murray - Curdie, a mining warrior boy and the secondary protagonist. (Paul Keating did his singing voice.)
- Victor Spinetti - Glump
- Mollie Sugden - Looti, Irene's nanny
- Robin Lyons - Goblin King, Froglip's father
[edit] Differences from the book
- Irene's meeting with her grandmother took place before meeting with Curdie. In the movie, Irene met Curdie before her grandmother.
- Irene's cut came from handling a brooch in the book. She got scratched by a goblin creature in the movie
- Great-Great Grandmother Irene had the ability to change her appearance depending on how old she feels. In the movie, it wasn't shown she can.
- In the book where Irene took Curdie to see her grandmother, Curdie wasn't able to see Grandmother Irene because he still doubted even though Irene can. In the movie, Grandmother Irene wasn't in her room when Irene and Curdie came in.
- The confrontation against Prince Froglip wasn't in the book.
- In the book, the goblin prince was named Harelip. In the movie, it was Froglip.
- In the book, Irene learned about the goblins when she and Lootie, her nurse, get stuck on the mountain after midnight and Curdie rescues them. In the movie, Irene learns about them when she runs off alone with her cat.
- In the book, Irene doesn't have a cat, although the cook does. The cat is only mentioned once in the book, and doesn't have a specific name.
- In the book, Curdie intentionally breaks a hole through the mine to learn of the goblins plans. In the movie, he accidentally breaks a hole in the wall and plummets down into a passing cart, and ends up hearing of their plans while he's stuck down there.
- In the book, the room that houses Grandmother's spinning wheel is the middle of the three doors. In the movie, it is the one on the left.
- In the movie, Irene's Grandmother tells Irene about the magical thread after she encounters the goblin cat in her room. In the book, it happens before.
- The song Curdie sings in the movie is much different then the ones he sings in the book.
- In the movie, Irene's grandmother says Irene needs to use the thread to make her own magic. In the book, she says to follow the thread when she's frightened.
- Irene is portrayed as being younger, more innocent, and much more gullible in the book then she is in the movie.
- The Goblin's royal family only plays a small part in the book, whereas they're seem many many times throughout the movie.
- In the book, the author describes the tunnels in the mountain as black as night, but in the movie, they are all well lit.
[edit] Production
The Princess and the Goblin was the first animated feature from Wales, and the 25th full-length cartoon from Hungary.[4] The film was produced by the Welsh television station S4C, and the Cardiff-based Siriol studio,[5] along with Hungary's Pannonia and Japan's NHK. Costing $10 million,[3] the film teamed producer/screenwriter Robin Lyons with director József Gémes (from 1982's Heroic Times).[3] Most of the principal animation was produced at the Siriol facilities.[6]
[edit] Release and reception
Originally released in 1992 and 1993 across Europe, The Princess and the Goblin was picked up for North American release by Hemdale Releasing for a summer release in 1994. The film was a critical and commercial disappointment there, only grossing US$2.1 million from 795 venues.[7]
The staff of Halliwell's Film Guide deemed it an "Uninteresting animated feature, with a dull fairy-tale plot dully executed."[1]
In a desperate attempt to counter its bad reviews, Hemdale asked several movie critics to view the film with their children, and asked those children for their comments on the film; these were subsequently included in its newspaper promotion. Mentioned in the advertisements were Michael Medved's daughter, Sarah, and Bob Campbell's four-year-old daughter ("It gets 91 stars!"). The idea came from Hemdale executives who thought animated films from the Disney company were preferred over those from other studios.[3]
The Princess and the Goblin received a Seal of Approval from the Dove Foundation, and the Film Advisory Board's Award of Excellence. Moreover, it won the Best Children's Film Award at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.[3]
Hemdale Home Video premiered the movie on VHS some time after its theatrical outing. It was released on DVD in 2003 by Allumination FilmWorks.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Gritten, David, ed. (2007). "The Princess and the Goblin". Halliwell's Film Guide 2008. Hammersmith, London: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 946. ISBN 0-00-726080-6.
- ^ a b "Credits list for The Princess and the Goblin". Yahoo! Movies. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800206624/cast. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ a b c d e Beck, Jerry (2005). "The Princess and the Goblin". The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Reader Press. pp. 213–214. ISBN 1-55652-591-5.
- ^ Lendvai, Erzsi. "A magyar animációs film" (in Hungarian). Filmkultura. http://www.filmkultura.iif.hu/regi/articles/essays/anim.hu.html. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ "The Princess and the Goblin". Toonhound. http://www.toonhound.com/goblin.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ "Review of The Princess and the Goblin". TV Guide. Lions Gate Entertainment. http://www.tvguide.com/movies/princess-goblin/review/129957. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ "Box office information for The Princess and the Goblin". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=princessandthegoblin.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
