Being a very large fan of the original story, this movie was absolutely abysmal. As a standalone movie it's just a bit below par (the songs are just awful), but given that it was based on such a great story, this film had something to live up to, and it falls far short of that. There are characters and storyline added that don't really make sense - and some of the best parts of the original story were omitted.

For some reason, the swans all have hair that is obnoxiously colored. Lime green, purple, yellow and orange?? I guess this is so you can tell them apart but there could've been a less anatomically incorrect way to do it... but I guess this will be OK for kids.

If you are a fan of the original story looking for a decent movie adaptation, DO NOT watch this movie. You will be sorely disappointed.

If you're looking for a cute and fun movie to watch with your kids, then this movie is adequate. But just barely.

This movie was not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but I did enjoyed far more than I thought I would. Most of the story is true the book of the same name by E.B. White. Except of course for the song & dance numbers (which were terribly annoying and for the most part unessecary) and a couple of characters were

also not in the book (the talking squirrels are a few).

The Trumpet Of the Swan would be best enjoyed by children ages 3-10, beyond

that the movie seems hokie.

4 out of 10 stars.

I love the book by EB White and having seen Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web and really liking them, I looked forward to seeing The Trumpet of the Swan. Another reason why I wanted to see the film was because Carol Burnett was doing a voice on it, to this day I still love her as Miss Hannigan in Annie and I consider her a great actress and comedienne. On paper, Trumpet of the Swan had all the ingredients for a perfectly charming family film. A beautiful, charming book to work from and a great voice cast were the main attractions.

After finally seeing it, I felt that there were some good moments and everything, but at the end of the day it all felt bland. First of all, I highly appreciate the messages that the film had, learning the importance of reading and writing, overcoming disability, finding your own voice, honour and family love are great messages for kids and incorporated into the story in a simple yet effective way. Another redeeming quality is the voice cast, while I found the characters themselves bland I thought Jason Alexander, Seth Green, Reese Witherspoon, Mary Steenbergen, Joe Mantegna and Carol Burnett all do stellar jobs. Plus I think kids will find it very cute, there are parts where I certainly did find very sweet and well intentioned, as there are some touching moments.

However, there are also things that don't quite work. The animation I had mixed feelings about, some of the backgrounds are quite pretty with lovely use of pastel colours, but some of the characters are poorly drawn with some wonky movements. A lot less successful were the songs, they were sweet but they were also very sugary and forgettable and felt as though they were there to make the movie longer. Another component that didn't work as well was the story, there were some touching and humorous moments but the film's structure is somewhat episodic and rushed. That way I didn't relate to the characters as much as I would have liked, and that extra ingredient that made the book so charming was missing. Speaking of the characters while the protagonist was decent and Mrs Hammerbotham was likable in some ways, but some others Serena and the squirrels especially were rather cookie-cutter and the father did have moments where he annoyed me. Several of these problems lead to one major problem, the length, at barely over an hour the film was for me too short and that did affect how I felt about the characters and the story.

Overall, The Trumpet of the Swan certainly isn't a bad film as such, it just wasn't a particularly good one either. Kids will definitely like it, but adults may find it bland. 4/10 mainly for the voice work. Bethany Cox

With so few votes, it appears that few have seen this movie. I am a bit shocked at its low rating. It is barely 70 minutes long, the voice-acting is very good, with Reese Witherspoon, Jason Alexander, Carol Burnett, and others. It is about a hatchling trumpeter swan who doesn't have a voice. How can he "trumpet" and attract a mate? How about if he gets a real trumpet and learns to play?? I got this DVD on loan from my county library system, I planned to watch a few minutes of it late last night, to see if I wanted to see the whole thing, but found it so captivating that I couldn't stop. It is a total fantasy, with a brief commentary about the plight of trumpeter swans, but overall a nice diversion which would be enjoyed by any children, or childish grandfathers like me!

The critic Ebert has a complete review, however I believe his rating is a bit low for this charming little cartoon.

This is one of the worst animated features I have ever seen. I can't see how this silly and convoluted story (and minimal animation) would appeal to either a child or an adult. Despite using a 'name' cast, the voice talents don't gel on screen. There is no depth to the storyline and in the end leaves you completely uninvolved with either the characters or the narrative.

Now, I'm not one who likes picking apart a film, because of differences from the book, but ... I'm okay with praising it for accuracy.

My children and I had just finished reading the book, when we saw this in the discount section at the store. Well, we just couldn't resist giving it a try. We all truly enjoyed it.

Most of the details are true to the book, but more important than that, the spirit of it remained in tact.

With a strong moral lesson (or two) I really enjoy this just for causing you (and kids) to spend some time thinking about things that matter. It is also very upbeat overall, despite some more serious moments while the characters face large personal dilemmas. The voice talents were impressive and the animation was adorable and engaging.

The only negatives I have to say about this one are not a big deal, but there are two very weak characters. The 'mean kid' is totally unconvincing and pretty annoying and the camp coach is just confusing. (I don't understand what he says or why he is like that. Is it supposed to be funny?) But, since both of their roles are relatively minor, they don't ruin the film. So, sit back with the kids and maybe some popcorn and enjoy.

Now, I haven't read the book so I can't exactly compare and even with movies for which I'm familiar with the source material I try to judge the movie on its own. But judged on its own I personally found Trumpet of the Swan very nice. It's not flawless, but then again few movies are. The animation is nice and crisp, if a little dry at times, and I don't understand why people complain about the swans having hair because otherwise it would be hard to tell them apart. As for the songs, they aren't actually that bad. "Louie, Louie, Louie" I always have a hard time getting out of my head and "Serena" is a lovely song. Trumpet of the Swan's weakness is that it's a little slow at times and I wish Serena had been a bit more developed, but for the most part The Trumpet of the Swan is still pretty enjoyable. It's not Secret of NIMH, The Last Unicorn, Spirited Away, or Lady and the Tramp but neither is it Secret of NIMH 2, Titanic the Animated Movie, or Spider's Web: A Pig's Tale.

This is a mediocre family friendly animation. It's nothing special but works as modest time-pass entertainment specially for young children. The story deals with a trumpeter swan who doesn't have a voice and so doesn't know how to attract a mate. Would it help if he got a real trumpet and learned to play? The animation quality is alright for home viewing. The voice work is decent with Jason Alexander, Reese Witherspoon and Carol Burnett managing to hold our attention. The songs are dull and feel like padding. The film runs a short seventy minutes and is acceptable for kids.

Overall 4/10

You don't have to tell me that cuteness alone is not a factor by which an entire movie can be judged. But even so, this movie just has so much cuteness that one could actually sit through it and keep him engrossed. Besides which the movie isn't very long at all and barely touches 70 minutes and therefore, you aren't really likely to get bored. The dubbing or lip syncing does seem a bit subpar though and I don't know if they've done that intentionally? I would recommend this movie for young children as they would certainly appreciate. As an adult or parent, if you have nothing better to do than watching this short film may leave you warm and fuzzy inside. Nothing wrong with that is there?

It's rather silly but nevertheless it's watchable. I just found that it couldn't capture my interest as there was something missing. It wasn't as magical as it should have been. I've personally never read the actual story but this movie adaptation version seems dull and feels like they have tried to make it fit into an "Ugly Duckling" format.

I don't think I would recommend watching this movie. It is fine if there is nothing else on but it just doesn't have enough to offer the audience. Louie also feels more pathetic than discouraged. It's hard to watch him interact with his family and then later with the human world. Although the ending turns out how you would expect it brings little resolution to the movie.

Oh, and minor side note... Louie the swan's father is a jerk.

I had read the book "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B White a long time ago, and when I was vacationing in Montana, I went to a theater in Missoula and saw this film at the theater. This film was brillaint! The animation was great, and the film itself is VERY funny and cute. This is a great film for all ages! This is a spectacular film! Reese Witherspoon and the rest of the cast were great! This is a great movie! I give it a 10 out of 10!!! :)

The animation was terrible (the blue-eyed boy wouldn't stop rocking back and forth as though he was high). There were a bunch of really bad music numbers, and the plot wasn't anything like the original story. The scenes were jarring and made no sense. In one scene a kid at summer camp climbs into a kayak at the beach and fifteen seconds later he's in danger of going over a waterfall. Right next to the campground, really?? So a bunch of other kids get in a kayak to save him. All the while they were being directed by a single counselor who shouted incoherently through a bullhorn. The bullhorn even made annoying electronic squeals, but it was ANALOG. What? Oh, and daddy swan won't shut up, ever. In the opening scene he sings a song about his partner's newly laid eggs and then proceeds to JUGGLE THEM. The characters and settings in this movie were so bad that I'd rather try to watch Microwave Massacre again. I'm sure a lot of work went into this, but they should have invested a whole lot more.

Avoid.

I love this film, short and simple. Of course, there were obvious flaws, most of them relating to variations away from the book. But, as I understand, most people who watched it only watched it because of the book, in which case it would be, for most, a disappointment. Not me. The animation needed a degree of work, but that is always the hardest part of one of these films. While I will be flamed for saying so, I think this was a well-done movie.

The story was the best part, but that came straight from the book, so nothing can really be said there. The voice-acting was well done. Most character's voices fit them extraordinarily well, particularly the characters of Serena and Boyd struck me as best-cast in the movie. Words and music (mostly the trumpet)were off with the mouthing at several parts, but it was nice to have some celebrity voices in there. Little Richard was interesting, but the music itself was well-done.

The movie was better than it's predecessors for certain (Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little) in the movie category, just as I always felt the novel surpassed them. Note that I don't generally watch movies like this, but it was magic for me. I hath spoken.

Firstly, I will say that I have never read the book so I will not have the bias that a lot of people who read the book first do. So I will be reviewing this straight as a movie.

One of the biggest issues I had with this film is the romance though. It was incredibly forced.

So, in a movie that did this better, Pebble and the Penguin (yes, I am using that movie as a positive comparison. god help me) The main girl KNEW the main guy for a long time. They had known each other since they were little and fell in love over time Trumpet and the swan on the other hand doesn't feel things like getting to know each other is very important.

Louie meets the girl one time as a kid, and then runs away. He meets her again and they go diving for a short while.

Then he literally runs away for MONTHS as he goes to learn how to read and write. Yes. This trumpeter swan goes off to a school to learn to read and write. And...for some reason this doesn't qualify as international news with the entire world staring in awe.

This is something that REALLY bothered me in this film. This SWAN learns how to read and write English and it is greeted with a 'oh, that's neat' by the humans. DOES NO ONE CARE that this swan is literate? Nobody? Not scientists, doctors....nobody? Really? Why the hell isn't he THE MOST FAMOUS ANIMAL IN THE WORLD? this is a world run by humans that supposedly grounded in reality.

Anyway, back on topic. He goes off for those months, is basically a young adult, shows he can read and write for five minutes, realizes no one can understand him, and then flies off to Boston to play the trumpet for ANOTHER few months. Yep, a trumpet playing literate swan and the world is like 'meh, he needs to go back into the wild and do...swan stuff'

You see, suspension of disbelief is that a swan can learn to read and write. It is also that a swan can play the trumpet with no lips. What is NOT is that the entire human race is going to greet this with a shrug and an 'oh that is neat,' mentality. That really just takes me out of it. Even if your premise is ridiculous it has to be grounded in some form of sanity or it makes the whole thing boring.

So when Louie comes back to his female friend Serena she's about to marry this other swan. Yeah he's a kind of self obsessed jerk but...he was actually THERE. He didn't abandon everyone for over a YEAR (which is apparently like their entire childhood of like 15 years in swan years) and then show up and go 'lol i want to marry her!'

The movie, despite it having over an hour run-time to develop only a few characters, the time wasn't utilized very well as we had scenes of a creepy bum guy taking advantage of Louie and nearly clipping his wings. For a story about a swan finding his voice, this whole 15 minute sequence really seemed unnecessary. I don't know why the writer thought it was necessary to write in a 'the father feels bad he stole a trumpet and now the son wants to pay it back' subplot and it was even more ridiculous when the owner was still butt-hurt over this a year later. If I were to tell my friends 'man, a year ago, a swan broke into my shop so i threw a trumpet at it, so it took it and flew away.' first my friends would laugh at me, then they would ask me why i would throw a trumpet at an endangered species bird in the first place and then get mad when it took the item I threw at it and flew away.

I honestly don't even know the moral this movie is trying to portray. Is the moral that If you can't communicate properly just keep trying until you can?

Even the 'villain' seemed very thrown in at the last minute. Seth green shows up in one scene when they're kids to say the mute kid can't play Marco polo, which.....yeah makes him look like a jerk but for all intents and purposes...a mute person really CAN'T play Marco polo. The swan shows up like 2 more times to go 'hey we should get married' and to be honest, the female swan never flat out tells him no. She hem and haws and finally accepts the proposal for no other reason than her father going 'hey you should totally accept his proposal' there is no threat, there is nothing at stake, she just accepts to marry someone she doesn't love after someone asks her a third time. It's like 'well...he DID care enough to ask three times. I guess that means I have to marry him now.'

This whole script was a complete mess. The pacing was terrible, the voices, while recognizable good voice actors, did not fit with the characters for the most part (which is a shame because I love me some Kath Soucie) and the ending was just crazy abrupt. I didn't feel like I learned anything in this movie or felt anything. It was just a kind of mess of....there.

I gave this movie a 4 because it isn't offensively bad or painful. The main issue is that it doesn't know what it wants and that it really is just boring. It's not a very interesting watch and very by the numbers. They tried to shoehorn in a romance that had no business being there in a story that didn't have any direction to begin with.

Cartoon like this one are made for all ages. Very wise, elegant with beautifull backgrounds and a excelent animation. Interesting and usefull for understanding youth problems. My son like it very much, me too.