| 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 1992 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 |
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.
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]
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.