The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trumpet of the Swan is a 2001 animated film produced by RichCrest Animation Studios, directed by Richard Rich, and distributed by TriStar Pictures, being TriStar's first animated film since 1988's Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw.

Plot
Based on E. B. White's popular children's book of the same name, it tells the story of a young Trumpeter Swan named Louie who is born with muteness and is vying for the attention and affection of a beautiful pen named Serena. He overcomes this by learning to play the Trumpet.

Cast

 * Jason Alexander as Father Swan
 * Reese Witherspoon as Serena
 * Mary Steenburgen as Mother Swan
 * Seth Green as Boyd
 * Carol Burnett as Mrs. Hammerbotham
 * Joe Mantegna as Monty
 * Sam Gifaldi as Sam Beaver
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Louie
 * Melissa Disney as Billie
 * Kath Soucie as Serena (cygnet) / Paramedic / Newscaster
 * E.G. Daily as Ella
 * Pamela Adlon as A.G. Skinner
 * Steve Vinovich as Maurice / Ranger
 * Gary Anthony Williams as Sweets
 * Corey Burton as Senator
 * Michael Winslow as Chief
 * David Jeremiah as Squirrel/Hawk
 * Julie Nathanson as Felicity
 * Dana Daurey as Apathy
 * Michael Kostroff as Waiter
 * Lee Magnuson as Clerk
 * Steve Franken as Bud
 * Norman Parker as Policeman
 * Jack Angel as Justice of the Geese

Songs
The film contains five original songs with music by Charles Harrison and lyrics by Pamela Oland, Marcus Miller and Randy Rogel.
 * 1) Spittin' Image (Jason Alexander and Mary Steenburgen)
 * 2) Hey, Hey (Melissa Disney, E.G. Daily and Ann Marie Lee)
 * 3) Louie, Louie, Louie (Little Richard with Additional vocals by Melissa Disney, Ann Marie Lee, Tony Pope and Jonny Solomon)
 * 4) Hear Me Serena (Tim Carmon)
 * 5) Touch the Sky (Kenya Hathaway)

Critical reception
It was not well received by critics. Many stated the animation was poor, that the charm of the original book was lost, the characters were dull, the casting did not match, the songs were unmemorable and that the character design was awful.

But the most common criticism of the film version was that it did not follow the original story well; this disappointed many fans of the book. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored a 13% 'Fresh' rating.

Box office
It failed to get an audience at the box office, for two reasons, a small limited release, and the release of Shrek the following week would cause the film to lose most of its audience. By the end of its run, the film grossed a mere $102,202.

Awards and nominations
In 2001, it was nominated by the Casting Society of America for best voice-casting in an animated film, but lost the award to Disney's The Emperor's New Groove.

It is notable, however, that an independent animated film would have been able to win such a nomination. It was the last animated film to be based on a book by E. B. White until 2006's Charlotte's Web.