The Swan Princess is a 1994 American animated musical fantasy film based on the ballet Swan Lake. Featuring the voice talents of Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by former Disney animation director, Richard Rich, with a music score by Lex de Azevedo. The film was distributed by New Line Cinema and is owned by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment via Sony Wonder. It was released theatrically on November 18, 1994, where it received mixed reviews from critics and gross of $9.8 million against a $21 million budget, becoming a huge financial disappointment, partly due to struggling competition with a re-release of The Lion King. The film would later became popular through home video releases and has since been followed by eight direct-to-video sequels and is the only film of the series to have a wide theatrical release.