Happily Ever After (1989) User Reviews

Charming, Clever, underrated children's film

[awsum_ginger · 7/10 · 28 December 2006]

I stumbled upon this one day in my local library when I was about six, and I wanted to rent it right away. I was pleasantly surprise when I started to watch it that it became one of my favorite movies. I think at one point I had all the lines memorized. I remembered that it was indeed frightening, but in an exciting, mysterious way that I don't think most children would be bothered with (if a six year old didn't find it scary, please, I doubt anyone else really will.) I've read some comments on here with people complaining about how scary it was, and all I can conclude is that you need to get out a whole lot more. This film is like Barney compared to some of the things I've seen kids these days watch. Now, years later being a horror movie fan I can only giggle at how I thought everything was so scary about this movie.

Did the animation suck? Yes it did. I recently rented this from the library again, curious to see it years later (one of those trips down memory lane) and as I watched I began to count all the continuity/animation errors and I wound up with a very high number lol. But was the story that bad? No, I actually remember liking it more than the original fairytale as a kid. This was much more exciting, and to this day I still love the villain, Lord Maliss. He's so deliciously evil, how could anyone refuse him? Getting to characters, was Snow White a cardboard cutout in this film? Yes, she was. But was she even flatter than a piece of paper in the original Disney classic? Yes, I found the original Snow White to be whiny and annoying. I also thought this Snow White was a lot prettier, excusing her unexplained hairstyle change every few minutes (I found it strange that sometimes her hair would be seen up in a ponytail, hanging down loosely or just wearing this strange, gravity-defying headband.) Scowl the owl had me laughing a couple of times, too. The only thing is that his sidekick, Batso, bothered me. He was, if anything, EXTREMELY annoying. I found myself wanting to slap him every now and then. The Dwarfelles, I thought, were some of the most original little creations to hit children's movies. Each one of the Dwarfelles carried a unique, fun, loving, and most of all interesting personality and had inspirational qualities to them. I found this especially true with Thunderella, such a cute little girl and I thought she had the most catchy tuned song as well.

Which now brings me to the music. Many people have accused the songs of being annoying wastes of time. I must disagree, I thought each one of the songs were original and likable in their own way, but I admire Thunderella's little song the most and it will always be my favorite. Even Scowl's song is fun, but I can only wish that Irene Cara was given a chance to sing.

I really don't know why this film flopped, to this day it's one of my favorite films of my childhood and will always have a special place in my heart.

8 stars outta 10

A very fun movie for all ages

[vegeta3986 · 7/10 · 2 August 2006]

I remember watching this movie back when it first came out when i was a little kid (7ish) and i found it to be a pretty good movie. Now, around 13 years later, i decided to buy a copy. and looking back on it, i STILL like this movie. The characters are neat, the plot is SO much better than the Disney version, and the songs are memorable. To begin with. i'll say it right now. i didn't like the Disney movie. tried to like it, but it made me go "neh, so what?" kinda like Pinocchio, but i'll save that for the OTHER sequel review. XD. anyway, Songs like, "Mother Nature" "He's Bad" and "I can get it right" are very cute and make you hum them while you're at work. The character VA's are actually quite good. the dwarfelles each have their own unique personality, the owl and the bat are nice comic relief, and OK, i'm going to say it. McDowell makes one of the BEST VILLAINS EVER. This guy has one of the most evil and maniacal voices i've ever heard. It's one of those voices that you'd never want a guy in a dark alley to have that you're walking down. XD. The only VA i DIDN'T like was Snow White's. I mean, the scene when she was crying, it sounded like she was eating grapes. her VA'ing did NOT impress me. i pretty much watch the movie DESPITE snow white. not because of her. O_O The BIGGEST problem i had with this movie are two-fold. 1. The animation for Snow white. Sometimes, when she reacted, she got ugly. FAST. I was like "BWAH! animators! what happened?!? O_O" as well as one that was more funny than anything, when they kept reusing her running animation over and over. that made me laugh. XD 2. The plot shortness. it seemed to me like they rushed the second half of the movie. i wanted to see more of the powers used. i mean, besides Thunderella, Sunburn, and Muddy, nobody even really DID anything on the trip. Blossom, the animal chick, the water woman, and Moonbeam were all COMPLETELY useless. it seemed for such a long journey they got there RIDICULOUSLY fast. They should have slowed it down a bit more, and let them USE their powers so it actually made sense when mother nature says "you proved yourselves" I expected when it got dark and the wolves came around for Moonbeam to pull out the Neo and start whoopin some wolves or something, but no, she's as useless at night, as she is during the day. But complaints aside, this is a very good movie whether you're a kid or an adult. i've always been a fan of independent Animation companies and their movies and this is no exception. This movie is worth it JUST for McDowell's Voice Acting. So yeah. i give it a 7/10. so go watch it. it's a very fun movie, with some problems, but almost every movie has those anyway. XD

Don't judge a book by it's cover

[beccad90 · 7/10 · 23 January 2006]

Overview: Plot: Great Characters: Great Music: Good Animation: Fair Overview: The Film "Happily Ever After," to me, is, indeed, cheaply animated with some annoying voices, but I think the plot is enticing and the characters are very interesting, especially the Seven "Dwarfelles," the Cousins to the Seven Dwarfs. Also, there is a very interesting variation of "Mother Nature," voiced by the one and only Phyllis Diller. The song she sings is a the most enjoyable song in the movie, same with the catchy, poppy tune"Thunderella's Song," sung by Thunderella, the youngest dwarfelle, voiced by Tracey Ullman.

Basic Plot: In this Sequel to the original film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Snow White (Voiced by Irene Cara of "Fame") is to be married to the Prince, but Lord Mallis (Voiced by Malcom McDowell of "Caligula"), the Evil Queen's brother, in revenge of his beloved sister's death, kidnaps the prince, but Snow White flees to the Dwarfs' Cottage only to find that the Seven Dwarfelles, their cousins, live there. When they are about to have their natural powers stripped away by Mother Nature, Lord Mallis attacks them and They are on a quest to save the prince...but will that creature lurking in the shadows be able to help them? It's not a very long film, but it's very engaging.

Benifits: Irene Cara sings the end theme, "Love is the Reason." It's a great song.

Flaws: A bit on the annoying side.

I give it an 8/10. 2 stars for the animation and the other 6 for the plot, therefore is 8 stars.

Lots Of Fun!

[movies2u · 9 August 2003]

Happily Ever After - AKA: Snow White 2 (1993)

Happily ever after was a good movie and was part 2 of Snow White, and is great for kids. Although it isn't a Disney film, it still was wonderful! All of the dwarfell characters were very funny, especially Muddy voiced by Carol Channing, and the bat and the owl voiced by DomDeluise. I give it a 8/10. It was great!

A good movie overshadowed by Disney's Classic

[elfmaiden65 · 5/10 · 2 July 2006]

This was a fun movie when I was young. There were a lot of things I liked about this one, even if it is often considered a lousy film. One thing that really bothers me (and has bothered me since I was like 6 or something) is the prince. Who on earth could fall for that pansy! geez. The Dwarfelles are the most adorable magical pint-sized ladies ever (especially Moonbeam!). On it's own it's a pretty cool kid's movie. I liked the songs, even if some consider them lame. I recently popped it into the good ol' VCR to watch out of boredom and nostalgia. I sang along with every song. I could still remember all the words....

It's just when compared to the Disney movie it runs into problems. The movie varies too much from Disney to be considered a sequel, and most people forget that, and reject this film for that reason. If Disney had intended on a sequel they would have made one. It's cute and stuffed to bursting with morals! It is a bit on the cheesy side, but who doesn't like a little cheese?

Okay

[Vivacious-Virgo · 4/10 · 30 December 2004]

I was rummaging in my old things a while back and pulled out a bunch of old movies. This was one of them. This movie is VERY enjoyable for anyone to watch as a child. I remember my brother and I laughing at it as children, but seeing it as a teenager or an adult probably wouldn't be a good idea. The story is alright, but the animation is not very good. If anything shined in this movie it was the females dwarfs (i forgot what they are called ^_^). Their characters were all lovable and even a bit memorable. Snow White and the Prince, as always, were lifeless and cardboard. Another thing that sticks out in this movie was one song titled "Thunderella's Song". The melody is pretty and it's definitely a cute and catchy tune. So cute and catchy that I remembered it through the years as I would Aladdin or the Lion King. This movie is alright for one watch. I'd give it a 4/ 10.

Mostly for Young Girls with a Princess inside Them

[Labyrinth_Sleeping_Moon · 6/10 · 5 November 2005]

I saw this movie when I was about 6 or 7 and I adored it. The new Snow White didn't have that whiny voice. The Prince was in it more than just five seconds and he even talked. The Dwarfettes were cool for a little girl to see. Because before all we had were the Dwarfs. And I remember as a little girl I preferred seeing girls in movies than watching something about boys. The bad guy, I admit, has a cliché name, but he was so freaking awesome. He even scared me a bit. The owl, bat, and Mother Nature add in comedy. Even the Dwarfettes do as well. I can barely remember the songs, but I'm sure now at my age they'd be cheesy, but as a little girl I knew that I liked them. I like this movie so much, that I've been hunting for it at stores for the past few months. It's a movie for young girls who want to see the movie continue, but the older audience will see it as a "rip-off" of Disney. The only way an adult would like it, is if you watched it as a child. Like myself.

Flee!

[dsm-10 · 1/10 · 6 January 2006]

Since Filmation was given a hard time making this movie by Disney, they should have just given up. It REALLY is THAT bad. NO adult can sit through more than a few minutes, and you end up wondering if it's doing any permanent damage to your kid's minds. Make them watch something good - if you're anti-Disney, try the "Iron Giant" - but NEVER let this into your home. The script, the animation, it's all REALLY that bad. Every actor on the project should have sued to block it's release. Really. This is the darker side of film-making - a good idea gone very bad. I never told my kids they couldn't watch it, but I could never sit with them when they did. To me, that's the worst possible scenario.

Through the eyes of an Adult

[GoddessofDorkness · 8/10 · 28 January 2007]

When I was a kid, I got this movie for Christmas. It was one of those videos I really loved. At that time, there was a magical quality it had that most children experience in animation/fantasy films. It made me smile.

I went down memory lane and watched it again. I enjoyed it, but in a different sort of way. I caught all Lord Malice's gay innuendos, and laughed my butt off, because I never saw it that way before.

Unlike what some people may say, I think this is a fun movie, and the music isn't really that bad considering the expenses that went into the feature. Disney always has a grand orchestra, while Filmation, if you listen closely during Thunderella's song, had only a couple keyboards. The strange part is that the lady who played snow white actually has singing talent, but she didn't get a big song like most main characters do in animated films. She sings the song in the credits. I think they should have done more with her vocal talent. Other than that, it's a fun film.

Better than you'd think

[maringlecoq · 7/10 · 1 March 2018]

Because of the circumstances surrounding its release, "Happily Ever After" has a reputation as a cheap knockoff of the Walt Disney feature film, a lazy cashgrab relying on the original's good name. And while I won't argue that this sort of thing wasn't the executives' reasoning... watching "Happily Ever After" is a far more pleasant experience than you'd think.

Of course, the animation can't hope to match the theatrical wonder of the 1937 classic, but it's actually pretty solid. There's never an off-model frame and the characters are rarely static; some of the character animation is also lively and, if not exactly Disney-quality, at least the sort of thing you'd see in a Don Bluth film. I'm thinking especially of Lord Maliss, Mother Nature and Snow White. There are also some nice effects, such as lightning, sprinkled through the feature. It's direct-to-video, but it's *good* direct-to-video; I daresay it's better than *some* of what Disney themselves have put out over the years.

Naturally, Filmation could only skirt towards Disney's iconic designs, and perhaps the different appearance of Snow White and co. may be off-putting to some, but in truth, those designs *work*. Sure, Prince Florian is now a red-head, but... who cares, really? The design for Snow White in particular manages to be both pretty and original without straying *too* jarringly from the classic look. The only real downside here might be the Magic Mirror (inexplicably voiced by Dom DeLouise of all people), who feels like a badly-done parody of the original.

The new characters aren't too bad either. Lord Maliss isn't exactly a complex villain, nor does he have the most original design in the book, but Malcom McDowell's acting is delightful in an over-the-top, Corey-Burton-as-Captain-Hook sort of way, and there's no denying his evil powers are, to put it simply, "way cool". The Dwarfelles may have the tackiest name in the history of animation, but they are actually engaging in their own way, and far from being just genderbent versions of the original Dwarfs; tying them to different elements and making them the apprentices of a personified Mother Nature is an... off-the-wall idea, to be sure, but not actually a bad one. It's entertaining. Scowl the Owl and Batso are decent comic relief on the villains' side, though they feel more like Iago than like Queen Grimhilde's Norman the Raven in the original.

That's really the best thing to say about "Happily Ever After": for all that it curries favor based on the original's fanbase, it's not a lazy retread of the original. The plot and scenes (despite one or two echo, like Snow's run through the Black Forest) are quite original, not a thinly disguised remake. That's not to say it's the best plot ever, but it's engaging and will definitely keep kids watching, though aspects of it are predictable for adults.

The big flaw of "Happily Ever After" is neither in its visual nor plot, but in the soundtrack. Some of the acting is fine or even great (Irene Cara is a surprisingly great Snow White, and I've already mentioned McDowdell as Lord Maliss), but some of it on incidental characters is weaker; and most glaringly... god, the *music*. I didn't come in expecting another "Someday, My Prince Will Come", of course; but it is just about the blandest, most 90's-esque *mess* imaginable. Consider that Scowl the Owl has a rap number of a villain song. Yes. A RAP NUMBER. I kid thee not. To make matters worse, these songs are poorly segued into the story, with characters talking one moment and then suddenly, abruptly breaking into (terrible) singing. Did I mention the singing was terrible? Because yup, it is.Tracey Ullman's Thunderella sounds cute and nice when talking, but her lack of singing skill turns what might simply have been a *mediocre* song into an awful experience to sit through. As for the instrumental music playing behind non-singing scenes, it's similarly bland and uninspired, though rarely distracting.

Still, a poor soundtrack is not enough to make a movie bad. It's no Disney Classic, but I'd definitely take "Happily Ever After" over a lot of Disney's own direct-to-DVD sequels (such as "Belle's Magical World" and "The Fox and the Hound II"). If you like the original "Snow White", or fairy-tale-type animation in general, I'd recommend you give it a watch... though you shouldn't come in with too high expectations.

This movie is HORRIBLE

[mldavis90-1 · 2/10 · 28 May 2006]

This movie is the most terrible, dark, and frightening children's movie ever. I watched it when I was young, and it traumatized me! I recently watched it again (I'm now 15) and I can still see why I was so afraid. It is so creepy and dark. It's like Nightmare Before Christmas minus the humor. The villain is beyond scary, and the the little limping man who follows Snow White is extremely creepy. Maliss can turn into a dragon, which makes a frightening screech, and brings bad memories flooding back. Every time you think there's going to be a moment of happiness, someone gets turned into stone, or a dragon picks Snow White up and carries her away. Even at the end, the sky is still dark, and you see odd creatures made of stone surrounding them. The highlight of the movie is Thunderella's song. It's the only cute thing in the movie, even though it is all about her unsuccessful attempts at controlling the weather. If you get anything out of this comment, DO NOT let your children watch this.

great movie for kids

[chantlle123 · 10/10 · 4 February 2006]

this movie is classic...my grandmother got this for me at wal-mart when i was little.me and sister use to watch this movie.i still remember every little thing about this movie and i still think that it is great even so many years later.even at the age of eighteen i still enjoy this movie. i will be trying to find this movie on DVD that's how much it means to me. the star cast was great and i feel that the voices where a great contributions to the movie and the songs were great. if people want some good quality videos then this is a great pick for children. this movie is a breath of fresh air from the original classic snow white by Disney.

Not enough people have seen this

[Lunalparamor-21587 · 7/10 · 9 January 2021]

It truly is a great sequel to Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. More people should watch it.

Worst Animated movie ever.

[bigdog5610 · 1/10 · 3 February 2002]

Worst Animated Movie Ever. It was a good idea, with good charachters poorly executed. Charachters had absolutely nothing to do. The 7 female "dwarfs" was an interesting idea, but unfortunately the talent was wasted by a horrendous script. The animation was elementary school quality. The final scenes were probably the worst animated sequence I have ever seen. They looked like early Hannah - Barbera cartoons. Such a waste!

Fairly decent

[sarah03mu · 22 January 2002]

Although it was a little disturbing to see Snow White back in action, I thought the movie was cute and the music somewhat enjoyable. Decent movie for kids, definitely not a complete bomb. The dwarfettes are cute and are funny little characters, and Snow White is just as pure as ever.

A cheaply made and poorly written children's movie

[LCritic · 2/10 · 7 March 2009]

When I first found this film existed on Wikipedia by chance, I read that Filmation, the company behind this movie, was planning on making a series. Unfortunately, their first two films Happily Ever After and Pinocchio and the Emperor of Night were so disliked by critics that Filmation lost its reputation and eventually went bankrupt. Being naturally curious, I decided to investigate the former and see why this happened. True to form, the resulting movie was not so good...in fact, it was downright terrible.

The year in which this movie was produced is almost as unbelievable as the fact that it was able to enlist such names as Ed Asner, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Phyllis Diller into its maelstrom. 1993? Wasn't that about the same time Disney was producing such masterpieces as The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast? By watching this show you would never guess it was made in 1993 because of the grainy, outdated 70's animation. The way the characters move ranges from glitchy (the way some parts of a character are missing) to beyond ridiculous (when Snow White is walking or running). This is way below par if you're familiar with better movies.

Even worse than the chintzy animation though is the writing. The story is more full of plot holes than a slice of swiss cheese. To be exact, my biggest beef with the plot comes from the whole "Shadow Man" aspect of the story. It was at the very end when I found out the Shadow Man was really the Prince under a curse that I lost any remaining respect for Malice, the villain. If Malice was such a great villain, why didn't he just imprison or kill the Prince instead of turning him into a creepy little man? At least then the Prince wouldn't be running about saving Snow White. Didn't the writers think of that? And the little "romance" between Snow White and the Shadow Man was bizarre and creepy. She knew this little weirdo for what, two minutes, and yet the writers felt the need to make a pitiful little montage of their "precious moments" at the very end. The fact that none of the main characters are terribly memorable or endearing also doesn't help matters any. For example, when we meet the 7 Dwarfelles, the only 3 that actually really speak are Muddy, Sunburn, and Thunderella (who by the way has a terrible and pointless song). That's not like in the original Snow White where the viewer is acquainted to all of the Dwarfs, who actually have personalities beyond a few "snappy" lines.

After watching this wretched thing, I would fully recommend avoiding this at all costs, if you want to get a nice video for the kids, get Disney instead. As for my 2/10 rating, I did find this very humorous, although not in the way Filmation intended.

As bad as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was good

[TOMNEL · 2/10 · 9 August 2008]

Filmation animation is not Disney, so why were they trying to be? Why make a sequel to one of the most beloved stories of all time? If it was to make money, it's pretty obvious this didn't make anything, and if it was to tell a new fantastic story, then this is an even bigger failure. The story is just too out there, and the animation is way too loose to make a good animated feature.

We start this story after the end of the first Snow White. Snow White and the Prince are happily married and Queen free. Too bad the Queen's brother Lord Miser (Malcom McDowall) shows up to avenge his sister's death. He steals the Prince, and Snow White goes to the Dwarfs' cottage for refuge, only to find their not there. The dwarfs are busy, but taking their place are the seven dwarf elves, who all have stupid powers given to them by Mother Nature (Phyllis Diller). Snow White and the Dwarf Elves must venture into evil, dark places to find the Prince. Meanwhile, Scowl the Owl (Ed Asner) and his bat buddy, Batso (Frank Welker) try to stop Snow White with silly, unfunny results.

Everything about this film is just bad. The animation is ugly, and hurt my eyes. The music and songs sound like they were played on a Cassio and sung by lounge singers. At one point, Scowl the Owl raps about how bad he is, and though I agree about the bad part, this song is torture to listen to. The characters are bad too. Why did they get rid of the Seven Dwarfs and replace them with less interesting characters? What a dumb idea. Why do the trees and flowers talk in the forest in this movie? This isn't Alice in Wonderland, it's Snow White.

In the trailer for this movie, the announcer claims this is the biggest, most famous vocal ensemble ever in an animated picture. What a lie! Any famous person here is a washed up actor aged 50 or more, excluding Irene Carro, who isn't known for acting on screen anyways. Nonetheless, the voice work isn't terrible. Irene Cara doesn't sound how you would expect Snow White to sound, but she's okay. Ed Asner, Malcom McDowall and Frank Welker voice the "bad guys", and they all have pleasant voices. Possibly it wasn't the best idea to have Carol Channing and Phyllis Diller doing voices in the same movie. One of them is enough to make your ear drums bleed, both of them is next to intolerable.

Overall, this is a sad attempt at an animated movie. It's just bad! My rating: * out of ****. 80 mins. G

Mediocre cult classic

[emailryang · 7/10 · 4 March 2016]

When I first saw this film, I thought it was okay. After a couple of of more watches, my mind is still the same. Could it be better? Yes. Is it that bad as most say? No, I don't think so. In fact, half of me felt attach to this film more than Disney. Yeah, some of the animation is cheesy, only 2 out of the 4 songs on here are memorable, but it is good. I like the somewhat "dark" atmosphere that was put up near the end, brings such suspense. I also did like how this Snow White, in terms of appearance and character. She is both an action girl while having a soft quality to her still. At most, this is a film that is a family movie, not meant to be taken too seriously, but very enjoyable for kids and adults. Give it a try.

Tale as Bland as Snow

[elicopperman · 4/10 · 27 November 2017]

If you know about the company Filmation, they did make some iconic television cartoons like Fat Albert and He Man, but a majority of their content was generic Saturday morning trite that gave animation a bad name in the 1970s due to their cheap animation and lackluster stories that only kids would find amusing. Then when they were in need to save themselves in the 1980s, they made an unofficial sequel to Disney's Pinocchio, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night. However, Disney found out about this and sued the studio, but because they had started production on an unofficial sequel to Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, they reworked and redesigned that movie to be nothing like the Disney film. Upon it's release in 1993, three years after a brief release in France 1990, it was a commercial flop that caused the company to close its doors. After watching the movie itself, while I don't despise it, it definitely left much to be desired.

The biggest problem with Happily Ever After is how dull and underdeveloped it is. The general story line is that Snow White must save the prince who was kidnapped by the wicked queen's brother Lord Maliss (don't ask), and along with the Seven Dwarfs' cousins the Dwarfelles (I think you can guess why there are no dwarfs), she sets off on a quest to save him from certain doom. Sounds exciting enough, yet the movie fails to give a reason as to why the audience should even care about these characters, let alone Snow White, leaving the story bland and straight forward.

The characters themselves are not much better. Snow White is even blander than she was in the original Disney film, the only noteworthy thing about the prince is that he looks like a copy of He Man, and the Dwarfelles....well thanks to Mother Nature, they do possess magical powers such as control of the weather, control of the earth, control of fire, etc, but they have no personality outside of their powers and they contribute nothing to the plot aside from Sunburst and the whiny Thunderella. Also, there's a mysterious hooded character that follows Snow White around. Without giving much away, he ends up turning into someone significant in the end that makes the viewer wonder why he was changed in the first place.

Another issue with this movie is that there is so much filler, mostly with the comic reliefs Scowl and Batso who offer nothing to the plot alongside being unfunny. This makes the movie feel significantly longer than it should, and it also takes away what could have been time to actually explore the characters and the world of the movie, which leads into another problem with the movie, the confusing fantasy elements. I wouldn't mind these elements if this movie was it's own interpretation of the original Snow White fairy tale, but since it's clearly meant to cash in on Disney's Snow White, it leaves these elements feeling out of place, as well as unexplained. Why is the villain a shape shifting dragon? What is the mythos behind the Dwarfelles magical elements? Why are there wolves, Mother Nature and other mystic creatures? I don't know, and the movie sure doesn't bother to ask. It just tosses whatever at the wall to see if it sticks, and unsurprisingly, none of it does because it doesn't fit within this film.

Oh, and there are a few songs in this movie.....that's all I'm gonna say about them because I don't even remember most of them they flew by that fast. All I'm gonna say is that they only appear in the first half and that's it, so I don't know why they even bothered putting songs in the film to begin with.

Now you're probably wondering, is there anything I like about this movie? Well the animation is decent enough, and while not solid enough for theatrical consumption due to inconsistent character animation, the character designs do look charming and colorful enough, and even a lot of the effects look visually impressive. Also, some of the world building does look kind of cool and grim when it wants to be as some of the places Snow White and the Dwarfelles enter have potential to be their own fun places to explore. Also, Malcolm McDowell is simply delightful as Maliss as he hams up the performance making him more entertaining than he had any right to be. Also, as forgettable as the songs in this movie are, the end credits song Love is the Reason is an entertaining albeit dated pop song sung flawlessly well by Irene Cara. That, and the general voice acting is decent enough, as the voice actors do well enough jobs by giving their characters distinct voices.

Otherwise, despite some decent animated tricks and a fun villain, I was rather unimpressed with Happily Ever After due to its boring story, bland characters, plot holes, unresolved and furthermore unnecessary fantasy elements and soulless feel. And that's the worst thing that can be said about this film, it's soulless. Even though Disney's Snow White ain't perfect, it certainly had a lot of heart put into it, thus elevating its upbeat characters and emotional appeal that made it timeless. Happily Ever After has nothing to stand on its own, and even with the fantasy elements and Malcolm McDowell, this was just a waste of time that's better off dead like the wicked queen.

A great sequel to the Snow White story

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 25 November 2007]

I have an aunt, Sharon, and she had this film on VHS, and I would watch it every time I visited her. After that, it has become one of my favourite animated films. I loved both Snow White films, Disney's version and this one, and now I have the film on DVD.

Like I said a million times, I was shocked and surprised by the negative reviews I would see on the Web. I thought it was a great sequel to The Brothers Grimm's Snow White story, except instead of seven dwarfs, there are seven dwarfelles in the film. I love the end-title song performed by Irene Cara, who also played the voice of Snow White in the film.

Weird but so good

[aprilegunn · 7/10 · 31 October 2022]

This movie has no right to be as good or as bad as it is. That cast? Wild! I remember I rented this movie ALL THE TIME from the Video Warehouse when I was a kid. I loved it. Wish I could find it on DVD now. Its storytelling is all over the place and its pacing is weird. Whoever wrote and placed the songs had no idea how to make a narrative work or how to use songs to enhance one.

Yet in spite of all that, it's still so much fun. The animation and character designs are great, and having a Snow White with agency who was surrounded by women was truly formative for me. Mother Nature...Sunbeam...Muddy. The best! And the humor still lands for me as an adult. Sometimes better than it did as a kid! And Lord Malice is still intimidating and truly scary, unlike many villains who just become ridiculous with time.

So against all odds, I love this movie. I need to find a good quality copy so I can show it to my nieces.

phenomenal, ravishing, gorgeous, heart wrenching

[Zel_Damondred · 10/10 · 1 May 2006]

This movie is THE greatest movie I have ever seen in my entire life. The graphics, extraordinary. The music, breathtaking. And the overall quality of the movie, 15 stars out of 10! I was absolutely stunned. When you first pick it up, you may jump to the conclusion that it is a corny children's movie. When in reality, it is full of pee-your-pants action, bone-chilling terror, villains that will shake your tail feathers like egg-laying fiends, and who could forget, the SIZZLING RED-HOT Shadow Men! Oh, he burns me up! There's even a guest appearance of Oddette! Based on the classic fairytale of snow white, Happily Ever After teaches morals to help you look inside yourself and find the truly beautiful and thundering person you are! From handsome princes, to stone cold Great Animals, this movie's got it all! BuY iT nOw!

PROS Shadow Men, Odette, Butch, Graphics, Music, and everything else I've already mentioned!

CONS ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NONE! Except maybe that stupid bat, Batso.

Very good!

[LILDUDDDE · 16 August 2001]

I have seen this movie over and over, and every time I watch it, It seems to get funnier. Like the constant fighting between Muddy and Sunburn, and Scowl and Batso. I think Mother Nature was really good too. The story line was awesome. How Lord Malice is angry with Snow White and turns the Prince into some weird speechless man. It was a great movie in my opinion!

A Very Good Sequel

[eyore4ever · 10/10 · 7 February 2005]

Happily Ever After was a very good sequel and conclusion to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I think it was a very good movie. I cried at one part of the movie because it was a very sad movie. I think that this movie should get more credit for what it is worth. I would recommend this movie because it was a very delightful movie. I really think that this movie was good even though there was a part that made me cry. It was a very good idea to add the Seven Dwarfettes instead of having the Seven Dwarfs again. I really liked this movie and I think that the director did a good job of making this movie.I hope someone will be influenced to see this movie. I also think that Troy was a great movie and if you would like to read my two scents on Troy then you can read what I wrote about it when you access information about Troy.

Love it!!

[bernell-21921 · 10/10 · 17 November 2021]

I remember this movie like it was yesterday.. even tho this is not Disney movie, who cares!!! This was well put together and funny.. I still sing along at 33 .. not bad at all I believe this movie is very underrated. Mother Nature is everything!!! 😊