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The Trumpet of the Swan | trumpet_l
BEAKNIKS Chickens may not have lips, but this ''Swan'' really blows

Credits

Limited Release: May 11, 2001; Rated: G; Length: 75 Minutes; Genre: Animation; With: Jason Alexander, Jeffrey Schoeny and Mary Steenburgen
D
By Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr is a writer at large for EW and is no relation to Raymond or Aaron

Anyone who knows ''Charlotte's Web'' and ''Stuart Little'' knows also that E.B. White is the class act of children's literature: imaginative, compassionate, dignified, funny. This cartoon adaptation of his third kids' book, The Trumpet of the Swan, is a pox on the man's memory.

The tale of a mute swan who finally finds voice via a trumpet, the film features charmless songs, junky animation, hambone voice talent (Jason Alexander, I'm talking to you), deeply square attempts to be hip, and a narrative tone that changes migratory direction every five minutes. ''Well, I enjoyed it,'' said my 4-year-old, and so she did. Rent the video for your own kids, then -- or help their taste buds develop by reading them the book as well.


Posted May 16, 2001
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