The series opens with a duck who, in love with a boy (who turns out to be “Prince Mytho”) and wanting to save him, becomes the storybook character “Princess Tutu” fated to never profess her love to him.
These “characters” belong to the fairy tale The Prince and the Raven, written by the dead author, Drosselmeyer, and Duck has unknowingly stepped into the fairy tale that has enveloped the town. But a duck becoming a human isn’t the strangest thing you’ll see in this town; as the town includes a cat dance teacher and an assortment of other animals that live side by side with fellow humans.
What I love about this show are the characters, Duck is an enjoyable mess, who in her human form is very clumsy and goofy, and not very good at ballet. But after her “Princess Tutu” magical sequence she is suddenly graceful, majestic, and a perfect ballerina. (Alternatively, she has a duck form, which she ‘poofs’ into whenever she “quacks.”) However, Duck is so charming, with her naive and strong-willed spirit, her unique innocence and passion push the story into motion.
Fakir is my favorite character, and his growth throughout the series is enjoyable to watch, specifically how he and Duck become close as friends. I won’t spoil. But I liked the ending to their story.
The music is everything to me. I am an avid classical music fan and this HITS the spot. I first watched this show when I was a kid, and I still remember every single song in this series, from Swan Lake to Sheherezade, Gymnopeide to Dance Macabre. I kid you not, this is the best introduction to classical music for a kid (also ballet, I did ballet before watching this show, but it made me love it more.)
It’s not meant for children, with its PG-13 rating, but I watched it at, maybe age 10, and enjoyed it very much. It has some nudity (in the form of Duck transforming), violence and gore (fighting and blood), as well as some scary images and themes (the ravens and all that.) If your child has seen the Harry Potter series, this shouldn’t be too much at all.
I want to emphasize this was released in 2002, over 20 years ago, and still, the animation is incredible. I will admit I tend to like the animation style from the early 2000s better than anything released today, but it has that timeless feel, like any of the old Disney animated movies. The pacing is something I enjoy the most, and what I think makes it suitable for younger audiences to watch.
This series is something I would recommend to everyone. It’s timeless, funny, has great pacing, and the ending is fulfilling (at least to me, I have heard some complaints, but I cannot see the series ending in any other way.)
