The Ugly Duckling

By all rights, this iconographic animated adaptation of Jerry Pinkney's Caldecott Honor award winning retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Ugly Duckling should be a winner. Classic story? Check. Solid moral? Check. Easy to identify with main character? Unfortunately, check. The last to hatch, and continually mistreated by others, the unnamed ugly duckling eventually steals away one night only to fall smack dab into further misadventures with hunters, well-meaning but frighteningly energetic children, an old woman who's less than impressed with the duckling's abilities (it "can neither lay eggs nor purr"), and a miserable winter freeze that locks the poor duckling's legs in the ice until a kind stranger sets him free. At the end, of course, the ugly duckling is transformed into a beautiful swan, but after 20 minutes of lackluster narration by Lynn Whitfield, a misguided score by the generally dependable Ernest V. Troost (who gives us jarringly discordant lilting melodies during tense scenes), and the not-so-visually-friendly muted palette of Pinkney's illustrations, most youngsters will have tuned out. Very optional. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)