Happily Ever After (originally released as Snow White: The Adventure Continues in the Philippines) is a 1989 animated musical fantasy film directed by John Howley, and starring the voices of Dom DeLuise, Malcolm McDowell, Phyllis Diller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ed Asner, Sally Kellerman, Irene Cara, Carol Channing and Tracey Ullman. The film serves as a direct sequel to the Snow White fairy tale, wherein the titular heroine and the Prince are about to be married, but a new threat appears in the form of the late Evil Queen's vengeful brother, Lord Maliss. The plot replaces the Dwarfs with female cousins called the Dwarfelles, who aid Snow White against Maliss.
Happily Ever After is unrelated to Filmation's fellow A Snow White Christmas, a 1980 TV special in which continuity is deliberately and consequently ignored. Following extensive legal troubles with The Walt Disney Company, it had a poor financial and critical reception following its wide release in 1993. A video game adaptation was released in 1994.
Plot
The film begins with the kingdom now at peace as Princess Snow White and her beloved the Prince prepare to get married following their victory over Snow White's witch stepmother, the Evil Queen. Back at the Queen's castle, her animal minions rejoice as they celebrate her recent death and their newfound freedom by throwing a party for themselves when the Queen's brother and evil wizard, Lord Maliss, arrives there looking for his sister. Learning about the Queen's demise, he falls into rage and vows to avenge her by any means. Mallis transforms into a dragon and takes control of the castle, turning the area surrounding both the castle and the kingdom into a perilous wasteland. Afterwards, Scowl the owl starts training his companion, a bat named Batso, in the ways of evil.
The next day, Snow White and the Prince are in the meadow picking flowers for their wedding, when Maliss, in his dragon form, begins attacking Snow White and the Prince as they are traveling to the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. Maliss subdues the Prince and captures him, while Snow White manages to flee into the woods and reaches the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs where she meets the Dwarfs' female cousins, the Seven "Dwarfelles": Muddy, Sunburn, Blossom, Marina, Critterina, Moonbeam, and Thunderella. Snow White also learns that the Dwarfs have left the cottage after they bought another mine in a different kingdom, but the Dwarfelles gladly assist in taking her to visit Mother Nature at Rainbow Falls.
Upon arriving at Rainbow Falls, Mother Nature holds Thunderella accountable for not being able to master her powers correctly, accuses the other Dwarfelles of improperly using their powers, and threatens to take them away as punishment if they don't learn. Maliss arrives unexpectedly and attacks them, but Mother Nature shoots him with lightning, causing him to crash and return to his human form. Before leaving, Maliss informs Snow White that the Prince is being held captive in his castle. Snow White and the Dwarfelles travel to Maliss' castle in the Realm of Doom, encountering a strange cloaked humanoid known as the Shadow Man, along the way. Maliss sends his one-horned wolves after the group and they manage to escape with the help of the Shadow Man.
Maliss is furious at this failure and transforms into his dragon form, finally succeeding in capturing Snow White and taking her to his castle. The Dwarfelles follow them and sneak into the castle, while fending off Maliss' minions, including Scowl and Batso. At the same time, Snow White is reunited with the Prince, who begins acting strangely and takes her through a secret passage to supposedly escape. Snow White not only realizes that he is not the real Prince, but he is actually Lord Maliss in disguise. Maliss attempts to throw a magical cloak on Snow White to petrify her into stone, but is attacked by the Shadow Man, whom he overpowers and seemingly kills.
As he tries again to petrify Snow White, the seven Dwarfelles arrive and try to attack him, but fail to do so and become petrified by Maliss. The only one unharmed is Thunderella, who finally gains control of her powers and assists Snow White to defeat Maliss by throwing a cloak on top of him. He is then permanently petrified in mid-transition between his human and dragon forms. As the sun shines onto the castle, the Dwarfelles are restored back to normal while Snow White tearfully mourns the Shadow Man, believing that she has lost both him and the prince. Suddenly, the Shadow Man transforms into the Prince and awakens. He reveals that Maliss had cast a spell on him and he has been watching over Snow White during her journey.