ELLA ENCHANTED
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Wonderfully sweet and thoroughly enjoyable, ELLA ENCHANTED is like a
live-action SHREK. This twist on the Cinderella story is complete with a
handsome prince and evil stepsisters. The supremely likeable Anne
Hathaway
(THE PRINCESS DIARIES) plays Ella, a girl who wants to change a kingdom
and who
falls in love with a prince, known by his teenage fan club as Prince Char
(Hugh
Dancy).
The movie is set in a funny faux medieval village that looks like a new
MedievalLand at Disneyland. Mixed with the ersatz scenery is very modern
music
and dialog, which makes for a magical and inviting kids' movie that will
charm
the adults as well. The humans share the kingdom with ogres, giants and
elves,
who are all mistreated, thanks to the evil regent, Prince Edgar (Cary
Elwes),
who is ruling the country until Prince Char ascends to the throne. One
elf,
Slannen (Aidan McArdle), wants to be a lawyer, but elves are only
permitted to
do singing, dancing and tomfoolery. Ella strives to be the voice of the
downtrodden non-humans citizens of the land.
As a baby, Ella was cursed with "the gift of obedience" by a mischievous
fairy
(Vivica A. Fox). Ever since then, Ella snaps her shoulders back and
speeds off
to do anything asked of her. Most people in this fairytale remain
oblivious to
the secret reason behind Ella's strange behavior. Usually her "gift" ends
up
getting her into no end of trouble, as when her stepsisters, Hattie and
Olive
(played poorly by Lucy Punch and Jennifer Higham), tell her to steal stuff
at a
market. Sometimes it works the other way around, as when a mean kid tells
her,
"Bite me!"
The old songs are good-spirited and done joyfully, and the film's many
special
effects are imaginative. The script is a riot with funny little bits
everywhere. Some of the best of these blink-and-you'll-miss items are the
parchment recycle bin in the library, the hand-operated escalator in the
town's
pseudo mall, the newspaper ad for an "abacus programmer" and the book on
Fairy
Mandy's (Minnie Driver) bookshelf. Fairy Mandy, probably one of the worst
fairies on record, has "Spells 101 for Dummies" prominently displayed on
her
sparse bookcase.
As the clock ticks down to midnight, the prince admonishes Ella not to
believe
everything thing she has read about him in "Medieval Teens." I hope I
won't be
giving anything away to say that they end up living happily ever after.
This
pleases every group but one. Prince Char's fan club is left in tears
after
seeing their hunk married.
ELLA ENCHANTED runs 1:35. It is rated PG for "some crude humor and
language"
and would be acceptable for all ages.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In
the
Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters
and the
Camera Cinemas.
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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1273875
X-RT-TitleID: 1131230
X-RT-SourceID: 703
X-RT-AuthorID: 1271
X-RT-RatingText: 3/4
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