What parent wouldn't want the power to make their children automatically obey their every command and direction? In such a perfect world, there'd be no questions, complaints, battle of wills or outright defiance. Such a notion is pure fantasy, of course, the stuff of fairy tales.
In the adaptation of author Gail Carson Levine's work, "Ella Enchanted," however, it's not the parents who place the protagonist under such a command spell. Instead, it's her godmother, known for her bad "gifts" to kids, who makes Ella unable to refuse or resist any command directed her way.
Somewhat akin to an elongated version of those "Fractured Fairytales" that aired in the middle of the old "Rocky & Bullwinkle" cartoon shows, the film is an entertaining, cute and occasionally clever, but not altogether brilliant riff on the classic "Cinderella" tale.
Feeling a bit like that well-known story as filtered through the likes of "Shrek" and "A Knight's Tale," the film is a period fantasy overrun by contemporary (or at least recent) elements, themes and, most notably, music. At one point, Ella -- charmingly and engagingly played by Anne Hathaway ("Nicholas Nickleby," "The Princess Diaries") -- is commanded to sing by a punch of partying giants.
Rather than some period song, however, she suddenly breaks into a rendition of Queen's "Someone to Love." Soon, the observers are chiming in with the chorus, and the overall number manages to transcend its awkward goofiness to become the film's most enjoyable and winning moment.
It's too bad, however, that the rest of the film can't match that scene's exuberant energy. It's not for lack of trying, however, as screenwriters Laurie Craig ("Paulie," "Face the Music"), Karen McCullah Lutz ("Legally Blonde," "10 Things I Hate About You") & Kirsten Smith (ditto), and Jennifer Heath & Michele J. Wolff (making their feature debut) have expanded on the source work by inserting all sorts of cute and/or goofy material.
That includes a wooden escalator (hand cranked), the local market selling glass slippers, a reference to the Hokey Pokey song, "Teen Beat" type magazines and various Prince groupies (and not of the royal purple one).
Such material isn't as plentiful as I would have liked and is usually more amusing than downright funny, let alone hilarious. Even so, most of it works in establishing the film's lively and mostly lighthearted tone. Director Tommy O'Haver ("Get Over It," "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss") keeps things moving at a quick pace as the plot loosely follows part of the Cinderella tale with additional chunks and pieces of other fairy tales thrown in for good measure.
Considering that it's of the fantasy genre, I suppose it's somewhat immune to critical nitpicking, but there are some logistical and/or logical errors present from time to time. Many of the mean-spirited commands given to Ella are either limited in directness or applicable time. For instance, when one of her evil stepsisters instructs Ella to tell her friend that she never wants to see her again, wouldn't Ella just have to do that and then be free to reverse the statement (especially since she wasn't told to hate the friend forever)?
The plot does introduce the complication that Ella can't tell anyone about the spell and that does serve as an able dilemma for her, especially when she's instructed to do some dastardly things. Yet, without all of the accompanying fine print of the first gift and subsequent commands, why couldn't Ella simply plug her ears to prevent hearing such orders?
I kept waiting for those in the know -- such as the nursemaid played by Minnie Driver ("Hope Springs," "Return to Me") who's otherwise wasted in the role -- to put a counter spell on her, or for Ella to do that to herself.
Doing so, of course, would have eliminated the overall gist of the plot, so I suppose the point is somewhat superfluous. Yet, I would have liked to have seen it and any related workaround addressed. Those are all small objections, but the film could have been better had its plot and thus environment been a bit sharper and more wisely constructed.
Beyond Hathaway who plays the part with just the right touch when not looking downright radiant and gorgeous (especially when she literally and figuratively lets her hair down during the Queen number), there's Hugh Dancy ("Black Hawk Down," "Tempo") playing the pop star-like prince. The chemistry between his and Hathaway's characters is pure romantic comedy fantasy, but it works well enough to help fuel the plot.
Cary Elwes ("Shadow of the Vampire," "Liar Liar") has fun playing the villain this time around (compared to his heroic role in "The Princess Bride"), Lucy Punch ("Greenfingers," TV's "Cinderella") is decent as the wicked stepsister, and Vivica Fox ("Kill Bill Vol. 1," "Boat Trip") briefly appears as the errant godmother.
Jimi Mistry ("The Guru," "The Mystic Masseur") is obviously rather limited in what he can do as the head in a book character, while Aidan McArdle (making his feature debut) doesn't quite get as many laughs as one would expect playing an elf who wants to be a lawyer rather than entertainer (but then again, maybe that's the point). Ex-Python Eric Idle ("Life of Brian," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail") occasionally serves as the film's narrator.
While a bit too reminiscent of bits and pieces from "Shrek" and the like, not as harmoniously fun as "The Princess Bride," and featuring some decidedly less than state of the art special effects, the film is nevertheless enjoyable enough that it's sure to please its target audience of "tween" girls and possibly a great many others who fall outside that group. "Ella Enchanted" rates as a 6 out of 10.
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