Ella Enchanted (2004)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Tommy O'Haver

Writers (WGA):

Gail Carson Levine (novel)
Laurie Craig (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Get enchanted

Plot:

Ella is under a spell to be constantly obedient, a fact she must hide from her new step-family in order to protect the prince of the land, her friend for whom she's falling.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Obedience | Spell | Fairy Godmother | Quest

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anne Hathaway	...	Ella
Hugh Dancy	...	Char
Cary Elwes	...	Edgar
Aidan McArdle	...	Slannen
Joanna Lumley	...	Dame Olga
Lucy Punch	...	Hattie
Jennifer Higham	...	Olive
Minnie Driver	...	Mandy
Eric Idle	...	Narrator
Steve Coogan	...	Heston (voice)
Jimi Mistry	...	Benny
Vivica A. Fox	...	Lucinda
Parminder Nagra	...	Areida
Jim Carter	...	Nish
Patrick Bergin	...	Sir Peter

MPAA:

Rated PG for some crude humor and language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA | Ireland | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #40090) | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:6 | Portugal:M/6 | Germany:o.Al. | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G | Finland:K-7 | Ireland:PG | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The woman who appears during the ending number carrying Edward in a cart, is Anne Hathaway's cousin.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the fight at Char's coronation, most of the curl has fallen out of Ella's hair. But when the fight is over it is neat and curly again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Fairy tales tell, as their labels imply / Stories of magic, of creatures that fly / With giants and dragons and ogres and elves / And inanimate objects that speak for themselves / There's romance and danger and plotting of schemes / There's good guys...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#33.8)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

A cute fantasy

Boy, I'm glad I saw this movie before reading the comments here. I found this film to be delightfully funny and sweet. sure it's utter predictable but so what? Yes, in the 'fractured fairy tale' department it's a far cry from the genius of Princess Bride or Shrek, but it's an entertaining enough 90 minutes. The effects are decent (they can't all be Lord of the Rings perfect) and I found myself laughing frequently.

I'm certainly glad I was completely unaware that this was based on a book as most of the negative comments here seem to be from people who complain about changes. I can say, that not knowing the original, this story flowed just fine. Certainly, if one were to over-analyze the plot one could come up with innumerable ideas based on the idea 'if she must always obey, why doesn't this happen?' but that's not really the point here is it? it's a fairy tale for young girls. My partner's 18 year old little sister (who made me watch this as I never would have on my own) loved it, and I had to admit that I liked it enough to give it a thumbs up 7 out of 10 rating.