Ella Enchanted (2004)

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.

Director:

Tommy O'Haver

Writers:

Laurie Craig (screenplay), Karen McCullah (screenplay)

Stars:

Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Cary Elwes

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Hathaway	...	Ella
Hugh Dancy	...	Char
Cary Elwes	...	Edgar
Aidan McArdle	...	Slannen (as Aidan Mcardle)
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

Storyline

Based on Gail Carson Levine's award winning novel, this is the story of Ella, a young woman who was given a "gift" of obedience by a fairy named Lucinda. She must obey anything anyone tells her to do. When her mother passes away, she is cared for by her thoughtless and greedy father who remarries a loathsome woman with two treacherous daughters. This modern-day, fantasy Cinderella story features fairies, ogres and elves...as well as a hero in the guise of Prince Charmont, whom Ella falls in love with. Unlike Cinderella though, she must depend on herself and her intelligence to get her through her troubles and find Lucinda in order for her "curse" to be broken!

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Plot Keywords:

fairy | prince | obedience | curse | racism | 

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Taglines:

Get enchanted

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some crude humor and language

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Official Facebook

Country:

USA Ireland UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ella está encantada

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,169,030, 11 April 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$22,918,387

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,388,767

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Jane Startz Productions, Blessington Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Benny teases Slannen for being frightened by a bunny, he mentions that "the last known case of a bunny attack was, well...never." Ironically, Eric Idle, who plays the narrator, is a part of comedy group Monty Python, whose film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) features the deadly "Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog".

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Goofs

In several other scenes, when given a command, Ella is compelled to perform that task until it is accomplished or she is told to do something else. However, while protesting the prince at the market, Ella's stepsister instructs her to "Go home". Ella begins to follow these instructions until she's tackled for the first time by the prince, after which she is able to stand and converse with him, despite the task not being completed.

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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 and bad guys and some guys in-between / A fairy tale also reveals some sort of truth / The perils of choices we make in our youth./ But our story today is different in theme./ For our hero had no choice or so it would seem./ It starts ...

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Crazy Credits

The cityscape of the Miramax logo dissolves into the cityscape of the medieval city in the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Cinderella (1950) (2015)

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Soundtracks

It's Not Just Make Believe
Written by Russ DeSalvo and Amy Powers
Performed by Kari Kimmel
Produced by Ric Wake and Richie Jones for W & R Group and Randy Spendlove

User Reviews

Great, entertaining film. A refreshing change to the 'polished' animated films at the mo'

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it was clever, original and entertaining. The interesting opening scenes were great as they transported you to the fairytale world. I was very happy to see Eric Idle was the narrator and Anne Hathaway was brilliant and instantly likable as Ella, with Hugh Dancy the perfect handsome prince. The Elf (another familiar face- Dudley Moore in 'Not Only But Always') is wonderful as the sidekick. I also thought the story was very good, it was slightly predictable at first, but then there were some interesting twists, where I think the usual fairytale storyline was changed to great effect. The way the Fairytale land echoed aspects of home were amusing, with wooden escalators, taxi carriages… In a way, I liked it more than Shrek, because of the fact that it was less 'polished' and maybe more British. I would definitely recommend 'Ella Enchanted' to anyone who wants a fun and entertaining film.