In its innocence, sweet heart and abundant wit, it has more going for it, by my accounting, than a dozen more expensive-looking films.
Ella Enchanted (2004)
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Reviews Counted:111
Fresh:55
Rotten:56
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Hathaway is a charming heroine, but the simple storyline gets overwhelmed by silly gimmickry.
Theatrical Release:Apr 9, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $22,811,339
Synopsis: Similar to SHREK and THE PRINCESS BRIDE, this fantasy adventure, based on a book by Gail Carson Levine, combines fairy tale with sly, 21st century pop humor. Teenage Ella (THE PRINCESS DIARIES'... Similar to SHREK and THE PRINCESS BRIDE, this fantasy adventure, based on a book by Gail Carson Levine, combines fairy tale with sly, 21st century pop humor. Teenage Ella (THE PRINCESS DIARIES' Anne Hathaway) lives in Frell, a magical place where humans, fairies, ogres, and other mythical folk peacefully coexist. However, when power-mad Prince Regent Edgar (Cary Elwes) passes laws that segregate humans from everyone else, Ella becomes determined to win equal rights for all. This task presents a challenge for anyone, but especially for Ella, who at birth was given the dubious gift of obedience by Lucinda (Vivica A. Fox), a fairy with an attitude. When she finds an ally, and love interest, in the almost-king Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy), she invokes the ire of her witchy stepsister Hattie (Lucy Punch), who has figured out that Ella must obey any command. Between avoiding her stepsister, trying to break the spell, and restoring justice to the kingdom, will Ella find time for true love? The talented cast, featuring Eric Idle, Minnie Driver, Joanna Lumley, and Jimi Mistry, play up the jokes, including heartthrob posters of Prince Charmont from "Medieval Teen" magazine and a Middle Ages mall. Contemporary music, including songs sung by star Hathaway such as "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," and riotously colorful dance numbers, complement the anachronistic humor. With its mix of SLEEPING BEAUTY, CINDERELLA, and classic teen irony, ELLA ENCHANTED provides a timeless heroine. [More]
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Joanna Lumley, Cary Elwes
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Joanna Lumley, Cary Elwes, Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, Vivica A. Fox, Minnie Driver
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Screenwriter: Laurie Craig, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith, Michele J. Wolf, Jennifer Heath
Studio: Miramax Films
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Release:
Aug 24, 2004
Reviews for Ella Enchanted
This all makes for good and entertaining fun, from the musical numbers of 1980s pop tunes to the flamboyant fight scenes. For a while. But you've seen this all before.
O'Haver ... has a great time juggling silly jokes, contemporary tunes and anachronisms like hand-cranked escalators at the medieval mall.
The film's lush scenery and sharp modern twists cast a powerful spell.
Artful enough to intrigue adults and far more original than other versions of Cinderella portrayed onscreen with alarming regularity.
Ella is under a spell that makes her obey all orders -- will someone please order Hathaway to stay pretty in better movies?
Squanders the comic potential of the source material through poorly timed gags and hit-or-miss one-liners.
Anne Hathaway’s performance as a cursed maiden in this time-jumbled fantasy is enchanting... but the movie is not.
What could have been wonderful has been processed into cute but throwaway fluff. It lingers like a half-cast spell.
It's the MTV, Teen Beat-lovin' teenage girls who will sing its praises the loudest.
Ella embraces the conventions of the fairy tale . . . while simultaneously gently spoofing them.
Score one for Ella Enchanted, an overpowering winner in the realm of smart family entertainment.
If you picked the four dimmest attendees at a Renaissance fair and told them to go remake The Princess Bride, you'd get something like this cloying stomach-churner.
Latest News for Ella Enchanted
August 06, 2009:
Hugh Dancy Talks Adam - RT Interview
Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shooting Dogs, Ella Enchanted... If Hugh Dancy was in danger of being cast as the posh English heartthrob, his latest role has put paid to that. In... More...
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