Ella Enchanted (2004)

Director:

Tommy O'Haver

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

9 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance | Adventure | Family

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:

Quest | Cinderella Story | Heroine | Chained | Fantasy Life

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/6 | Malaysia:U | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:6 | USA:PG (certificate #40090) | 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:

When Dame Olga and her daughters first arrive at Sir Peter's house, the carriage that conveys them has a sign on its roof advertising a new play, "I Know What You Did Last Century".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At then end of the film at the wedding, just before the two tables part to allow them to stand up and start dancing, a wire can be clearly seen attached to the left hand table, so that it can be pulled away...

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 The Magical World of 'Ella Enchanted' (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

A sweet and charming movie

Ella Enchanted is a charming film that's good for the whole family. In this storybook fairy tale gone wrong, Anne Hathaway plays Ella, a girl given the magical gift of "obedience" by her fairy godmother at birth which turns into a curse because she can't refuse any command, even from those who abuse this fact. To try to regain control of her life, Ella goes on a quest to get the "gift" removed, meeting ogres and giants and a dreamy prince (Hugh Dancy) along the way. The plot sounds stupid but the movie is a lot better then I expected it to be. Its hard to take the film serious at some points though and sometimes its not exactly clear what the plot is. I have never read the book so I can't compare but my friend said that they change a lot of things. The cast, for the most part, is pretty good with the best being Anne Hathaway but she needs to start picking different roles to avoid being a typecast. I thought the acting from Hugh Dancy was horrible and it would have been better if they would have gone with someone else. Vivica A. Fox, Cary Elwes and Minnie Driver all have small roles and all do good job. The film is of course cheesy at some parts and all the gimmickry can become annoying after awhile. The film is pretty predictable but that shouldn't turn you away .The film is only 96 minutes long so it isn't a real punishment to watch the film. There are some things about the movie that didn't make sense and there are also a lot of pointless characters that could have been used without. In the end I think kids will really like Ella Enchanted Rating 7/10 if you have never read the book then you have a better chance of enjoying it. However, if you have read the book then you will probably hate it {like my friend did} because they change a lot.