Anne Hathaway, who made
her film debut back in “The Princess Diaries,” plays Ella, who was given a
curse when she was born from her fairy godmother Lucinda, played by Vivica A.
Fox. Sadly, everyone gets a curse by a fairy in this land, but Ella’s is a real
bummer: She is given the curse of obedience, where she must do whatever she’s
told. When she grows up, this is a huge burden, especially after her father Sir
Peter (Patrick Bergin) remarries to her evil stepmother Dame Olga (Joanna
Lumley) and her two jealous stepsisters, Hattie and Olive (Lucy Punch and
Jennifer Higham).
This is the Cinderella
story, but has a twist, because Ella is a medieval civil rights crusader, and
thinks it’s wrong that Prince Edgar, played by Cary Elwes, has banished every
non-human from the land and into the forest. They include giants, the ogres and
elves.
Ella is in the forest
one day when she sees ogres, who tie her above a hot cauldron and prepare to
cook her for lunch. Ebert mentioned, “An ogre asks her, "How do you like
to be eaten? Baked? Boiled?" I like her answer: "Free range."”
Ella tells them that
she supports them, and she wants to end their segregation, she packs with her a
talking book named Benny. The front cover is a hologram showing Benny, played
by Jimi Mistry, whose body was sadly taken by a willful spell. Open the book,
and he can show you anyone you want to see, but Benny’s powers are restricted
and he can’t tell you where to find them.
She meets up with
Prince Charmont three different times, played by Hugh Dancy, and instantly
falls in love with him at every encounter, throwing Ella into the middle of
palace conspiracy. Edgar wants to murder his nephew and seize the throne, and despite
Ella seeing this plan, her stepsisters know about her curse and use it to keep
her away from Charmont.
The movie actually
looks beautiful. Ebert said, “Special effects create a picture-book kingdom in
which the medieval mixes with the suburban (there is a mall). I like the casual
way that computer-animated graphics are used with real foregrounds; sure, it
doesn't look as convincing as it did (sometimes) in "Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring," but a certain artifice adds to the style.”
Every cast member is
really funny, especially the family fairy Mandy (Minnie Driver), who is not
good when casting spells, Slannen the Elf (Aiden McArdle), Ella’s brave
partner, a narrator played by “Monty Python” alum Eric Idle, who sings a few
songs, and an evil snake named Heston, who is Edgar’s right-hand man. Her best
friend is played by Parminder K. Nagra from “Bend It Like Beckham” who sadly
doesn’t really play that big of a role since she’s gone for about an hour,
until she comes back looking on with glee at the end.
Ebert credited, “One of
the charms of the movie is its goofiness, which extends to the songs, which
verge on sing-along chestnuts; what else would the elves sing, after all, but
"Let Us Entertain You"?”
Anne Hathaway lights up
in this film. She has a big smile and expressive face, and here she’s in a clever
and evil story, instead of with the breathless plot of “The Princess Diaries.”
She looks like she’s having fun, along with every cast member, including the
snake. This must have been one of the best family films of that year.
If you like Cinderella
and any kind of spin on the story, this one is definitely for you. Especially
if you have little girls, they will definitely get into this one. Don’t skip
this one. I know this one didn’t get good reviews when it was released, but I
actually enjoyed it when I saw it.
Happy Single Awareness
Day to everyone. Look out tomorrow when I look at the next review for “Black
History Movie Month.”
No comments:
Post a Comment