Dir. Tommy O'Haver, 2004, USA/Ireland/UK, 96 mins
Cast:
Anne Hathaway, Minnie Driver, Eric Idle, Joanna Lumley, Parminder Nagra
Based on Gail Carson Levine's novel, this update of the classic Cinderella story is the highly stylized tale of Ella (Hathaway), a young woman who was given a "gift" of obedience by a generous but misguided fairy godmother. Anything anyone tells her to do, she must obey. When her mother passes away, Ella is cared for by her weak-willed father (Patrick Bergin) who remarries a loathsome woman (Joanna Lumley) with two ugly and unkind daughters.
Ella must overcome her troubles and find her fairy godmother in order for her "curse" to be broken! Predictably, along the way she falls in love with the dashing Prince Charmont whose wicked Uncle has terrible plans for the Kingdom.
Borrowing heavily from the successful Shrek formula of savvy West Coast fantasy, Ella Enchanted uses its heightened setting as a backdrop to a familiar narrative with modern sensibilities. While the magical setting has a middle-ages quality, there are the occasional witty flourishes which bring to mind the modern stone-age technology of The Flintstones. Gags like an escalator in a shopping centre which is revealed to be powered by elves, like hamsters in a wheel are tirelessly churned out and hugely enjoyable for all their throwaway charm.
Anne Hathaway, fresh from her role in Princess Diaries 2, is in practically every scene and exhibits genuine star quality. At various stages of the film she gets to perform anachronistic musical numbers by Queen and Elton John. These certainly add a great deal of fun to the proceedings, and Hathaway performs with vigour and great warmth.
She is supported by extended cameos from familiar faces such as Heidi Klum, Eric Idle, Minnie Driver and Jimi Mistry which although make the film into a star spotting exercise at times, provide fun for the grown ups.
Perhaps the only downside to an otherwise impressive cast is Parminder Nagra who gamely fills the role of Ella's best friend and is rewarded with perhaps the most thinly drawn role seen this year. Excellent as Hathaway is, surely it would have far more interesting to give Nagra a crack at in the lead role particularly after her credentials where so ably proven in Bend It Like Beckham?
A fairy tale is only as good as its villains and Ella Enchanted contains some (at times literally) truly hissable baddies. Cary Elwes, once the hero in Princess Bride, here plays the role of camp mustachioed villain so broadly that the screen can scarcely contain him, and Joanna Lumley plays the clichéd role of wicked stepmother with more than a hint of Absolutely Fabulous's Patsy.
Steve Coogan voices Heston the snake, perhaps the most unconvincing computer generated creature ever committed to celluloid. Not only is the visual representation poor, but the vocal performance of the character fails to make much of an impression. While Coogan undoubtedly has talent, his lack of success on the big screen (The Parole Officer, Around the World in 80 Days) suggests that his chances for international cinematic appeal are getting slimmer by the film.
Anne Hathaway, who has worked mainly in films aimed at a teen audience, recently revealed what kind of roles she would like to play in the future: "I hope you see my Ophelia some day, and that it's not just the name of a boat! I feel really inappropriate saying this in the company that I am in but my dream role is Eliza Doolittle. I love Shakespeare and I'm not just saying that because of the name thing. So I would love to play all of his great heroines. Oh and I'd love to be a Bond girl very, very much. And one more is a piano virtuoso called Clara Schumann from the 18th century. She was Robert Schumann's wife and a composer in her own right and had a fascinating life."
Hathaway, like Ella, clearly has many dreams to fulfill. For now, we simply know her as the queen of fairy-tales come true, and if you are a pre-teen girl then the likelihood is that Ella Enchanted will be quickly elevated onto your all time list of favourites . For the rest of us, it represents a fun and amiable seasonal diversion whose spell soon dissipates.
Jonathan Wilkins
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