A Veiled Tell: Nil Soli - 3/11/2008

Ella Enchanted (2004)

Last night JTH and I watched Ella Enchanted. The always enjoyable Anne Hathaway stars as the title character in this fairy tale. The premise is that a fairy godmother bestows the gift of obedience on baby Ella. She then must obey any command she receives. (We both noted how much more interesting the film would be if the character “Stiffler” from the American Pie series was in the film.)

If you remember the film’s genre, it is very enjoyable. It is a fairy tale and questions such as why someone does not just give Ella a command to negate her horrible requests or why Mandy (Minnie Driver) can suddenly reinstate her boyfriend’s humanity after years spent as a book should not be addressed.

We found the film as it was recommended for those who enjoy A Cinderella Story. (It is sad when you can do this under the assumption that I will already own whatever movie is recommended.) This movie preceded the Hilary Duff feature by three months in 2004. They are very similar, as each are derived from Cinderella (Cinder-Ella.). They both even have an African-American fairy godmother and a character who humorously gets botox treatments.

This movie, as a fairy tale, attempts to convey a moral - that of securing one’s own destiny. It also brings up the issue of stereotyping by having stock figures play against type, e.g. an elf who deplores singing, friendly ogres, etc. The elf is not particularly short either.

I especially liked a scene in which the male lead “Prince Char” (High Dancy) was topless. No, it is not what you think. It is just that he and Hathaway are both exceedingly pale actors and as a fellow pale person, I was pleased that they were used as leads. Hollywood has often neglected my ‘you’re so pale you could pass for a corpse’ look.

The movie also has some musical numbers. Hathaway provides her own vocals in the film, beginning with a rendition of Queen’s Somebody to Love.”

The supporting cast is also good, especially Cary Elwes (Westley from The Princess Bride) as the over-the-top villain, Sir Edgar. Jim Carter (not the president) is also loveable as Nisch the Ogre. Also noteworthy us that Heidi Klum plays a giant in the movie who marries a dwarf. So, there is more of Heidi than usual which cannot be all bad.

Overall, it was a fun movie. Temporary suspension of disbelief is the key.

Current IMDB rating: 6.4/10. Chanalysis: 6/10.