Ella Enchanted (film)

Ella Enchanted is a 2004 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Tommy O'Haver and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith loosely based on Gail Carson Levine's 1997 novel of the same name. Starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy, the film plays with the usual fairy tale genre.

The film is a co-production between companies in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Plot
In the kingdom of Lamia, baby Ella of Frell is given the "gift" of obedience by the misguided and obnoxious fairy Lucinda; Ella is magically compelled to instantly obey any command she is given. On her deathbed, Ella's mother warns her not to tell anyone about the curse, for fear someone might use it to exploit Ella. Only Mandy, the household fairy, knows the secret.

Years later, Ella's father marries wealthy socialite Dame Olga, who dislikes Ella. Her spoiled daughters Hattie and Olive discover Ella's obedience and use it to humiliate her. Ella stumbles upon Prince "Char" Charmont, pursued by his besotted fan club, who invites her to his coronation ball, but Olga intercepts the invitation. Jealous, Hattie and Olive force Ella to cut ties with her best friend Areida.

Ella resolves to find Lucinda to undo her gift. Mandy lends Ella her boyfriend Benny, whom she accidentally transformed into a magic book. Learning that Lucinda is attending a wedding in Giantville, Ella leaves home to find her.

On her journey, Ella rescues Slannen, an elf who wants to be a lawyer rather than be forced to be entertainer. They are captured by ogres who intend to eat them, but are rescued by Prince Charmont. He joins them, and Ella opens his eyes to the cruelty of the laws oppressing elves and giants enacted by his uncle Sir Edgar, the acting ruler.

They discover Lucinda has already left, and Char suggests they visit the castle’s hall of records to find her faster, which is overheard by Sir Edgar's snake, Heston. After Ella performs "Somebody to Love" for the wedding guests, she and Char begin to fall in love.

At the castle, Edgar learns of Ella's gift from her stepsisters. Knowing his nephew is in love with her, Edgar orders Ella her to murder Char at midnight when he inevitably proposes to her at the coronation ball, and to keep this plan secret. Edgar reveals that he murdered Char's father, and the prince’s death will make Edgar king. Ella writes Char a letter, saying she must leave but cannot explain why. She has Slannen chain her to a tree, hoping to wait out Edgar's command, while Slannen recruits more elves and giants to protect Char.

As night falls, Lucinda arrives and Ella begs her to take back her gift. Offended, Lucinda insists that Ella remove the gift herself, unchains her and gives her a fancy dress. Forced back to the castle, Ella stumbles into the ball. Char whisks her away to a secret hall of mirrors where he proposes. As Ella is about to stab Char, she sees her reflection and commands herself to no longer be obedient, freeing herself from the gift. Char notices the dagger, and Edgar has Ella arrested before she can explain herself.

Benny, who was left in the hall of records and thrown out, is found by Slannen. Benny reveals Ella in the dungeon, and Slannen leads a band of elves, giants, and ogres into the castle and frees her. Benny shows that Edgar has poisoned Char's crown, intending to kill him at his coronation.

As Char is about to be crowned, Ella and the others crash the ceremony and a brawl with Edgar's soldiers ensues. In the scuffle, Mandy manages to turn Benny human again. As Char and Ella fight off the guards together, she confesses her love for him, and reveals Edgar's plot and his murder of Char's father, which Edgar denies. Heston almost fatally bites Char, but is kicked away by Ella and trampled by Char's fan club; Char takes this as evidence of his uncle's guilt. Edgar then denounces the prince and attempts to proclaim himself king but unknowingly puts on the poisoned crown and collapses.

Soon after, Ella and Char are married, and Char toasts to a new era of equality among all citizens of the kingdom. Edgar is revealed to still be alive, but physically and cognitively impaired. The cast performs a final dance number of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" before the couple rides off on their honeymoon.

Cast

 * Anne Hathaway as Ella of Frell, a girl given the "gift" of obedience by the fairy Lucinda, which magically compels her to literally obey every command she is given, even if it is against her wishes.
 * Aimee Brigg as young Ella
 * Hugh Dancy as Prince "Char" Charmont, son of the late king and heir to the throne. He is treated as a teen icon and has his own overzealous fan club, though he disagrees with this label.
 * Cary Elwes as Sir Edgar, the Prince's uncle and King Regent who wants the crown for himself.
 * Steve Coogan as Heston, Edgar's pet snake and royal advisor.
 * Aidan McArdle as Slannen, an elf who wants to become a lawyer.
 * Jimi Mistry as Benny, Mandy's boyfriend whom she accidentally transformed into a magic book.
 * Minnie Driver as Mandy, a household fairy in Ella's home.
 * Vivica A. Fox as Lucinda Perriweather, a well-meaning but misguided and often unhelpful fairy who gave the "gift" of obedience to Ella.
 * Lucy Punch as Hattie, Ella's cruel stepsister who is obsessed with Prince Charmont.
 * Jennifer Higham as Olive, Ella's kleptomaniac and dim-witted stepsister who always follows her older sister Hattie.
 * Jim Carter as Nish, an ogre who eats humans and the leader of the pack of ogres.
 * Parminder Nagra as Areida, Ella's best friend.
 * Ankita Malkan as young Areida
 * Patrick Bergin as Sir Peter, Ella's father.
 * Donna Dent as Lady Eleanor, Ella's mother.
 * Joanna Lumley as Dame Olga, Ella's stepmother.
 * Alvaro Lucchesi as Koopooduk, a giant
 * Heidi Klum as Brumhilda, a giantess and Slannen's love interest.
 * Eric Idle as the Narrator
 * Johnny Nguyen (uncredited) as Red Knight

Production
Hathaway, who first read the book when she was 16, says that there was originally a version of the script that was much closer to the book but that it didn't work as a film; she added that she prefers the way the movie actually turned out because it "makes fun of itself for being a fairy tale." Levine states that the film is "so different from the book that it's hard to compare them," noting the addition of new characters such as Sir Edgar and Heston, and suggested "regarding the movie as a separate creative act".

Hathaway did her own singing in the film.

Jimi Mistry, a British actor of Indian descent, said that he enjoyed playing a talking book in the film because it offered him the opportunity to do something different from his other roles. "You can't get less Indian than a talking book, and an American talking book, so it was great," he said.

Filming took place in Ireland at Ardmore Studios and on location in Wicklow. Locations included Luggala Estate, Killruddery House and Garden, and Kiltegan.

Release
Miramax Films released the film on April 9, 2004.

Box office
Ella Enchanted opened on April 9, 2004 and earned $6,169,030 in its opening weekend, ranking number nine at the domestic box office. At the end of its run, the film grossed $22,918,387 domestically and $4,470,380 overseas for a worldwide total of $27,388,767.

Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes holds a 50% score based on 115 reviews with an average rating of 5.6/10. The site's consensus reads: "Hathaway is a charming heroine, but the simple storyline gets overwhelmed by silly gimmickry." On Metacritic, the film has a 53 out of 100 rating based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, praising it as "the best family film so far this year" (April 9, 2004).

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released April 6, 2004 by Hollywood Records and features Kelly Clarkson's cover of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" along with "Somebody to Love" by Queen and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee, both as covered by Hathaway and Jesse McCartney.