| Ella Enchanted | |
| Director: | Tommy O'Haver |
| Music: | Nick Glennie-Smith |
| Cinematography: | John de Borman |
| Editing: | Masahiro Hirakubo |
| Distributor: | Miramax Films |
| Runtime: | 101 minutes[1] |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $31 million[2] |
| Gross: | $27.4 million |
Ella Enchanted is a 2004 jukebox musical fantasy 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 is a satire of the fairy tale genre.
The film is a co-production between companies in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The film received mostly mixed reviews, and was heavily criticized for its changes to the source material and addition of new characters. Levine stated that the film is "so different from the book that it's hard to compare them" and suggested "regarding the movie as a separate creative act".[3]
In the kingdom of Lamia, misguided fairy godmother Lucinda Perriweather bestows the “gift” of obedience on newborn Ella of Frell, causing her to instantly and literally obey any command she is given. Some years later, on her deathbed, Ella's mother warns her daughter not to tell anyone about the gift, for fear that someone might exploit her. Ella is also told there is something in her stronger than any spell.
Years later, Ella's father Sir Peter marries a wealthy socialite, Dame Olga, who dislikes Ella and treats her poorly. She meets Prince "Char" Charmont, who invites her to his coronation ball. Jealous, Olga's daughters Hattie and Olive find out about Ella's obedience and use it to humiliate her. Ella resolves to find Lucinda to undo her gift. Mandy, the household fairy, lends Ella her boyfriend, Benny, whom she accidentally transformed into a magic book. Ella learns that Lucinda is in Giantville so she leaves to find her.
On her journey, Ella rescues Slannen, an elf who wants to become a lawyer, rather than be forced to be an entertainer. They are captured by ogres but are rescued by Char. He joins them, intending to avenge the death of his father, and Ella opens his eyes to the cruelty of the laws oppressing elves and giants enacted by Char's paternal uncle, the Regent Sir Edgar.
Ella and Char begin to fall in love. Together they travel to the capital for Char's coronation. Edgar learns of Ella's “gift” from her stepsisters. Knowing his nephew is in love with her, he orders Ella to murder Char at midnight and to keep this plan a secret. Edgar reveals that he murdered Char's father, and the prince's death will make him king. Ella writes Char a letter, saying she must leave but cannot explain why. She has Slannen chain her to a tree far off, hoping to wait out Edgar's command, while Slannen recruits more elves and giants to protect Char.
Lucinda appears and Ella begs her to take back her gift. Offended, Lucinda insists that she remove the gift herself and unchains her. Forced back to the castle, Ella stumbles into the ball. Char whisks her away to a secret hall of mirrors, where he proposes. As she is about to stab him, she sees her reflection along with a vision from her late mother and tearfully commands herself to no longer be obedient, permanently freeing herself from the gift. Char notices the dagger, and Edgar has Ella arrested before she can explain herself.
Benny reveals Ella is in the dungeon, so Slannen sneaks into the castle along with a band of elves, giants, and ogres, and frees her. Benny shows that Edgar has poisoned Char's crown, intending to kill him at the coronation. Ella and the others crash the ceremony and a brawl ensues.
In the scuffle, Mandy manages to turn Benny human again. As Char and Ella fight off the guards, she confesses her love for him and reveals Edgar's plot. Edgar's talking snake Heston almost fatally bites Char, which he takes as evidence of his uncle's guilt. Edgar attempts to proclaim himself king, foolishly putting on the poisoned crown and collapses.
Soon after, Char and Ella 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 disabled and confined to a wheelchair. The cast performs a final dance number of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" before the newlyweds ride off on their honeymoon.
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."[4] 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".[5]
Hathaway did her own singing in the film.[6]
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.[7]
Filming took place in Ireland at Ardmore Studios and on location in Wicklow during August–December 2002.[8] Locations included Luggala Estate, Killruddery House and Garden, and Kiltegan.[9]
Miramax Films released the film on April 9, 2004.
Ella Enchanted opened on April 9, 2004, and earned $6,169,030 in its opening weekend, ranking number nine at the domestic box office.[10] 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.[2]
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 51% approval rating 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."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a 53 out of 100 rating based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[13]
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).[14]
See main article: Ella Enchanted (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.