Product Description

Anne Hathaway, the delightful star of THE PRINCESS DIARIES, is Ella in the charming fairy tale adventure ELLA ENCHANTED. On the day of her birth, Ella is given a gift by her Fairy Godmother -- the gift of obedience, which is also a curse. Under no circumstances can Ella refuse anything she is asked to do, no matter how wicked it may be. Tired of being taken advantage of, Ella, with a talking book as her companion, leaves home to find her Fairy Godmother and return her unwanted gift. This simple errand soon turns into an amazing journey filled with ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, elves, and the plotting of Prince Charmont's evil uncle who wants to take over the Crown and rule the kingdom. Bursting with colorful characters, music, wit, and whimsy, ELLA ENCHANTED is a truly enchanting and heartwarming tale that will captivate the entire family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4392 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2004-08-24
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
Fairy tales and contemporary satire collide in Ella Enchanted, based upon the enormously popular young adult novel by Gail Carson Levine. Ella (Anne Hathaway, The Princess Diaries) received an unfortunate fairy gift in her cradle: No matter what anyone tells her to do, she's compelled to obey. Despite this, Ella grows up to be a headstrong young woman who refuses to swoon at the sight of a charming young prince (Hugh Dancy). To get her gift removed, Ella braves a forest packed with ogres, elves, and giants to find her fairy godmother (Vivica A. Fox, Kill Bill, Vol. 1). Much like Shrek, Ella Enchanted is sprinkled with comic modern references; for some, this will make the whimsy too cute, while others will appreciate the snarky jabs. Also featuring Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Minnie Driver, Joanna Lumley, Eric Idle, and many others. --Bret Fetzer

Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"It's a high-spirited charmer, a fantasy that sparkles with delights."

Gene Seymour, NEWSDAY
"Its knockabout humor grows on you, as does Anne Hathaway."

Customer Reviews

A high energy family-friendly delight of a film!!
Not your typical Cinderella story...

What do you get when you mix a bit of fairy tale-Cinderella world with some Shrek, throw in some Princess Bride, a little bit of Disney's Robin Hood (see Hester the snake), along with a little singing, and some random modern-day references thrown in for good measure? You get Ella Enchanted, Miramax's newest gem of a film, narrated by Eric Idle and starring the lovely Anne Hathaway and the dreamy Hugh Dancy.

Ella of Frell (Anne Hathaway) has a gift. Er, I mean, a curse. A gift, a curse, it all depends on how you look at it: no matter what you tell Ella to do, she must obey. A rather capricious fairy named Lucinda (Vivica A. Fox) gave baby Ella the "gift of obedience": anything spoken to Ella as a command, she must automatically do. Fast forward a few years: Ella is now a young lady, and no one except her aunt Mandy (Minnie Driver) knows about this gift/curse. Not even her best friend and fellow civil rights activist Arieda (played by "Bend It Like Beckham's" Parminder K. Nagra) is aware of her "problem." When her father brings home a wicked new stepmother (Joanna Lumley) and two evil stepsisters, Hattie (Lucy Punch) and Olive (Jennifer Higham), Ella must deal with their demanding ways, hopefully without giving away her secret!

Her stepsister Hattie is the very obsessive and very active president of the Prince Charmont fan club! She and her friends go absolutely ga-ga, every time they even think of the hunky prince (much less when they see him). Prince "Char" (Hugh Dancy) as they lovingly call him, is the heir apparent to the throne currently held for him by his evil uncle Edgar (Cary Elwes). The coronation day coming soon, and the kingdom in a bit of upheavel due to the heavy handed rule of Edgar, ogres, giants, and elves alike are all ready for a change! But will everyone accept Prince Charmont as their new king?

One magical day when Ella and Prince Charmont cross paths, it is love at first sight for Prince Char. But the feisty and proud Ella is not so quick to fall for the prince; she is sure he is as unfeeling and uncaring as his uncle is. And since Ella actively fights for ogres' rights, along with any other magical creature in her kingdom (giants, elves, etc.), she wants nothing to do with the handsome Char. But when their paths keep crossing again and again...what's a girl to do!?!

And so Ella of Frell sets out to find her fairy godmother Lucinda, to ask her to take back her "gift" of obedience, armed with Mandy's boyfriend book named Benny (who can picture anyone, anywhere) and elf pal Slannen, they encounter much along the way (including Prince Char!). They reach the land of the giants only to discover that Lucinda has already left, and Ella is forced by her obedience gift to stay and sing for the giants (her rendition of "Someone to Love," is entertaining and very well done!). But when Ella is finally commanded to do something that tests her very will...can she find Lucinda in time? Will she end up doing something she will forever regret?

Content: This film had very little objectionable content: there were a few general references that would be above most children's heads, very little language (a few words), and only some mild violence. Given a PG rating: "For some crude language and violence." A young girl (with some help) defeats ogres and fights various magical creatures, giants are shown slaving in a field, someone is "poisoned," and a giant falls in love with an elf.

A high energy family-friendly film that reminds you again, why every girl waits for her prince and wishes for that happily ever after (but has some serious fun in the process!). The modern day references did not detract from the story at all, but added a bit of fun and light-hearted teasing to an entertaining movie. I laughed and laughed at the sometimes silly and sometimes serious jokes that poked fun at various modern day places and things. One particular moment that caused a huge laugh: Ella and Arieda are leaving a building and travel down a "medieval escalator" (a wooden set of moving stairs, with a giant wheel turned by servants). From "Medieval Teen" magazine and trips to "Ye Olde Shopping Mall, to an elf who wants to be a lawyer and giants who love to sing, from the "VI Seasons" hotel and "Frell Community College," this energetic and colorful film will leave you laughing, and feeling light and free.

NOT ANYTHING LIKE THE BOOK
I just wanted to post a review to let anyone who has seen this movie know that it should NOT be used to judge the book. I think I read somewhere that the author was actually involved with putting together the screenplay, but if so, I cannot imagine WHY she permitted some of the modifications. I do understand that some "interpretation" was necessary, because the book was very "LITERARY" in the sense that some of parts could only be "read" and couldn't be "acted out" in any interesting fashion (there are several exchanges of correspondence between Ella and the prince for example, and how boring is it to have characters reading letters aloud?).

Granted, if you like this movie, that's fine with me--it has lots of pretty actors and actresses, cutsey bits, with music and all that "glitzy" production kind of thing that looks good in a movie. But the book was a wonderful, enchanting, magic tale that was not even touched upon by this atrocity of a movie as far as that goes. I wouldn't have paid a cent to watch this if I had realized the main story had been buried beneath so much nonsense and Hollywood style. I LOVED THE BOOK AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING IT AS A FINE RETELLING OF THE CINDERELLA STORY.

And if you are looking for a mildly entertaining but pointless movie to watch, and do not expect it to reflect the magic and beauty of the original story, it's fine.

Enchanting performance by Anne!
In spite of the harsh criticism received for this movie for it's contradiction with the book I personally think it was a neat production judging in terms of cinematic creation. I never heard it being referred to as an adaptation, so why worry about if it ain't broke?

The most eye catching thing right throughout the movie was obviously Anne. Her acting has astonishingly improved since Princess Diaries, Nicholas Nickleby and the rest. Also you get to hear her amazing voice where she performance a beautiful solo and dancing of course ;).. talking about dancing, in the finale just try focusing on Jimi Mistry. you won't stop laughing!

I never pictured Hugh Dancy as prince charming, but you really get a laugh here. The entire film has a very fine blend of colors, you would notice it's very easy to watch and the picture quality is looks great. Even though not in depth, you will be taken into the worlds of both Giants and Elves, a pretty good contrast, and as always the good and the bad.

I do understand that many youngsters would be disappointed to see something quite different from the book, and even though the constantly obedient concept doesn't quite work for elders, credit should be given to a well directed fairy tale. It's a movie after all and it should be watched just like you would watch something new. If you do, it'll definitely put you in the good mood.