RATING:
PG
GENRE:
Fantasy
STARRING:
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Cary Elwes,
Minnie Driver, Vivica A. Fox, and Joanna Lumley
DIRECTOR:
Tommy O'Haver
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
Su Armstrong
PRODUCER:
Jane Startz
WRITERS:
Laurie Craig, Karen McCullah Lutz, and Kirsten
Smith
DISTRIBUTOR:
Miramax
Please Note
In providing movie reviews on our site, CBN.com is not endorsing or recommending films we review. Our goal is to provide Christians with information about the latest movies, both the good and the bad, so that our readers may make an informed decision as to whether or not films are appropriate for them and their families.
CHRISTIAN MOVIE REVIEW
Ella Enchanted
MovieGuide Magazine
CBN.com
Ella Enchanted is a retelling of the Cinderella story. It has great
potential to be involving and interesting for children but spends more time
advancing an anti-capitalist, socialist political message than entertaining
them. Once the story kicks into high gear, the movie becomes very grim: the
uncle is revealed to be a murderer, and the heroine is nearly forced to kill
her love, the young prince. In the end, its messages become confused, and
the story ends in a surprisingly conventional way.
The story opens with Ellas irresponsible fairy godmother casting an
obedience sell on her. Whenever anyone tells her to do something, she does
it immediately. This presents a problem when Ellas mother dies and her
father remarries. Unhappily for Ella, her new stepmother comes with two bratty
stepsisters, who soon learn the secret of controlling her. Ella sets out to
find her fairy godmother and get the spell reversed, but she becomes entangled
in a plot by Prince Chars evil uncle to kill the prince and seize the
throne.
What works for this movie is Anne Hathaway. As Ella, she acts with an effortlessness
that never seems lazy or stagey. Her character comes across as natural and
very likeable. She is always believable, even when the script disservices
her with simply standard material.
Although the story is set in the days of carriages and castles, the characters
speak as if they are contemporary, and many of the cultural and political
conflicts will be recognizeable to todays audiences. This uniquely postmodern
trick allows the familiar premise young girl is abused by her stepsisters
and stepmother until she accidentally seduces the prince and escapes their
bondage to become a political allegory. The movie seems most concerned
with race and class (ogres, giants, and elves represent various minorities),
but there are slight suggestions of a feminist message, although it is totally
reversed in the movies denouement.
The movie advances its political messages by painting Ella as a dissenter.
She stages rallies and protests and frequently cites her political beliefs,
which, translated from the metaphor, are socialist-leaning. Ella is also backbendingly
kind and likeable (aside from the fact that she is accommodating, which she
cannot avoid due to a spell cast on her). On the other hand, Ellas stepsisters
love the corrupt king and the policies that Ella thinks unjust. They are also
greedy and shallow. These characters morph into caricatures, with Ella representing
progressiveness, and her stepsisters representing organized greed.
Political messages choke the movie and make it hard to enjoy on other levels.
By the movies final fifth, however, the story turns rather conventional,
as Ella and the princes love triumphs over the evil king, and the two
live happily ever after.
Please address your comments to:
Bob and Harvey Weinstein
Co-Chairmen
Miramax Films
375 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
Phone: (323) 822-4100 and (212) 941-3800
Fax: (212) 941-3846
Website: www.miramax.com
NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine: For more information
from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by
calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org.
Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing
parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives
and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best
at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online
subscription to its magazine version, at www.movieguide.org.
The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles
and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.
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