"Ella Enchanted"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Anne Hathaway as ELLA Hugh Dancy as PRINCE CHARMONT Cary Elwes as PRINCE REGENT EDGAR Minnie Driver as MANDY Vivica A. Fox as FAIRY LUCINDA Joanna Lumley as DAME OLGA Patrick Bergin as SIR PETER Eric Idle as NARRATOR Rated PG Studio: Miramax Directed by: Tommy O’Haver Back to DVD Review Home |
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When Ella was baby, she was given the gift of obedience by her fairy godmother Lucinda (Vivica A. Fox). However, as she grew up, the gift was more of a curse, always forcing Ella (Anne Hathaway) to do whatever she was told to do. After her mother dies, her father (Patrick Bergen) marries the evil stepmother (Joanna Lumley). Eventually, Ella’s step-sister Hattie (Lucy Punch) discovers Ella’s enchantment, forcing Ella away to find Lucinda to lift the spell. Along the way, Ella falls in love with the hunky Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy) who is set to inherit the kingdom from his conniving uncle Edgar (Carey Elwes).
My wife was a big fan of “Ella Enchanted.” She’s a grade school teacher and had read the book upon which this movie is based. When we watched the DVD, she asked me why I didn’t like it. (You have to understand, this is rare for my wife to do this because she hates to hear me pontificate about a movie.) So, as the movie went on, I found all the same problems to cause me to not like the film in its initial release.
Most of these problems stem from one thing: I just never bought the premise. Okay, I’ll give you fairies and ogres and bad Shrek-like jokes abound. But I never quite bought the fact that no one ever discovered Ella’s enchantment, and her self-centered step sister figures the whole thing out in a matter of hours. Even Ella’s best friend never caught on. If you can get past that, the film ain’t bad.
The other real problem I had was that it’s tongue is too far in its cheek. Nowhere is this more apparent than with Carey Elwes’ performance. Elwes is an actor of the same ilk as Brendan Fraser. He’s infinitely better in a serious role than a comedy role. Too often in comedies, Elwes cheeses things up over the top. He’s due for a much needed lesson in low-key comedy by Leslie Neilsen.
“Ella Enchanted” is also guilty of over-using special effects. It seems ironic that only few weeks ago, Disney released the classic “Darby O’Gill and the Little People.” While “Ella Enchanted” uses green screens and digital effects to allow giants, elves and humans interact in the same frame, the 1959 “Darby O’Gill” used forced perspective and matte paintings to do the same. However, the antiquated techniques in “Darby O’Gill” are much more effective and realistic than the CGI used in “Ella Enchanted.”
The best part of the film, however, is Anne Hathaway, who is on her way to becoming a very bankable name once she emerges from her Disney contract. When the Disney machine is behind an actress like Hilary Duff, they can make her a star. No one demonstrates this more than Raven, who is attached like a leech to practically every Disney product on the market. However, if Raven ever separates with Disney, she’ll probably fade fast like Hilary Duff’s movie career.
Hathaway, on the other hand, could break out of her Disney film mode and do some serious work. She’s beautiful and a pretty good actress. Plus, she’s not afraid to take chances and risk some physical comedy. It’ll be nice to see her when she’s doing other films that don’t require her to wear a princess gown.
There are some good features on this DVD, which is the reason to revisit it at the video store. The commentary track features director Tommy O’Haver, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. It’s a very competent commentary, and to risk being accused of tooting Hathaway’s horn too much, she seems to be the glue holding it together. I only say this because O’Haver and Dancy are present for the deleted scenes commentary, but these tracks are not nearly as interesting. This is because in the feature commentary, Hathaway takes a reporter-quality interest in the film, almost interviewing O’Haver and Dancy at times.
There are two behind-the-scenes featurettes: “Ella Enchanted Red Carpet Premiere Special” and “The Magical World of Ella Enchanted.” Either one is good in its own right, but it’s a waste of time to watch both. This is because much of the material is identical on the two specials, and the only differences is who is introducing the material.
Finally, there’s a game called “Prince Charmont’s Fan Club,” which challenges players to get him through a maze of his crazed fans. The game is okay, but in the end, it leads to an Easter Egg that shows the hidden faces in “Ella Enchanted.” Like hidden Mickeys in some Disney animated films, these faces are morphed into background scenery and special effects.
Why faces? I have no idea, but they are neat to find nonetheless.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. French language track. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
