Ella Enchanted

Shrek started a vogue for post-modern fairy tales, with self-aware characters, pop-culture jokes and retro needle-drops designed to keep the parents on message. Back in 2004, Ella Enchanted attempted to do the same trick with live action, and Tommy O’Haver’s film deserves to be remembered as a kid-friendly movie with something more to offer adults than a few patronising tit-bits.

Ella (Anne Hathaway) is enchanted from birth; a wayward fairy godmother (Vivian A Fox, very 2004 casting) has given her the gift of obedience, meaning that whenever Ella is asked to do something, she can’t help but oblige. Ask Ella to hand over a precious necklace given to her by her late mother and she’ll oblige. The arrival of a wicked stepmother (ideally played by Joanna Lumley) means that Ella’s unique behavioural traits are soon taken advantage of, and even though Hugh Dancy’s prince is within reach, a plan is set in motion to sideline Ella from her destiny. A quest is embarked upon, with a magic book (Jimi Mistry), an Irish imp, some ogres and some other predictable obstacles on the way to ap upbeat, all-singing all-dancing finale set to Elton John and Kiki Dee’s national anthem Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.

Although five writers are credited here, the original book by Gail Carson Levine is presumably the source of Ella’s principal notion; that speaking up for yourself isn’t easy when everyone wants to tell you what to do. The wider political world Ella encounters underscores the notion; Ella really doesn’t like being bossed around, much as the ordinary people round about her resent their authoritarian rulers. Ella Enchanted doesn’t do much to resolve such issues, but there’s a clear and heartfelt self-empowerment message at the centre of the story.

On the edges, there’s also plenty of fun in the window-dressing, from Eric Idle’s storyteller to Steve Coogan as Heston the hissing snake, while the film amusingly leans into the Americanisation of European fairy-tales by presenting Ella’s very own marketplace as a mall complete with wooden escalators. For kids bored with repeated viewings of Frozen and Tangled, Ella Enchanted is a worthy next step; chunky and easy to watch, it’s got some hidden depths well worth exploring.