It's so disappointing to watch a film squander its potential right before your eyes. Ella Enchanted has all the ingredients to be a charming and clever movie that's entertaining for kids and adults, and it should be so much better than it ultimately ends up being. Instead, it's a mildly amusing diversion that kids might like, but adults would do better to wait for the similar and undoubtedly more entertaining Shrek 2.
Like Shrek, Ella takes place in a modernized fantasy world, where there are fairies, princes and magic, but also shopping malls, community colleges and retirement homes. The Ella of the title (Anne Hathaway) is a humble young girl stuck with an unfortunate "gift" given to her by a wayward fairy godmother (Vivica A. Fox): obedience. She has to do everything she's told, from cleaning her room to touching her toes. This burden becomes even harder to bear after Ella's mother dies and she gets stuck with the requisite wicked stepmother (Absolutely Fabulous' Joanna Lumley, absolutely fabulous) and two wicked stepsisters.
While on a quest to have her gift removed, Ella runs into Prince Char (Hugh Dancy), about to take over the kingdom from his slimy uncle, Edgar (Cary Elwes). Edgar has oppressed the kingdom's minorities of giants, elves and ogres, and is determined to hold onto his power no matter the cost. Ella and Char unite to save the kingdom, and of course, fall in love.
Based loosely on Gail Carson Levine's well-known children's novel, Ella Enchanted could have been both fun and heartwarming, but it has all the hallmarks of too many cooks in the kitchen. (There are five credited screenwriters alone.) Many of the jokes suffer from pulled punches, and the little modern touches which could have been expanded upon instead remain as inconsequential background details. Hathaway, who has got modern fairy tale experience in The Princess Diaries, is charming as Ella, but the script doesn't give her much to build a performance around. Director Tommy O'Haver throws in musical numbers, fight scenes and some dodgy special effects, but much of it feels forced, and after the charm of something like Shrek, it's easy to spot falsity.
That's not to say kids might not be entertained, if they don't mind the significant changes from the book. But considering its pedigree, this Ella could have been a whole lot more enchanting.