THIS is how you do an anachronistic fairytale send-up. With sincerity and humor, it firmly commits to its high-concept idea (her "gift" of perfect obedience). The biggest surprise is how much it has to say about patriarchy, class disparity, systemic bigotry, and feminist autonomy, all without losing its light charm.

Ella Enchanted is a creative movie based on the book by Levine. This story is partly based on classic Disney princess stories, including some aspects from Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. The cast is well-chosen and there is a good amount of humour in the movie to keep the audience interested. The characters are also well-chosen and play their fantasy roles nicely.It is unfortunate that there are some inappropriate moments in this movie, such as certain phrases spoken, but these will not likely be understood by children or decent-minded people.I would give this movie a rating of 8/10. I feel that the main actress, playing the role of Ella, could have done a better job. Other than that, this is a movie that one cannot stop watching. Enjoy!

Ella Enchanted incorporates real life characters with a magical fairytale-like world. The plot combines a romantic love story with humor and action and adventure, which makes this movie perfect for brightening your mood. One could say that this movie has a lack of originality. The plot much resembles that of the Cinderella Story. Like the character Cinderella, Ella is misfortune with an evil stepmother and two sisters, who strive to make Ella's life miserable. Also, Cinderella's stepsisters try to intervene in Cinderella's relationship with the prince, just as Olive and Hattie (Ella's stepsisters), try to prevent Ella from marrying Prince Charmont. A difference in these two stories however, is that Cinderella's godmother helps her, whereas Ella's godmother is the source of her problems. Although this movie was intended for a younger audience, I would recommend not allowing very young children to watch it. There are bar scenes that show many intoxicated people, and Lucinda is also drunk in a few scenes. Although surrounded by alcohol at the bar scene, Prince Charmont and Ella do not participate in such activities, which may serve as a good example to young children. However, the script of the movie contains slightly crude humor that some parents may consider inappropriate for their younger children. At several moments during the movie, I was frustrated with Ella's situation. For example, since Ella was forced to kill Char because Edgar ordered her too, the simple solution would seem to be for Ella to tell someone to order her not to follow Edgar's command. Perhaps the curse would not make that possible, but the exact parameters of the curse were not explicitly stated in the movie. Another part of the movie that was frustrating is that Ella kept her curse a secret from Prince Charmont. I understand why she didn't tell anyone else, because they would just take advantage of her. It would have made her life much easier if she had told Char about her curse, especially when Edgar ordered her to kill Char. However, Ella not telling Char about the curse is what makes the proposal scene and the rest of the movie more suspenseful. In the beginning of the movie when Ella's mother is passing, her mother tells her "what's inside you is stronger than any spell". I didn't realize until towards the end of the movie that this foreshadowed the proposal scene. Ella's love for Prince Charmont was so strong that it defeated her dreadful curse. In the moment where Ella is holding the dagger over Char's head, she is overwhelmed with her mother's voice saying, "What's inside you is stronger than any curse". I think that is an excellent use of this quote, especially since it was her mother's advice and last words. Ella Enchanted was released in 2004, but the movie soundtrack consists of some songs dating back to the seventies. "Somebody to Love" by Queen, is played when Ella is ordered to sing and dance in the bar at Giantville. Instead of joining in, Char stands back and watches Ella. Because of the lyrics and the moment of time in the movie, I thought that something climatic was going to happen regarding their relationship, but nothing happened. I was disappointed that Char didn't join Ella in dancing because it would have been the first romantic moment between them. The closing song is from the 90's – "Don't' Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and RuPaul. In this final scene, the entire cast is in the castle. Regardless of each character's role in the movie, good or evil, they all join together in dancing. The choreography is more cheesy than impressive, but that's one of the reasons why this movie is great for a younger audience.

Baby Ella (Anne Hathaway) was given a 'gift of obedience' by Lucinda the fairy (Vivica A. Fox). It is more of a curse which the unreasonable fairy refuses to undo. She must do everything she's told to do. It's really unreasonable that nobody notices this curse. Are the townfolks really stupid? When her stepsister (Lucy Punch) notices the curse, Ella has no choice but to leave and try to undo the curse. In the meanwhile, Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy) has fallen for her.Anne Hathaway is cute and lovely. She and Hugh Dancy make a cute pair. But every time somebody does the curse and can't figure it out, it gets really annoying.