Ella Enchanted

Adapted from author Gail Carson Levine's award-winning children's book of the same name, the Miramax-financed modern fantasy Ella Enchanted is directed by Tommy O'Haver and stars The Princess Diaries alumna Anne Hathaway. Ella (Hathaway) lives in a magical world in which each child, at the moment of ...more

Ella Enchanted is a surprisingly effective realization of its simple fairy-tale concept. A medieval teenager (Anne Hathaway) must do whatever anyone tells her, a curse that ranges from mildly annoying to incredibly problematic. Humorously, it also highlights our conversational use of command words, especially their literal interpretation. One such example comes when a castle guard tells a fleeing Ella to freeze, and she's forced to pause mid-leap, legs akimbo. The filmmakers are so true to their ...more