Ella Enchanted

Following in the footsteps of the Fractured Fairy Tales cartoons, The Princess Bride, Ever After, Shrek, and A Knight's Tale--but never quite matching their wit or novelty--Ella Enchanted is an amusingly self-aware fable of handsome princes, evil kings, and one very plucky medieval teenage heroine (Anne Hathaway from The Princess Diaries) caught up in a magic spell that makes her (reluctantly) obedient to any command. Needless to say, her new wicked stepmother (Joanna Lumley) and obnoxiously over-played stepsisters (Lucy Punch and Jennifer Higham) soon discover her secret and take advantage, as does the kingdom's evil regent (Cary Elwes in spectacular mustache-twirling form), who wants her to kill his royal nephew (Hugh Dancy). Director Tommy O'Haver and screenwriter Laurie Craig (who adapted Gail Carson Levine's novel) think they're being terribly clever with their fairytale self-awareness and ironic modernism, but the cute humor is often superficial and pop-culture-driven--like a Middle Ages Flintstones--revealing Ella Enchanted for the flash-in-the-pan it is, instead of the classic it wants to be. Optional. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary (by director Tommy O'Haver, and costars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy), the 28-minute making-of featurette “The Magical World of Ella Enchanted,” a 23-minute “Red Carpet Premiere Special,” seven deleted scenes with optional commentary by O'Haver and Dancy (10 min., including a montage), four extended scenes with optional commentary (5 min.), the “Prince Charmont's Fan Club” set-top game (the reward: a segment exposing the “hidden faces” found in various places in the film), the music video “It's Not Just Make-Believe” by Kari Kimmel, and DVD-ROM features (including “Happily Ever After--Create Your Own Story”). Bottom line: a solid extras package for an overrated but popular family film.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 23, 2012—Lionsgate, 96 min., PG, $14.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's Ella Enchanted features a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the DVD release, including audio commentary by director Tommy O'Haver and costars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy, “The Magical World of Ella Enchanted” making-of featurette (28 min.), a “Red Carpet Premiere Special” (23 min.), deleted scenes with optional commentary (10 min.), extended scenes with optional commentary (6 min.), the music video “It's Not Just Make-Believe” by Kari Kimmel, and a bonus DVD copy of the film (which includes “Prince Charmont's Fan Club” set-top game and DVD-ROM features). Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for a so-so fairy tale adventure.]