Can anybody find me somebody to love? Well, if not, you’re able to now find a way to watch the 2004 filmElla Enchanted.HittingParamount+this month,Ella Enchantedis a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. Based on the book of the same name byGail Carson Levine, the basic premise follows Ella of Frell (Anne Hathaway) being given a gift at birth by her fairy godmother Lucinda (Vivica A. Fox), that she must always obey orders. The “gift” turns more into a curse than a blessing as those in her life (yes, her wicked step-sisters) often abuse the compulsory gift Ella has been bestowed.
As Ella grows up alongside her step-sisters Hattie (Lucy Punch) and Olive (Jennifer Higham), the gift becomes more and more troublesome. Fed up with her gift, she goes on a quest to find her fairy godmother and ask her to rescind the gift. Led by an enchanted book that’s technically the boyfriend ofMinnie Driver’s Mandy, Ella encounters all sorts of fairy tale creatures from ogres to giants to elves in the fictional kingdom of Frell. She eventually meets (and falls for) the runaway prince,Hugh Dancy’s Prince Charmont or Char.
Back in the palace, his Uncle Edgar, played byThe Princess BridegreatCary Elwes, is plotting a way to take the throne from Char once and for all. Ella’s inability to say no, a gift she hides from everyone except those closest to her, is found out by Edgar and taken advantage of and then some.
Ella Enchanted Teaches Us That We Can Break Free
With the stakes high and a dagger poised at Char’s back, Ella must fight her own gift in order to save the life of the man she’s grown to love. In the end, it’s not her fairy godmother that simply rescinds the gift, but Ella who chooses to be more than the person she feels like she’s been forced to be all her life because of her gift. Eventually, Char and Ella get their happily ever after, but the lessons in the meantime are not ones to be ignored.
The backdrop of a campy fairy tale movie coupled with songs like Queen’sSomebody to LoveandDon’t Go Breaking My HeartbyElton Johnand Kiki Deemake this a great early 2000s film to watch and rewatch. It’s got a 51% critics score and 57% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, but for those who were preteens and younger when the movie came out and are now adults, nostalgia is a bigger factor in revisiting the movie.
Ella Enchantedis streaming on Paramount+ now.
Ella Enchanted
Stream on Paramount+
