Ella Enchanted, based on Gail Carson Levine's award winning novel, tells the story of a young woman who lives in a wonderland of sorts, a magical world where all children are given a "gift" from a fairy Godmother at the moment of their birth. Little Ella's fairy is named Lucinda and as her birthright she bestows upon Ella the gift - and/or curse - of obedience. As a result of this "gift", Ella cannot refuse any command, and is often left to the designs of disreputable characters. Particularly when her mother passes away, and Ella is left in the keep of her uncaring and unscrupulous father who remarries a nasty woman with two loathsome daughters. If you're starting to see shades of Cinderella you're catching on.

Along with the obvious Cinderalla overtones, Ella Enchanted fuses elements of Shrek, Princess Bride, A Knight's Tale and of course Ever After, the end result is a movie I probably won't see again, unless my daughter begs me too. She's daddy's little girl and I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.

Ella Enchanted takes place in a fantasy world populated by elves, ogres, giants and magic, and features cute Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries) as a young woman with special powers who, for many reasons, is unable to use them. And, thanks to a strange curse put upon her, she is forced to do whatever people say, which makes for several silly and all to obvious physical gags.

I love a good family movie. Movies like Finding Nemo are great because they appeal to all age groups. Ella Enchanted is strange, because it makes an attempt at reaching a broader audience, but it fails miserably. I was particularly annoyed by the political jokes that run throughout the picture. This stuff is too deep for the youngsters, and too stupid for the adults in the audience. I also hated a running gag in which the "Prince Charming" character of the story is constantly stalked by his obsessive fans.

Production wise, Ella Enchanted offers up some nifty camera work including a nice opening shot in which we sweep across a fantasy landscape. Save for this isolated moment, most of the movie looks hokey. And the effects work is an absolute bore. Many of the shots in which characters stand along side giants, are obviously rear projection. What's odd, is the techniques used here were probably more expensive than CGI.

I did enjoy some of the art direction. I liked how the little fantasy towns had escalators and other such contemporary inventions. And as was the case in Flinstones, most of them are operated by man rather than machine.

There isn't anything particularly exciting about the cast. Anne Hathaway is cute, but that smile will only get you so far. It was fun seeing Carey Elwes (of Princess Bride fame) cast in a fantasy film again, but he wasn't very interesting here. I really liked Minnie Driver as Hathaway's sweet aunt but she's underused. And they blow a golden opportunity by not utilizing the hilarious Eric Idle to his full potential. As the narrator, the Monty Python funny man's talents are completely wasted.

I'm sure little boys will laugh at the hairy ogre cracks on display, while the young girls in the audience will swoon at the simplistic love story. Unfortunately, there isn't much for the accompanying parents - unless you're in dire need of a nap.