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Ella Enchanted: the Movie
Jan. 5th, 2011 10:47 pmThe Ella Enchanted movie is TERRIBLE.
First off, it just looks cheap. The CGI is obviously fake. I think they stole Ella's cloak from Arwen. The king's scepter appears to be plastic - nothing has any sense of weight. You can tell the filmmakers don't give a darn about the book even before you realize that they changed everything that was good about the story.
Most obviously, they wrecked the Ella/Char relationship. In the book, they are two people who bring out the best in each other: a kind, serious, slightly aloof king-to-be with a hidden spark of humor, and an irrepressibly vivacious girl with a hidden curse. In the movie, Char is a nincompoop who hasn't noticed that his uncle has imposed apartheid on his kingdom. Ella despises him and is, I guess, "spunky," in the sense that she's a feisty talker but completely incompetent.
For instance: in the book, Ella uses her mad language skills to save herself from some ogres. Char shows up to save her, but there's no saving left to do so he gives her a lift to her destination instead. In the movie, Ella's hanging over a boiling cauldron when Char shows up and manfully rescues her.
Presumably this was the only way the filmmakers could justify their eventual romance. They certainly can't connect on any intellectual level, like they do in the books, because Char is an idiot. Consider: Char asks Ella why she doesn't want to be with him. "Is it my politics?" he cries. "That doesn't matter! What matters is how we feel about each other!" No. Just NO. Char is going to be king, his politics matter tremendously! And if Ella really cared about the kingdom, as the filmmakers insist she does, she would know that. She would care about that. She couldn't love this vapid prince.
This is especially unfortunate, as Ella/Char is the only relationship the filmmakers much care about. I'm particularly irritated by their treatment of her friendship with Areida. In the book, Ella runs away to find Lucinda because she doesn't want to hurt Areida. In the movie, she hurts Areida and then goes to find Lucinda for other spurious reasons. Not that we really care, because in the movie, it's not clear why they're friends at all because Areida gets practically no lines!
In the book, Ella's friendship with Areida actually matters for its own sake, whereas in the movie, it exists mainly to show that Hattie and company are totally evil. Similarly, in the book, Mandy is a wonderful mentor figure. In the movie, she's kept her boyfriend's head in a book for the last twenty years. (Also, the filmmakers lopped thirty years off her age. Just 'cuz. Gag me with a spoon.)
Don't even get me started on Char's fan club. Or the scene where Char says to Ella, "You're not like other girls," and it's clear this means he's falling for her, because Ella doesn't have all those icky girl cooties other girls have. Ugh, ugh, ugh!
In conclusion: read the book! Ella Enchanted is an awesome book! Just writing this review has made me want to read it again!
First off, it just looks cheap. The CGI is obviously fake. I think they stole Ella's cloak from Arwen. The king's scepter appears to be plastic - nothing has any sense of weight. You can tell the filmmakers don't give a darn about the book even before you realize that they changed everything that was good about the story.
Most obviously, they wrecked the Ella/Char relationship. In the book, they are two people who bring out the best in each other: a kind, serious, slightly aloof king-to-be with a hidden spark of humor, and an irrepressibly vivacious girl with a hidden curse. In the movie, Char is a nincompoop who hasn't noticed that his uncle has imposed apartheid on his kingdom. Ella despises him and is, I guess, "spunky," in the sense that she's a feisty talker but completely incompetent.
For instance: in the book, Ella uses her mad language skills to save herself from some ogres. Char shows up to save her, but there's no saving left to do so he gives her a lift to her destination instead. In the movie, Ella's hanging over a boiling cauldron when Char shows up and manfully rescues her.
Presumably this was the only way the filmmakers could justify their eventual romance. They certainly can't connect on any intellectual level, like they do in the books, because Char is an idiot. Consider: Char asks Ella why she doesn't want to be with him. "Is it my politics?" he cries. "That doesn't matter! What matters is how we feel about each other!" No. Just NO. Char is going to be king, his politics matter tremendously! And if Ella really cared about the kingdom, as the filmmakers insist she does, she would know that. She would care about that. She couldn't love this vapid prince.
This is especially unfortunate, as Ella/Char is the only relationship the filmmakers much care about. I'm particularly irritated by their treatment of her friendship with Areida. In the book, Ella runs away to find Lucinda because she doesn't want to hurt Areida. In the movie, she hurts Areida and then goes to find Lucinda for other spurious reasons. Not that we really care, because in the movie, it's not clear why they're friends at all because Areida gets practically no lines!
In the book, Ella's friendship with Areida actually matters for its own sake, whereas in the movie, it exists mainly to show that Hattie and company are totally evil. Similarly, in the book, Mandy is a wonderful mentor figure. In the movie, she's kept her boyfriend's head in a book for the last twenty years. (Also, the filmmakers lopped thirty years off her age. Just 'cuz. Gag me with a spoon.)
Don't even get me started on Char's fan club. Or the scene where Char says to Ella, "You're not like other girls," and it's clear this means he's falling for her, because Ella doesn't have all those icky girl cooties other girls have. Ugh, ugh, ugh!
In conclusion: read the book! Ella Enchanted is an awesome book! Just writing this review has made me want to read it again!
