Toon Talk: Ella Enchanted - Apr 13, 2004

Toon Talk: Ella Enchanted
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 (c) Miramax

Most of that credit is due to the un-showy, every-girl performance of Hathaway, further retaining her promise as shown in Nicholas Nickleby and Diaries (and setting the stakes even higher for the upcoming sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement); she also gets a chance to show off her impressive singing voice, belting out such pop mainstays, a la Moulin Rouge, as “Someone to Love�? and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart�? ... somebody hire this girl for a musical, fast. Her supporting cast are all equally game (especially the drolly wicked Elwes and rising newcomer Dancy), which also includes Honey, I Shrunk the Audience’s Eric Idle as the film’s strolling narrator and Bend It Like Beckham’s break-out Parminder K. Nagra as Ella’s best friend.

With Hathaway in the lead, its easy to become Enchanted with this Ella.

Toon Talk Rating: B+
The Toon Talk Top 10 - Medieval Times:

Ella Enchanted is just the latest trip back to the time of knights-in-shining-armor and damsels-in-distress:

  1. The Brave Little Taylor (1938): Taylor Mickey saves the kingdom of Princess Minnie from a ferocious giant in this retelling of the classic tale.
  2. The Reluctant Dragon (1941): This behind-the-scenes look at the Disney Studios finds an animated adaptation of Kenneth Graheme’s book as its centerpiece.
  3. The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952): Disney’s first take on the legend of Nottingham starred Richard Todd as the prince of thieves.
  4. The Sword and the Rose (1953): An ambitious epic based on the Charles Major novel, When Knighthood Was in Flower.
  5. Sleeping Beauty (1959): The animated masterpiece inspired by the renowned Tchaikovsky ballet.
  6. The Sword in the Stone (1963): An animated musical comedy take on the legend of King Arthur, told from the point of view of the magician Merlin.
  7. Robin Hood (1973): For Disney’s second visit to Nottingham, the cast was made up of animated, anthropomorphized animals.
  8. Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979): The first of two Disney versions of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, with a space-age theme.
  9. The Prince and the Pauper (1990): Another adaptation of a Mark Twain classic, starring Mickey Mouse in duel roles as the title characters.
  10. A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995): The second version of Twain’s Connecticut Yankee finds a young boy charged with saving Camelot.

Honorable Mention, Coming Soon: King Arthur (2004): Pirates of the Caribbean’s Keira Knightley, 102 Dalmatians’ Ioan Gruffudd and Ella’s own Prince Char, Hugh Dancy, co-star in this summer’s upcoming hoped-for blockbuster.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

  • A sort of True Life Adventure for the new millennium, Sacred Planet brings the beauty and wonder of our world to IMAX and other large format screens April 22nd.
  • The long awaited ‘third wave’ of Walt Disney Treasures DVDs finally arrives May 18th: Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 2 (21 shorts, up to and including Runaway Brain in its video debut), The Chronological Donald Volume 1 (35 shorts from 1934 to 1941), Tomorrowland: Disney in Space and Beyond (six nostalgic episodes featuring vintage Ward Kimball animation and Walt’s introduction of EPCOT) and, last but certainly not least, Walt Disney: On the Frontlines, a collection of rarely seen shorts from the infamous ‘war years’, including the Oscar-winning Der Fuehrer’s Face and the full-length feature Victory Through Air Power.
  • Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz are joined by John Cleese, Julie Andrews and Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots in DreamWorks’ Shrek 2, the sequel to the blockbuster Oscar-winner, opening May 21st.

And Coming Soon from Buena Vista Home Video:

  • April 13th: The songs of the former Beatle get the animated treatment with Paul McCartney: The Music and Animation Collection. Also: just in time for the April 16th premiere of Volume 2, the DVD debut of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1, starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and Splash’s Daryl Hannah.
  • April 20th: Eddie Murphy brings home all your ‘grim grinning ghost’ favorites in the DVD debut of The Haunted Mansion. Also: The complete first season of ESPN’s controversial drama, Playmakers, and the romantic comedy The Third Wheel, starring Denise Richards, Luke Wilson and Ben Affleck.
  • April 27th: Oscar-winning director James Cameron goes back to Titanic with Ghosts of the Abyss, a thrilling documentary originally shown in IMAX 3-D, making its DVD debut in a two-disc special edition.

Discuss It

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-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logo by William C Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics

Kirby is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. He is also an avid list maker and chronic ellipsis user ...

Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.

The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted April 13, 2004
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