Ella Enchanted

Fairy tales tell, as their labels imply,

stories of magic, of creatures that fly.

With giants and dragons and ogres and elves,

and inanimate objects that speak for themselves.

There's romance and danger and plotting of schemes.

There's good guys and bad guys and some guys in between.

A fairy tale also reveals some sort of truth,

the perils of choices we face in our youth.

But our story today is different in theme,

for our hero had no choice, or so it would seem.

It starts with a fairy bestowing a spell.

This one's for a baby named Ella of Frell.

Now, now, Ella. Mother's here.

There, now. Oh, dear Ella.

Oh, it's nothing a little burping won't cure.

- Up. - There, now.

Come on. All the way.

I gotta work on that.

Whoa!

Hello, ladies!

Lucinda!

- She gives the worst gifts. - Not if she can't find the baby.

Whoa!

Ah!

Lucinda here. Fairy par excellence.

Now, where's the baby?

- Out walking. - At her grandmother's.

- At her grandmother's. - Out for a walk.

- She's walking, at her grandmother's. - Either way, as you see, she's not here.

Oh, look. She's back.

All right.

What shall we give this beautiful little child today?

- What's her name again? - Ella.

Ah.

Ella of Frell.

Not a very well-behaved little stinker, is she?

Quiet, please. I can't concentrate here.

Ella of Frell, I give you the gift of obedience.

Now, go to sleep.

Now, wake up.

- lsn't it wonderful? - No, it's terrible.

It's a terrible gift to have to do what you're told. Take it back.

I have a no-return policy.

And if you're going to be ungrateful, I can always turn her into a squirrel instead.

- A squirrel? - No, obedience is a lovely gift.

Besides, you should thank me.

I've just given you the perfect child.

In spite of the spell, Ella grew up strong of mind.

Her gift made her obedient, but her heart made her kind.

Why don't you go back to where you came from?

- Yeah. - Areida. What a stupid name.

- Nobody wants you here. - I do.

Bite me.

Did you just see what Ella did?

I made your favorite, so dig in and stuff your face.

I'm gonna get forks.

Sweetie, stop.

I always knew something was wrong with me.

Can't you take the spell back? You're a fairy.

I'm only a household fairy, honey.

Besides, according to fairy guidelines,

only the fairy who gave you the gift can take it back, and we've begged her.

And not only that, but she said she'd turn your mother into a squirrel

and take away my eternal youth if we ever asked her again.

It's not fair.

I know, darling. I know.

So Ella now knew why she'd always obeyed.

But she never stopped fighting to have things her way.

Ella! Come practice your mandolin.

Fine, but I'll take my own sweet time doing it.

Hurry up, now.

As she struggled to find a way out of her gift,

she had no way of knowing something worse was adrift.

Please get well, Mother.

Listen to me.

Only Mandy and I know about the gift.

We've never even told your father.

And you must never tell anyone else.

- I don't want anyone using it against you. - Mother, please.

Remember, no matter what anyone says or tells you to do,

Look to yourself, Ella.

What's inside you is stronger than any spell.

Take this, then I'll always be with you.

Ella.

Your father would like to speak to you.

- You're married? - She has money, Ella.

And she's very fond of my title.

It was either get married or sell the house.

You'll adore Dame Olga, and her two daughters.

She'll make a wonderful mother.

Well, a motherlike figure.

Look, I'm sure you'll all be the best of friends.

Whoa!

Is this the right address?

There must be some mistake.

My dear, welcome.

And these must be your lovely daughters.

My precious Hattie and my special Olive.

Oh.

- And you must be Ella. - Pleased to meet you.

Yes. The house looks delightful.

But I do seem to remember that at the noblemen's convention

you said that you lived in a castle.

No, I said a man's home is his castle.

Hi. I'm Ella. Welcome to Frell.

What's with the prince pinups?

Hattie's president of the Prince Char fan club.

Char and his uncle are responsible for the segregation of the kingdom.

So? He's dreamy.

Is this hutch meant to be a closet?

It's pathetic.

My clothes need more room than this.

- We'll have to use yours. - Wha...?

Show it to us.

Oh.

It's so... quaint.

Almost like, well, it's just ugly, isn't it?

Oh, there's no room in here, either.

We're gonna have to throw out some of your gowns to make room.

- Wait. Get away from there! - You get away.

Oh.

What's this? I do actually like this.

Please don't touch it. It was my mother's.

- Can I have it? - No.

Oh.

It can be your welcome gift to me.

Come on, hand it over.

Oh.

Aren't you accommodating.

The second I sell the last of these, I'll be back. I promise.

I know it's not a great job, not even a good job -

OK, even a monkey could do it - but we need the money, Ella.

- I'll miss you, Father. - I'll miss you, too.

Hey, Olive, we should call her Ella the Smella from Frella.

Elves, giants, ogres and humans used to exist in harmony,

but when King Florian was killed, allegedly by an ogre,

Sir Edgar saw it as an opportunity to exile all nonhuman creatures to the forest,

keeping their land for himself.

Passionately put, Ella. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Hattie?

Oh.

What my unworthy opponent fails to realize

is Sir Edgar has done a fantastic job.

He has driven the ogres out,

and he has put giants and elves to work as laborers and entertainers.

Therefore, if it weren't for him,

we wouldn't have today's thriving free-enterprise system.

It's only free because we've enslaved the poor creatures and they work for nothing.

Edgar is a monster, and I don't hold out much hope for his nephew, either.

Well, that shows what you know, aka nothing.

Prince Char will be the greatest king ever.

- Right, girls? - Yeah.

I wonder if my opponent has based her opinion on the prince's politics

or how cute she thinks his butt is.

Admit you're stupid and don't know what you're talking about.

I'm stupid and I don't know what I'm talking about.

Ella?

Anyway, in conclusion...

Hold your tongue, Ella.

Ella!

My tongue itches.

If you're not going to take this seriously, I declare Hattie the winner.

Ya!

Uncle, do I have to go to this mall opening?

As heir to the throne, it's your royal responsibility, Char.

- You are a public figure, after all. - Yes, but you're the one in charge.

Only for a little while longer.

Your coronation is next week.

You need to be out there with the people, Char.

Yes, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Exactly, Heston. So the people can learn to trust us.

What's not to trust?

Nothing.

But while you've been away at school, Char, the kingdom has been under siege.

In your absence, the ogres have become impossible.

He's right. Even the giants have become more and more treacherous.

But the giants have always been peaceful.

The ogres were peaceful too, until they ripped your father to shreds.

And I promised your father, should anything happen to him,

I would take care of you and the kingdom.

And, well, I've kept my promise, haven't l?

Whoa!

Likewise, you must keep your promise to the people.

Now, let's put on a smile. Remember, image is everything.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

It's wonderful to be here in your charming town of... Frell.

Prince Charmont and l...

We want Char! We want Char!

We want Char! We want Char! We want Char!

Now it is my great pleasure to welcome my nephew, Prince Charmont.

- Say no to ogrecide! - Stop the giant land grab!

- Say no to ogrecide! - Stop the giant land grab!

- Say no to ogrecide! - Ella! You are embarrassing us!

Go home now.

I have to go. I'm sorry.

I love you, Prince Char!

Hey! Prince Char!

- Are you a fast runner? - Not particularly, no. Why?

Get him!