- DVD Details: Actors: Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley
- Directors: Damon Santostefano
- Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: Warner Home Video
- DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008; Run Time: 90 minutes
A "modern" young woman of the 16th century, Danielle (Barrymore) is as independent and wise as she is beautiful and kind. Against remarkable odds, she stands up to her scheming stepmother (Huston) and works miracles on the lives of everyone around her, including the crown prince of France (Dougray Scott)!Now you can relive this captivating, contemporary retelling of the classic fairytale.Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays C! inderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of three daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougray Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty--not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennant (who directed Barrymore in TV's
The Amy Fisher Story),
Ever After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention--the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal--
Ever After is a surpr! isingly delightful film.
--Tom KeoghA "modern" young wo! man of t he 16th century, Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is as independent and wise as she is beautiful and kind. Against remarkable odds, she stands up to her scheming stepmother (Huston) and works miracles on the lives of everyone around her, including the crown prince of France (Dougray Scott)! Now you can relive this captivating, contemporary retelling of the classic fairytale. Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays Cinderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of three daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougr! ay Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty--not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennant (who directed Barrymore in TV's
The Amy Fisher Story),
Ever After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention--the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal--
Ever After is a surprisingly delightful film.
--Tom KeoghTake away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays Cinderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of th! ree daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves he! r fate i n the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougray Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty--not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennant (who directed Barrymore in TV's
The Amy Fisher Story),
Ever After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention--the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal--
Ever After is a surprisingly delightful film.
--Tom KeoghA "modern" young woman of the 16th century, Danielle (Barrymore) is as independent and wise as she is beautiful and kind. Against remarkable odds, she stands up to her sc! heming stepmother (Huston) and works miracles on the lives of everyone around her, including the crown prince of France (Dougray Scott)!Now you can relive this captivating, contemporary retelling of the classic fairytale.Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays Cinderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of three daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougray Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty--not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennan! t (who directed Barrymore in TV's
The Amy Fisher Story)! ,
Eve r After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention--the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal--
Ever After is a surprisingly delightful film.
--Tom KeoghOnce upon a time will n'ever be the same again. Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Jack from the Beanstalk are all about to live happily ever after when the balance between good and evil gets thrown out of whack. It's up to Cinderella - aka Ella (Sarah Michelle Gellar) - to save the day by taking on her power-hungry stepmother, Frieda (Sigourney Weaver). But this time, Ella will have to do it without her Prince Charming (Patrick Warburton) as she joins forces with an unlikely army of dwarves, faries, and the Wizard's bumbling assistants, Mambo (Andy Dick) and Munk (Wallace Sha! wn). Your favorite fairy tales are turned upside down in this funny, fast-paced adventure that teaches the lesson that - no matter who you are - you have the power to affect how your story turns out!With the success of
Shrek, more irreverent animated fairy tales (like
Hoodwinked) were inevitable. Unfortunately, the original blockbuster set the bar so high--for characterization, humor, and heart--that other such 'toons are sure to seem redundant. Neither as clever nor as intricately rendered as the tale of the great green ogre,
Happily N'Ever After is no exception. That said, small children may find it easier to follow, i.e. no
Matrix references. As with the live-action Ella Enchanted, the CGI-animated story revolves around a downtrodden lass named Ella (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Her full name, naturally, is Cinderella. The man of her dreams is pea-brained Prince Humperdink (Patrick Warburton). Little does she know that royal dishwasher Rick (Freddi! e Prinze Jr., Gellar's real-life husband) has his eye on her. ! When the Wizard (George Carlin) goes off on a golfing vacation, he leaves bumbling assistants Munk (Wallace Shawn) and Mambo (Andy Dick) in charge. In no time at all, they get into a scuffle, and Ella's evil stepmother, Frieda (Sigourney Weaver), swoops in to take control of Fairy Tale Land. Her first order of business: Let the bad guys win. Consequently, Sleeping Beauty continues to doze, the Seven Dwarves wind up in jail, etc. Ella joins forces with Rick to set things right. Along the way, she realizes that the lowly lad has more princely qualities than the actual prince, and Frieda's reign turns out to be shorter than intended. It's not a bad idea, but the movie drags and the tunes are unmemorable.
--Kathleen C. FennessyDon't be misled by the film's trailers; the soundtrack to
Ever After--yet another modern adaptation of a Cinderella story--is an orchestral score by George Fenton. Best known for his work on
Gandhi and
The Fisher King, Fenton has create! d a sweeping orchestral score, with the occasional Celtic influences thrown in, as on "Cinderella" or the upbeat "Going to the Ball." But on most tracks
Ever After's score is quiet and subtle. Though Fenton has done more memorable work (
Cry Freedom), he succeeds here in accentuating the romance of the film. Brit soft-rockers Texas provide the lone vocal track on the score with the infectious closing tune "Put Your Arms Around Me."
--Jason VerlindeIt’s musical. It’s magical. It’s Another Cinderella Story, the dancing ever-after fairy tale. In this joyous update, Selena Gomez(The Wizards of Waverly Place) is Mary, a modern Cinderella complete with dancing shoes instead of a glass slipper. Drew Seeley (High School Musical) is Joey, a Prince Charming and dreamy new-guy-in-school looking for a girl to love. Could Mary be that girl? With your kind of music and dance, your kind of romance and all kinds of surprises, you’ll find that Another Cinderella ! Story is a perfect fit.
Another Cinderella Story adds a ! few mode rn day twists to the classic fairy tale on which it is based, and it aims straight for the hearts of 21st century tweens. Selena Gomez (
Wizards of Waverly Place) plays Mary, a shy high-school student saddled with a wicked guardian and a pair of mean girls stepsisters. Her life changes dramatically when a famous pop star enrolls at her school. Joey (Andrew Seeley) is everything the rest of boys in her class aren'tâ€"handsome, kind, and desirable. At a masked dance, Mary and Joey meet and fall in like with each other. But when she has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Gomez, who shows nice range, is well-cast in the ingénue role. While indeed very dreamy, Seeley is a tad too old to play Gomez's boyfriend.
Another Cinderella Story isn't the best-made Cinderella story. Drew Barrymore's
Ever After was more clever. And the 1965 adaptation of
Cinderella starring Lesl! ey Ann Warren still stands up to time. But with its young cast and energetic choreography,
Another Cinderella Story is a perfect fairytale for the tween and young teen set.
--Jae-Ha Kim
