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F rom The Princess Bride to old-fashioned sensibilities, settings
Shrek (and its even more blockbusting sequel), comi- cally-twisted fairytales remain a popular staple of contemporary filmmaking. Now it’s the turn of sweet
Cinderella to get a brand new makeover in Ella Enchanted, described as “a comic-fantasy-adventure filled with magic and music, ogres and elves, giants and wicked stepsisters.”
Directed by Tommy O’ Haver (Get Over It), it’s based on the best-selling, Newbery Honour-winning novel by Gail Carson Levine and all begins when Ella of Frell (Anne Hathaway from The Princess Diaries) is given a fairy’s “gift” at birth – the gift of per- fect obedience.
Forced to do anything she is com- manded – no matter how silly or dan- gerous – Ella’s life hardly seems to be in her own control. Things only get worse when Ella’s father (Patrick Bergin) remarries, bringing into her life a stepmother, the dastardly Dame Olga (Joanna Lumley), and two sinis- ter stepsisters, Hattie (Lucy Punch) and Olive (Jennifer Higham).
Now, Ella is newly determined to gain her independence and break free of the spell that binds her once and for all. She sets off on a quest of discovery that will take her through the Kingdom’s most dangerous and darkest forests, where she finds a fellow trav- eller in a go-getting Elf (Aidan McArdle), to the King’s spectacular castle.
Along the way she crosses paths with the idolised Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy), who so often graces the cover of Medieval Teen, only to turn the tables on fairy tale history and res- cue him with true love.
O’Haver’s first inspiration was to tweak the medieval setting and give it a completely contemporary overhaul. “I wanted to merge the
and values of traditional fairy tales with the kind of a rocking comedy- adventure kids today love so much, and hopefully make something new,” says O’Haver. “I started out by think- ing of the story as a John Hughes comedy unfolding in a medieval sub- urban world.”
The design of Ella Enchanted was decidedly ambitious for a film of its size. O’Haver intended to bring togeth- er colourful, comically anachronistic sets and costumes along with full- scale musical numbers set to pop-era tunes to create an entirely unique fairy tale experience.
The idea was “to forge the look of a candy-hued dream with colours so turned-up and vivid they might have come from the marriage of a Warner Bros. cartoon with a Technicolor classic.”
Early on, the decision was made to shoot the film entirely in Ireland, using the rolling green hills and lush forestry for which the country is renown as the film’s backdrop, as well as relying on Dublin’s well-equipped Ardmore Studios for building the extensive sets.
“It’s the land of fairies,” says O’Haver of his decision to take cast and crew to the Emerald Isle.
“There’s something magical about just being in Ireland and it seemed to have everything we needed, except for blue skies. It rained a lot, so we used the computer to create that perfect, unbelievable blue.”
To bring the film’s “medieval mod” look to life, the filmmakers turned to production designer Norman Garwood – who had worked on one of O’Haver’s favourite films, Time Bandits,
as well as The Princess Bride – cos- tume design Ruth Myers and DP John de Borman BSC.
Of course, some of the characters were created primarily in the comput- er including Benny the Talking Book
and Heston the Snake, one of O’Haver’s favourite creations.
“I love Heston because he harks back to my love of cartoons and he reminds me of all those great evil sidekick snakes, from Sir Hiss in Robin Hood to Kaa in The Jungle Book, but he has a personality all his own,” he says. “Watching him being created was something new for me, and a magical experience.”
Magic is exactly what cinematog- rapher John de Borman wanted to capture in his photography and light- ing for the film.
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Photos main: Hugh Dancy and Anne Hathaway in Ella Enchanted;
above l-r: A scene and a poster image from Ella Enchanted; Parminder Nagra and Anne Hathaway
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