The movie Ella Enchanted is similar to the story of Cinderella in some ways, but has different elements from your typical fairy tale. It is about a young girl named Ella who, when she is born, is given the “gift” of obedience from a fairy. The gift is actually more of a curse, but isn’t much of a problem when she is young until her mother dies and her father remarries an evil woman. Ella’s evil stepmother and two stepsisters find out about the curse and then use it to control her life. This is all Ella’s “Ordinary Life”, she is just living at home with her awful family. Then, Ella goes to a rally and runs at a full sprint into Prince Charmant (friends call him Char) on accident. He thinks she’s strange but asks her to go to the ball with him, she refuses because she hates what the King (Char’s evil uncle) is doing to the land. This refusal to go to the ball could be considered the refusal of the quest, but also her Hero’s Journey is about so much more than Char.
When she gets home she decides that it is time to leave home, find the fairy that gave her the “gift” of obedience, and have the fairy reverse the spell. She takes with her a talking book of knowledge for help. This part of the movie lines up with accepting the call and also her talisman. Her first step in the journey is to enter the unknown, she goes into a dangerous forest where she comes across danger (which she protects herself from) and also an elf who assists her on the rest of her journey (as her ally). Then it gets kind of hard to explain, but I will try! Ella finds the fairy, but she refuses to undo the spell, so Ella is stuck with her curse. She then falls in love with Prince Char, but has to stay away from him because of his evil uncle King Edgar who knows about Ella’s curse and has ordered her to kill Prince Char. This whole part of the movie is like her big test. Then her supreme ordeal is when she almost stabs Char, but then overcomes the curse herself and doesn’t kill him! Sadly, he still thinks she is an attempted murderer so they have a falling out. Luckily, her allies and magical friends that she made along her journey come save her and take her to Char, where they save him from dying again and Ella becomes queen (which is good because she will do kind things for the kingdom).
So, that was probably more information than you wanted about the plot of Ella Enchanted, but as you can see it definitely follows the plot of a hero’s journey. What makes it interesting is that Ella’s actual journey is different than what she thinks it is. Ella sets out to get someone else to reverse her curse, but then ends up doing it on her own in a totally different situation than what she expected.
While the story of Ella Enchanted may have a lot of clichés and isn’t a movie that I’m necessarily proud to say I love, it inspired me a lot as a kid. My sister and I would watch it together about once a month, sometimes more. We would watch it back to back in the car on 8 hour drives, and then watch it again on the drive back. I loved that Ella represented a character who wanted to fight against her kingdom and never gave up her morals. She hated the King and the way he treated people, and was always straight forward about that. She didn’t give up what she believed in because of Prince Char, rather she helped to show him what was wrong in the kingdom so that he would want to make a change. I loved that I was able to watch a fairy tale movie where the character’s main motivation wasn’t to find and be with her one true love, but rather to help others and fix her own life.
The most magical thing about Ella Enchanted to me wasn’t that she ended up with the prince, but that she got herself into a position of power where she could make real change to help the people – or elves – in the kingdom who were being treated awfully. It really stuck with me as a kid as a different princess/ fairy tale journey than what I had seen before.
Great post! I also liked Ella Enchanted growing up and admired her for her strength in the end. I agree that her motive was never the prince but rather the safety and well-being of her friends and kingdom. She wasn't the perfect princess that I had come to know and really appreciated that.
ReplyDeleteElla Enchanted is a fun movie to watch as a kid, and cliches and silliness or no, it has a great female lead - and seeing a girl in a fairy tale with "boy" not as her primary motivation is always fun. It's definitely not a perfect movie (and the book is so much better) but it is a step in the right direction for the sort of female character little girls should be seeing on screen.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember watching this movie when I was little but for some reason the movie did not resonate with me as it did with you. I probably dismissed it as "too girly". However, I can see now the appeal that it would have especially for younger girls who could view Ella as a role model. I like your point of how you looked up to Ella not because she got the man, but because she got the power to spread good. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI was also a huge Ella Enchanted fan growing up! We read the book in my second-grade class and I was pretty much obsessed, though I didn't watch the movie until much later. I remember really respecting Ella for her ability to function within the bounds of her curse, plus her wit and intelligence, which she used to get out of all kinds of trouble (didn't she learn the secret orc language that nobody was supposed to be to speak? Or something?) Anyways, I agree with you that it was cool to see a princess-y hero who did her own thing instead of just seeking 'true love'.
ReplyDeleteI was absolutely obsessed with Ella Enchanted when I was younger! I remember loving how honest and clever she was--the way she'd manage to get around certain commands and make the best of her situation was hilarious and inspiring. She was such a strong female character I could relate to and strive to become more like.
ReplyDeleteOkay I was commenting on your As I Lay Dying Post but then I saw this post and I had to come check it out since I also LOVED Ella Enchanted as a kid and wanted to read about it. She was always so cool to me because she is like the perfect model metaphor for someone who's standing up to a system that's pushing them down. She has to find loopholes and ways to work through the "system", which is her having to do what other people tell her to do. Despite all of her obstacles she constantly finds ways to defy and break them and she doesn't give up. Even when there's a "way out" when the Prince starts liking her where she could get everything that a lot of the other girls want she doesn't give up on her goals and morals. She listens to people, she cares so much, she speaks her mind, what's not to love!!!
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