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Ella Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG // August 24, 2004
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"I think it's only fair to warn you that I'm practiced in the ancient art of...ummm...origami."
"Paper folding?"
"Oh. I was hoping you wouldn't know what that was."
![](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/1/1093288639.jpg)
"I want to look 25 at tonight's ball. What do you suggest?"
"A time machine?"
"May I recommend our newest procedure? Bat feces and oxen blood -- batox."
![](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/1/1093288582.jpg)
"Stop tonguing the foyer!"
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Video: Although there were initially concerns that Ella Enchanted was only going to be given a fullscreen release, Miramax has opted to issue separate full-frame and widescreen DVDs. The version reviewed here, of course, preserves the film's theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in anamorphic widescreen. The movie has a very distinctive appearance, with a palette that's colorful but unique, almost as if it were torn from the pages of a slightly yellowed storybook. Although the nod to yellowing pages is deserved, quite a bit of Ella Enchanted seemed to take on a blue or reddish-purple tint, though that may have been a stylistic choice. The hues are more subdued in the finished product than in the deleted footage elsewhere on the DVD, which could be attributed to the lack of proper color timing on those excised scenes. A couple of quick comparisons are provided below, with the deleted scenes on the left and the final images on the right. The brighter, more vivid colors would seem to be more in keeping with the subject matter, but not having seen Ella Enchanted theatrically, I'm not sure which set most closely represents the intended look of the movie. I wasn't terribly disappointed in either case.
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Supplements: Ella Enchanted is a pretty impressive special edition, beginning with an excellent commentary with director Tommy O'Haver and actors Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. The three of them obviously had a great time making the movie and really enjoyed working with each other, and that helps strike that balance I like between a commentary that's fun to listen to while still being informative. Along with detailed descriptions of how the movie's many visual effects were accomplished, they point out some of the jokes scribbled in the margins and spout off stories about chucking $5,000 worth of inedible cakes and the omnipresence of some unusual almonds. It's a great listen and is definitely worth taking the time to check out.
![](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/1/1093288589.jpg)
There are also two lengthy and fairly similar featurettes, each running close to half an hour. "The Magical World of Ella Enchanted" (28:31) features brief interviews with most of the key cast and crew, along with glimpses of the recording of the movie's pop covers, the application of makeup and digital effects, and costume design. Although the featurette is still obviously promotional in nature, it's substantial enough to make it worth a look. It pretty much renders "Ella Enchanted Red Carpet Premiere Special" (23:14) redundant. The special is hosted by a couple of the acts on the movie's soundtrack, rehashing a bunch of the footage from "The Magical World..." with interviews from the red carpet at the New York premiere tossed in at the end.
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Conclusion: Try to imagine sort of cinematic hybrid of The Princess Bride, The Wizard of Oz, and any of Disney's 1950s fairy tale output, and you'll wind up with something remarkably close to Ella Enchanted. It's a funny, sweet movie that manages to effectively tackle a bunch of different emotions, deftly mixing dollops of action and drama in with its quirky, off-kilter sense of humor. Ella Enchanted is a...dare I say it?...enchanting film that should appeal to the whole family, and even though I'm not even close to fitting into the movie's target demographic, I enjoyed it immensely as well. Highly Recommended.
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