Happily N’Ever After
What better way for the producers of Shrek to start the new year off than with this shameless attempt to capitalize yet again on the huge success of their quirky production of a contemporary fairy tale?
Okay, okay. Criticism of the industry’s business practices aside, it still would have been much better for everyone if they had actually tried to grab a few easy bucks with a remotely good film.
If it succeeds in nothing else, Happily N’Ever After proves two very key points of filmmaking: 1) “different” is not synonymous with “good” and 2) an edgy take on traditional characters is not enough to make a storyline work. Although it will surely come as a shock to screenwriter Robert Moreland – whose credits include the screenplays for such films as the short Thunder Pig (2001) and the sci-fi flick Space Marines (1996) – good writing does matter, even in animated films.
The problems with this film begin with its convoluted premise, one that seems to necessitate something along the lines of a college degree to fully comprehend (which clearly detracts from the family-friendly product these filmmakers were trying to go for). In short, Happily N’Ever After is a twisted take on the tale of Cinderella (here, Ella, voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar) whose evil stepmother Frieda (voiced by Sigourney Weaver) upsets the balance of good and evil in Fairytale World when she seizes control of the (literal) scale of fairy tale fate. With the Wizard (voiced by comedian George Carlin) on holiday in the real world, his two incompetent assistants fail to prevent Frieda from sullying the usually happy endings to the world’s familiar stories – Sleeping Beauty stays asleep, Rumpelstiltskin succeeds in stealing the baby, Rapunzel’s prince fails to climb her long tresses – in her attempt to empower the evildoers of fairy tales and secure her own position as the Empress of Evil.
If that already sounds complicated enough, there is more: Upon losing his fair maiden after the ball, a bungling Prince Humperdink (there is nothing charming in this representation) heads off to search for her, completely unaware of the mayhem that is his kingdom. Meanwhile, Ella encounters the Wizard’s two fleeing assistants and together they search for the prince in hopes that he can live up to his archetypal destiny and save the day. Through all of this, lovesick Rick (voiced by Freddie Prinze, Jr.), the royal dishwasher, deliberates on his feelings for Ella and whether he should attempt to be the hero this time.
Ironically enough, for all its attempts to subvert the traditions of fairy tales, Happily N’Ever After ends just as predictably as any other. Of course, it is not the same story as Cinderella, but we know that right from the beginning. Thus, it is no surprise when the remainder of the story satisfies all our expectations.
Such blatant predictability is usually accepted – and even expected – in children’s movies, but I’m not so sure that Happily N’Ever After is really trying to reach the younger audiences. Sure, kids will appreciate the goofy-looking characters and cartoon-ish violence, but how the hell are they supposed to follow the story? It barely makes sense to me, and even I struggled to pay attention for the full 85 minutes.
The unnecessary intricacy of the story might be forgivable (after all, Shrek wasn’t the simplest of tales to follow, either) if the dialogue were engaging – for any audience. Moreland’s screenplay is full of jokes that will fly over kids’ heads, but it lacks the brand of sharp wit that is necessary for an animated film to appeal to older viewers. And, quite frankly, the animation is not impressive enough for viewers of any age to appreciate.
I love many, many animated films (e.g., Happy Feet) because when they’re good, they’re really good. But this film falls way short of that mark. The title itself doubles as a caveat for how you’ll feel after seeing Happily N’Ever After: I assure you, not happy at all.
© 2007 Lydia Storie. All rights reserved.
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