#ella enchanted (2004) icons

[tvstcff]

[adouxrable]

♡⁠˖ ella de frell — anne hathaway (ella enchanted 2004) © icons by adouxrable, don't repost. cr screencaps.

[terapsina]

[bringthepop]

What are you favourite comfort movies and why are they all from the year 2004?

[cary-elwes]

first of all the way he compares Ella Enchanted with Shrek, Princess Bride and Wizard of Oz, the early 2000s vibes and then his goofy self it’s SO SWEET

[yesskyscraper-icons]

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[gwennifergifs]

★ ANNE HATHAWAY GIF PACK.

– CLICK THE LINK IN THE SOURCE to be redirected to 588 gifs of ANNE HATHAWAY from Ella Enchanted (2004). These gifs were all made by me, and are all 268x151. Find all of my gif packs ON MY DIRECTORY at /directory on this blog! (1,212 gifs total)

MY GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED: Do not edit these into gif icons. Crackships and sidebars are fine. Please like or reblog if you found these helpful, as that really helps get the word out!

[modern-alebrije]

ok, cinderella (2021) rambling:

it's definitely more light hearted than most cinderella stories. much like Happy Feet 2 (2011) the opening number is rhythm nation performed by,, basically every character. then there's this super drastic tone shift from everyone singing and dancing to camila cabello in a basement.

however it becomes clear pretty quickly that this cinderella is in a much better living situation than most other cinderellas. for one, she's very clean. at one point one of the stepsisters is like, "there's dirt on your face," when there's literally not a hair out of place on camila's head. she has a very spacious basement bedroom, again very clean, with a nice queen sized bed, and lots of space for her dressmaking, because this cinderella is a girlboss designer. her relationship with her stepfamily is more tense than straight up abusive. really only one of the stepsisters is mean, the other is just kinda simple, and the conflict with her stepmother comes more from her not supporting cinderella's girlboss ambitions.

also, idina menzel plays the stepmother and, no shade to miss cabello, but every time they sing together idina sings cabello under the table.

but yeah, the stepmother's whole deal is that she wants all her daughters (cinderella included) to marry well so that they can have a secure future, later we find out that this is because she tried to Have It All when she was a young woman and lost her husband for being too ambitious. this causes friction with cinderella bc she dont need no man, she just wants to run a boutique! but women arent allowed to own businesses in this kingdom >:( . cinderella is less "a servant in her own house" in this and more of like, the family's black sheep, she's a creep, she's a weirdo. she's also very sassy, very snarky, actually so is everyone else. everyone's always making witty comebacks and snide comments.

speaking of weirdos. i didnt like the costuming, especially the townspeople's. it was all over the place, like there'd be a man in one of those baggy peasant shirts and burlap pants next to some dude in jeans and flannel. and cinderella's ballgown top (bustier?) was too big for her. like, she'd dance and she would literally move inside of the thing, it fit her like a turtle shell. the skirt was ugly too. oh! near the beginning she goes out to sell one of her dresses, and she runs into the prince in disguise and he buys it, its a whole meet-cute thing. later we see his little sister wearing it at the ball after its been hyped up as like, "wow, ella youre such a boss designer," and its literally three pieces of tulle wrapped around each other.

which reminds me, something i really liked was the prince's sister, princess gwendolyn. she's this precocious young woman with a ceo haircut who has all these ideas about how to improve the kingdom and she just wants a seat at the table but the king wont allow it because she's a girl. also she's constantly dressed in these medieval executive realness outfits with like, turtlenecks; i found it very funny. the movie could've been about her and i wouldve been happy.

the pumpkin. the pumpkin. billy porter shows up in a gorgeous gold get-up to do the whole fairy godmother thing, and after giving cinderella her ugly dress he turns a crate into a carriage and horses, and the birtish comedian mice into her driver and footmen. now, granted not every cinderella needs a pumpkin carriage. the grimms' cinderella gets her things from the tree at her mother's grave and the birds. however, the fairy godmother, the glass slippers, the transformations, and the stroke-of-midnight thing are all present here and, i think, the pumpkin carriage is part of that iconic perrault bundle.

honestly i'm not so mad at it now that ive had some time away from it,, but i wouldn't watch it again. the songs all felt very... shallow. it's a jukebox musical, but it doesnt feel very cohesive, and breaks into song and dance very abruptly. ultimately i dont think its that bad of a movie, but its not good either. what it is bad at though is being a cinderella story. i think if you called it something like "the dressmaker and the prince: a modern fairytale" and just played with general fairytale tropes a la Ella Enchanted (2004) and Enchanted (2007) without being explicitly a cinderella story you wouldnt lose anything. the screenwriter+director, kay cannon, has worked on 30 rock, new girl, and basically created the whole pitch perfect franchise, as well as the short-lived netflix comedy, Girlboss. when i heard about that last one everything about cinderella (2021) kinda made sense.

[homoaquaticus]

actually one (1) straight cis person is allowed to sing “somebody to love” by freddie mercury. it’s anne hathaway for her cover of the song for the legendary, iconic, and revolutionary Ella Enchanted (2004)

[bisexualadamparrish]

2002, 2004, and 2014 !!!!!!!

My Top 3 Movies of 2002:

1. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (bruh spirit is THAT MOVIE and i have had so so sooo many discussions about how not only in an “i like this movie a lot and its nostalgic for me” kinda way, but just genuinely in every possible way in terms of animation, writing, cultural impact, enjoyment, this movie is one of the best movies ever made straight up. 10000000/10 everyone should watch)

2. Scooby Doo (the og live action remake (i guess this wasnt technically a remake but like same vibes), the blueprint that all others have been striving (and blatantly failing) to copy. formative. iconic. perfect.) 

3. Lilo & Stitch (one of my all time favorite disney movies, i wish more movies would play around with the beautiful water color animation backgrounds they had. beautiful film all around <3)

My Top 3 Movies of 2004:

1. Ella Enchanted (the impact this movie had on the world.... a beloved classic. also like theres just no way miss anne hathaway in this movie wasn't a crucial crush for all young gay gals out there...)

2. Shrek 2 (i mean what can i even say. we all know that this movie is a masterpiece and one of the most culturally impactful and relevant of all times.)

3. Howl’s Moving Castle (one of studio ghibli’s most iconic movies. calcifer is literally one of my fave side characters ever he’s so iconic)

My Top 4 Movies of 2014 (I couldn’t choose which one to cut so here’s a bonus one):

1. As Above, So Below (not my absolute favorite horror movie of all time, but its definitely really high on my list. this is one i recommend to friends who wanna get into horror but aren’t quite sure what kinda vibes they like. its got memorable characters, a fast paced plot, and just enough spookiness without overwhelming gore or anything. a very fun movie.)

2. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (people who know me know how stupid emotionally attached i am to this series; i was a nerdy ass dragon kid in elementary school, and the first movie in this series came out when I was ten. The last one came out right before I turned 20 and I saw in theaters and full on sobbed through the last 20 minutes. this whole series will always have an incredibly special place in my heart <3)

3. They Came Together (this is a movie that no one except fo me an my friends has ever watched or even heard of but like.... its so fucking funny. a very good kind of spoof on the romcom featuring amy poehler and paul rudd. 10/10 always down to watch)

4. Odd Thomas (another one that no one has ever seen or cares about except for me and my family. this movie is very quirky but in a truly endearing way. this movie is a favorite in my household and really just an interesting and fun but also tragic watch)

[wiser-girl]

2004 was such an iconic year in film. We had Mean Girls, Princess Diaries 2, Ella Enchanted, 13 Going On 30, A Cinderella Story, The Incredibles, Shrek 2, Prisoner of Azkaban, Spiderman 2, Napoleon Dynamite. Like 2004 really Did That™

[uzuuzuking]

so this started out as just a general post about why i like cinderella adaptations, but slowly spiraled into a ranking/review of all the cinderella adaptations i’ve seen in my short, young life. so strap in for possibly the longest post i’ve ever made on this blog. (look, i never know how much i have to say about something until i really get going lmao)

idk why i like cinderella adaptations/remakes/spinoffs so much? most of them are garbage (especially the ones within the last 10 years don’t @ me) but fuck it i like this brand of garbage. it’s fun to watch these movies and rework the bad plotlines and dialogue in my head as i go along.

i guess i like the source material and some of the aspects of all the different adaptations, but honestly i just like re-imagining them because there’s only so much cringey script-written-for-teens-but-clearly-written-by-40-year-old-adults-who-have-no-idea-how-teens-or-even-people-for-that-matter-actually-talk-and-interact i can take in one excruciating sitting.

anyway here’s my personal ranking of all the cinderella adaptations i’ve seen that no one asked for. (not including stage productions because i haven’t seen any and have no opinion of them. also not including into the woods because that’s not just cinderella, but a spectacular amalgamation of fairytale mishap and shenanigan.) and reviews because apparently i had more to say than i originally thought when i first started constructing this list:

cinderella (1997) - the absolute best cinderella adaptation of all time, hands down, this is non-negotiable. this movie has it all: an excellent and diverse cast, gorgeous costume design, beautiful sets, some of the most dazzling dance numbers i ever witnessed when i first watched it at the wee age of 4, and a positive, progressive message that was accurate for its time yet also so ahead of its time. i cannot praise this version of cinderella enough, it is my all time favorite and one of my top 3 feel-good movies. if you watched it today, the effects might not be as magical compared to what we have now, but keep in mind it was released in 1997. anyway, the cast is truly amazing and so effortlessly inclusive (and honestly the fact that the prince was asian with a black mother and white father and they literally never addressed it was such a power move). i could go on about this movie forever (i’ll probably make a whole post dedicated to it in the future) and what it meant to me and many others as young, impressionable poc. in conclusion, this movie set an exceedingly high standard for me and destroyed the chances of any other cinderella adaptation even hoping to live up to that. i love it! so! much!

ever after: a cinderella story (1998) - tbh i never saw this until i was in college but i immediately fell in love. i love the flow of the story as a whole - i never felt like anything was missing. i love the costumes and i especially love how danielle and henry’s relationship progressed throughout the film. slow-burn comes to mind when i watch their interactions and we all love a sweet, sweet slow-burn. it’s romance babes! it’s Dramatic in a few scenes and all i can say is that it really works because drew barrymore’s performance is exceptional, fantastic, engaging, more adjectives to describe how enthralled by her i was. above all, her character is compassionate - she uses her voice to speak in support for those who are suppressed by the flawed government systems and law enforcers, and influences the prince to use his status and power to better his people who lack the privileges of the nobility. she’s such a strong female lead (emotionally and physically - she literally fireman carries her love interest, who is taller than her and definitely exceeds her own bodyweight) and truly the mvp of this adaptation. watch it. watch it for Her.

enchanted (2007) - amy adams and idina menzel - ‘nuff said. okay but for real this one is so unique with its transition from classic d*sney 2D animation style to the real three-dimensional world and i adore it to the ends of the earth. the music? slaps! the story? slaps! the development of the main character? slaps!! she’s so princess-y and d*sney cartoon-y and struggles in the real world, but she adapts at a good pace and i love that she learns to be realistic while also keeping hope and love close to her heart. also her mother figure / daughter figure bond with morgan is so so precious. the only constructive criticism i have for this movie is the fact that we were robbed of idina menzel singing!!! did they know all along she was destined to play the frozen queen years in the future and decided against her singing in this one?? is that it? ridiculous. it’s been over a decade and i’m still seething over this. other than that this movie is *chef’s kiss*

ella enchanted (2004) - anne hathaway’s back must still be hurting from carrying this film. (no shade to the other cast members, they’re good, but anne is a queen and i forever love her.) this is another childhood favorite of mine. the story itself is a refreshing take - hats off to gail carson levine for the source material! i’ve talked about the differences between the movie and book before in the midst of my reread of the book a few months ago, but i don’t remember how much i focused on the movie. it’s so different from the book that it might as well be its own thing. on its own, the movie is pretty decent! again, mostly because of anne. it’s funny, it’s sad (especially that scene towards the beginning between ella and areida, i’m in stupid tears every time), and it gets weird but it’s a fun time. the chemistry between char and ella is so zesty i can feel it through the screen, i swoon over both of them. tbh i probably wouldn’t like this movie so much if not for the fact that anne hathaway is truly talented and i spend most of my time watching it just looking at her. 

cinderella 3: a twist in time (2007) - i genuinely enjoyed and appreciated how the characters were written in this one. they all had clear motives and became much more dynamic through their lines and actions (drizella is arguably the most static character here but she still amuses me so it’s fine i guess). cinderella has more agency since the stakes are higher. prince charming actually has a gotdamn personality and has some of the funniest scenes and dialogue. good for him. i was kind of sad that anastasia’s story with the sweet baker boy was thanos snapped by the stepmother, but she and baker boy get a cute credits illustration together so it’s still canon! maybe i’m more biased on this one because i grew up rewatching it A Lot, but i definitely prefer it to the first and second movies.

cinderella (2000) - this one is kind of weird but i like it? the film has a really interesting vibe that i’m still trying to figure out how to describe even after seeing it like 5 times. wikipedia refers to the aesthetic style as “the glamour of the 1950s” which just might be as close as we can get. it follows the general guidelines of the cinderella plot, but the main differences were: zezolla (cinderella) was already helping with the chores before her father remarried, claudette (stepmother) was actively trying to murder zezolla’s father during their marriage, the stepsisters were much more violent and crass (they hunted zezolla’s beloved farm animals for sport and talked about getting “a man in [their] bed”), zezolla’s father was manipulated by everything claudette did and said and treated his own daughter poorly as a result, and prince valiant is honestly kind of a douchebag but seems willing to improve himself after meeting zezolla (basically his vibes are iffy but he’s willing to learn). this whole movie is pretty niche and i have yet to interact with someone who’s also seen it. and the only reason i’ve seen it so many times is because i just like listening to how the dialogue is delivered. (except for prince valiant’s random song at the ball, i kind of hated that and i skip through it every time lol).

a cinderella story (2004) - the classic hilary duff version. very cliche early 2000s high school romance, but it works for the cinderella narrative. not particularly diverse. a classic nonetheless. in my mind this is the pinnacle of the “modern cinderella movie” type. this is one of the most iconic movies for us zillennials and i’d like to think it’s known well enough for me to not go into a lot of detail about it. basically it was fresh and new for its time, had plenty of memorable scenes, and did i mention hilary duff? the film kind of plays into the “not like other girls” trope - as do a couple of the movies i listed above - but i’m just going to acknowledge that the early 2000s were Wack and simply move on. all in all, i like this movie for the nostalgia, iconic scenes, and hilary duff. also jennifer coolidge is pretty funny as the stepmother.

another cinderella story (2008) - again, an early 2000s classic, but this time with selena gomez. i liked the dancing in this one. i like selena’s quiet, somewhat timid characterization of her character, mary. and jane lynch in the stepmother role is perfection. she’s so fun to watch and is always hilarious. the story is nothing remarkable, but it’s okay and i liked it as a kid. after the hilary duff version, this one still managed to feel fresh because, though it was similar in its modern era approach, it focused more on the performing arts and dance. “cinderella” is an aspiring dancer, rather than the 2004 aspiring scholar. the “prince” is a famous popstar, not a football player. the stepmother is an outdated popstar desperate to stay Hip and Relevant with the kids, not a cranky botox lady. honestly i just love watching this one for the dancing, mary’s genuine and innocent love for the “prince”, and literally everything that comes out of jane lynch’s mouth. that woman is a dialogue gold mine.

a cinderella story: once upon a song (2011) - lucy hale is good. missi pyle is good. they play their roles and lines that they’re given fairly well. over all, it’s entertaining. lucy, of course, has them Pipes and i do like the songs in this movie. the only major downside for me was the “token best friend of color” trope. lucy’s best friend is an asian girl who’s good at sports and is there for one liners and support. the prince charming character’s best friend is a black guy who he only knew for probably a month at the most. he can beatbox, sing, and dj. basically he’s also just there as support. they really don’t do much for the plot but they’re there for diversity and whatnot. this movie is.. fine.

cinderella (1950) - the only reason this ranks so low for me is because i watched it a lot as a child when it was on vhs and it always felt like a fever dream to me. i was just really young and didn’t feel invested in any of the characters. it is a classic, though, and i would watch it again and be able to enjoy it.

cinderella 2: dreams come true (2002) - i liked cinderella’s and anastasia’s stories from this one. jaq’s was meh. it was fine.

dj cinderella or cinderella pop (2019) - netflix knows i like cinderella adaptations so, naturally, they shoved this into my recommended and, naturally, i watched it. twice. which is more than i can say for the following review... so this movie is brazillian and is pretty much the cut & mold of modern cinderella movies. but she wants to be a dj. she stars out living a perfect life as a wealthy girl with a loving family, but turns out her dad is cheating on her mom with his secretary. that’s when she “stops believing in love”. which is actually valid bc if i saw one of my parental figures cheating on the other, i honestly wouldn’t know what to believe in anymore. anyway, cíntia dorella (yes. that’s her full name.) and her mom move into her aunt’s place. a year or so passes. stepmother/secretary/cheating lady is throwing an extravagant birthday party for her daughters and hires freddy prince, a popular musician who cíntia doesn’t really like. meanwhile, cíntia gets a dj gig she’s excited for until she finds out she’s the opener for freddy prince at her stepsisters’ party. she ends up disguising herself as “dj cinderella” and freddy is super into her. it’s pretty generic from there but i was entertained enough to watch it twice. take from that what you will.

cinderella (2015) - ok so we been knew that d*sney’s live action remakes ain’t shit, and this one is no exception. d*sney within the last few years has been like 99% aesthetics and marketing. this movie was visually stunning, especially with the settings and costumes. those were the only 2 things i truly liked. everything else was forgettable. in its defense, i did read a post about the “have courage and be kind” message which is something wonderful to hold onto, especially for anyone in an abusive situation like ella. that’s valid and i respect that. i still lowkey hate this movie tho. i started getting a headache about 4 reviews ago, but remembering how much praise this movie got has reignited my fighting spirit. honestly if you like it, that’s good, you like what you like and that’s that. but this is my review and i hated how proper ella’s posture was (she’s been doing physical labor hunched on the floor for years now, how does she not slump around in exhaustion at the end of the day??), i hated how perfectly curated the whole thing was (again, that’s mostly because of d*sney and their aesthetics), and i hated how hollow everything felt. i can’t perfectly describe it, but i never felt emotionally invested in any of the characters. something about their performance was lacking and yet again i blame d*sney. i actually really like lily james, but something about the way she was directed left me devoid of emotional attachment to ella. i remember nothing about ella’s step family or the prince. that’s how much of an impact this adaptation had on me. also i just remembered the fairy godmother as i type this. i ADORE helena bonham carter, but this movie does a horrible disservice to her. if she liked working on this movie, then i’m happy for her, but even she wasn’t strong enough to sell this to me. i saw this movie in theaters and came out of it lamenting my waste of money that i could have spent on something i would have actually enjoyed. but the thing that enraged me the most, the thing i despised, i detested, the thing i seethed over and rant about to this day was the ONE (1) token black character. i don’t even know if he had a name but he was captain of the guard or some shit. if i remember correctly (but probably not tbh this movie was so forgettable), he was the one who heard ella singing and was the whole reason the prince was able to have her try on the glass slipper. this man, who had zero character development, zero relevance to the plot, an insignificant amount of screen time, is suddenly the reason the main character is able to finally connect with her love interest. um. What. i hate how the writers treated him and i will forever be filled with every last grain of salt over this. anyway he’s my favorite character and everyone else is just eh. to conclude this ungodly long review, i don’t like this movie. i tried to watch it again once but got so bored i quit 10 minutes in. do yourself a favor and watch cinderella (1997) instead. (the only reason this movie is ranked above the remaining 5 is the production quality. but i guess that’s unfair bc d*sney has the big bucks. and maybe i wouldn’t be so harsh if i weren’t sleep deprived and grumpy from a sugar-induced headache, but these feelings still come from my Chest so idk.)

a cinderella story: a christmas wish (2019) - i think we all secretly enjoy christmas-themed movies and this has got to be someone’s guilty pleasure. i was mildly entertained (but again with the cringey dialogue written by people clearly not in high school...) and i do like laura marano. but they autotuned her to hell and back - which i loathed - because the woman can actually sing and she has a lovely voice. she got to sing candidly one (1) time and i relished the experience. my ears thank her beautiful, un-autotuned voice. other than that it was.. fine. i didn’t hate it but i didn’t like it either. laura marano deserves better than this. (can’t say the same for the other actors tho because their roles were unmemorable.) also laura marano was super cute in her elf costume!

not cinderella’s type (2018) - i legit forgot about this one until after i compiled the entire list lol. i saw it on youtube and it was decent as far as i remember. it’s another modern day cinderella. i think the “prince” runs over “cinderella’s” cat or something?? i’m pretty sure it was her mom’s cat so now she has nothing left to remember her mom by. prince boy feels awful and tries to befriend her or do something to make it up to her, but she just doesn’t really like him. i think her aunt and uncle are emotionally abusive to her and prince boy does his best to be there for her without making things worse. if i remember correctly, i liked that aspect of the movie because it’s hard to be there for a victim of any kind of abuse if trying to help them could potentially hurt them more, especially minors still under the care of abusive guardians. anyway i think cinderella girl’s best friend is in love with her or something but she ends up not being into him and slowly gets together with prince boy. she eventually moves out of her guardians’ house and into the spare house at prince boy’s home (he’s rich or something). i need to rewatch this movie tbh i could be wrong about everything here lol.

rags (2012) - not amazing, definitely not memorable because i have nothing to say about its plot or writing, but it has keke palmer which is its one redeeming quality. also it’s the only one on this list where the male protagonist is the cinderella. so that’s solid i guess.

a cinderella story: if the shoe fits (2016) - this was a movie. it happened. i vaguely remember how ridiculous it was and sometimes i felt secondhand embarrassment. i don’t remember what about specifically, but i remember the emotion. sofia carson is a talented singer. i think she’s a decent actor but this script was Bad.

elle: a modern cinderella tale (2010) - i only watched this one because i was bored out of my damn mind and saw it on youtube. i felt bad for all the actors because this script was terrible. i don’t recommend this unless you’re about to sit down with your squad and make fun of it.

apparently descendants is on the “cinderella adaptations and references” list on imdb but i refuse to put it on my list because it’s not a cinderella-specific adaptation and i don’t like the descendants franchise. now, if we’re going to discuss a quality series about the children of fairytale characters, that would hands down be ever after high. but that’s a different topic for a different day.

thus concludes the ranking no one asked for but i felt compelled to make. thank you and goodnight

[morelikebaequo]

Versions of Cinderella Ranked

10. A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011)- Full disclosure, I haven’t seen this one all the way through buuuuuuuut it is a ripoff of a ripoff so here we are 

9. R&H’s Cinderella 1965- Like. It’s fine, but it just makes me want to watch a better version of this movie. (this isn’t a gif of it but the Broadway version makes me think of this version. No, I do not particularly like the Broadway version of R&H’s Cinderella and this is my way of shoehorning that in)

8. Disney’s Cinderella (1950)- There are good things about this movie! But you have to admit, it feels a little long. Like, I’m pretty sure they spend as much time on the mice as they do on Cinderella. Look I like this version but I have to be in Exact Right Mood for it

7. Another Cinderella Story (2008)- As far as mid-2000s teen rom-coms go, this coulda been worse. It’s fun and I enjoy the dance sequences. But it still just makes me want to watch a better movie 

6. Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1957)

I mean. The only reason this one is as high as it is is because of Julie Andrews. Other than that. It’s Pretty Forgetful. (They didn’t have a gif for it so enjoy)

5. Disney’s Cinderella (2015)- Ok in my humble opinion THIS IS HOW YOU ADAPT YOUR SHIT DISNEY. This movie isn’t flawless by a long shot! But it’s fun, it fits a certain mood. They took what was good about their original version and worked with that. They fixed some of the issues with it without obsessing over it. THE DRESS! Richard Madden as the prince!! ITS CUTE. It is their best live-action remake to date (I am really hoping Little Mermaid and Mulan will be even better!) 

4. A Cinderella Story (2004)- I don’t have to convince y’all how good this movie is. Hillary Duff as Sam? Flawless. Regina King as the (2nd) best fairy godmother? P e r f e c t i o n. Sam and Carter’s friendship? We support. A typically kinda blind but overall GOOD prince, er quarterback? hell yeah. THAT WHOLE SCENE AT THE DINER, y’all know which one. God this version is so good

3. Ella Enchanted (2004) - Yes I KNOW it’s nothing like the book. That doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a GREAT adaption of Cinderella. A badass Ella who is Anne Freaking Hathaway! Adventure with some fun and magical friends! A cute Prince who Ella has an actual relationship with! A fun villain whose kind of charming, but so much so that we don’t root for them! THE HALL OF MIRRORS SCENE. Also, it has two of the best musical numbers in cinematic history (I do actually consider the “Somebody to Love” scene as the third-best scene in cinematic history)

2. Ever After (1998)- Historical Cinderella with a strong female lead who is Drew Barrymore? uM YES. I love almost everything about this movie. Danielle? The. Best. Prince Henry? A lovable dumbass. Leo Da Vinci as the fairy godmother? What an iconic move. Tbh the relationship Danielle and Rodmilla have is clearly what they were going for in 2015 version but they just didn’t know how to make it work. Also, Jacquline the good stepsister? We love. Her picking up Henry to save him?? UM YES. The ball and Danielle’s dress? BEYOND AMAZING. DANIELLE SAVING HERSELF AND PRINCE PRINCE AWKWARDLY BEING LIKE “oh...i came here to rescue you”. The revenge scene after Danielle and Henry are married? amazing. 

“We are supposed to live happily ever after?”

“Says who?

“Do you know? I don’t know” 

Wow I love this movie 

1. Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)- Look I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This is the best Cinderella. This is the perfect adaption of this fairytale. Brandy’s Ella is just lovely. She’s strong, but she’s scared and her fairy godmother says “You have to save yourself, I can’t do that for you”. Paolo Montalban’s Prince Christopher? He’s so cute! And, what I love about this version is that they meet before the ball and they have a c on n e c t i o n but they move on and then he’s like “wait I’ve seen you before” and the second he sees her when he finds her again there’s no dumb “could it really you?” Nah man he KNOWS his girl and they put the slipper on because it's cute. Also the supporting cast? Flawless. Bernadette Peters Stepmother? Just wow. The stepsisters? Funny but not like too miserable, you don’t Hate them, but you know they deserve to be locked out of that wedding. Whoopi Goldberg and Victor Garber as the King and Queen? Wow, this is an iconic couple and we know which one of them really rules this kingdom. Even Jason Alexander as Lionel is p good. Whitney Huston as the Fairy Godmother is the only thing that matters. She also handpicked Brandy to be Cinderella and Brandy said the only if Whitney played the Fairy Godmother. That story just fills me with so much joy. And the cherry on top is that they took this version and filled it in with other Rodgers and/or Hammerstein songs. Honestly, the reason I don’t like the Broadway version is that they could’ve adapted this version to the stage and they didn’t and it just pales in comparison man. This is The. Best. Cinderella. 

E V E R. 

[naomignome]

1999 & 2004 for the film years if you please 😁😁

OH MAN TOP 3 MOVIES OF:

1999 

(For reference here I was very young in 1999 as in under 10 years old lol)--I know a bunch of iconic romcoms came out this year, BUT BECAUSE I WAS BABY:

1. THE MUMMY (I still love this movie so much--I cannot. It scared the shit out of me when I was younger, but Evie was uh.. YES) 

2. ZENON: GIRL OF THE 21ST CENTURY (Hi, I still say Zetus Lepetus) 

3. POKEMON THE MOVIE: 2000 (I can pretty much trace the start of my shipping days to this movie--and the word play of “the world will turn to Ash” signifying that Ash was the chosen one STUCK WITH ME)

2004

How did you pick this year? There were so many good movies that came out this year??? Cause you somehow managed to pick the year that my favorite movie of all time came out in:

1. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (My favorite movie of all time, bar none. will watch no matter what time or day) 

2.  ELLA ENCHANTED (Not faithful to the books but this was the last movie I ever rented from Blockbuster and I watched it every single day we had it out to rent. I love Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy--huge crushes on them both)

3. A CINDERELLA STORY (Hilary Duff!!!!!! I also watched this a lot, my taste for romcom and shipping things at this point in my life were becoming pretty apparent LOL)

[sofaoofa]

Why Barbie is the Height of Cinema

In our modern feats of cinema and storytelling there are definitive good and bad stories. For example, Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and The Lord of the Rings movies are all bad. In each of these movies, these characters are not compelling. There is no colorful flare. There is no sing-along song that furthers the plot. All of these elements are integral parts of excellent media. In order for a piece of media that tells a story to be good there are three key elements. These elements are the relatable characters, being visually appealing, and a bopping soundtrack. While it is hard nowadays to find movies with all three of these elements, every single Barbie™ movie that has been released contains these important traits, and thus one could objectively conclude that Barbie™ 's list of over 40 animated movies is the height of cinema.

Take for example the best movie in existence, Barbie™ as The Princess and the Pauper. This story’s most compelling element is the character Barbie™. Barbie™ is a well known figure played with almost every little girl across the nation. Contrastly, I am unable to relate to the characters in Star Wars because they are almost all men and go through situations that I cannot relate to. I have never wanted to fly in a spaceship or deal with the moral complexity of fighting my father. But Barbie™ in her role as both the princess and the pauper, I see myself so clearly in each character she plays. Like Princess Anneliese, I too like to wear extravagant dresses, and complain about how I have too much stuff to do. Also like Erika, I am poor and wish to not have debt. The range! The multitude of people I am able to relate to is the prime example of a movie that exemplifies good characters.

Continuing with Barbie™ as The Princess and the Pauper it is important to recognize how bright and colorful every scene is. Never will you have to turn the brightness up on the screen watching this movie or any Barbie™ movie for that matter. The color choices are deliberate and pleasing to the eye. Recently, I was watching Avengers (2012) and I could not tell the characters apart. They were all wearing similar dark clothes, and the scenes were all dingy and dark. I quite love Black Widow as a character, but her plot development was overshadowed by the subpar visuals. Even though Marvel is one of the most commercially successful movie studios today, cinematically, their movies are nothing compared to the cinematography of Mattel and Mainframe studios.

One of the most iconic elements of Barbie™ as The Princess and the Pauper is the soundtrack. This movie debuted in 2004 and yet 16 years later we as a people are still singing “I am a Girl Like You” to our sisters, to our roommates, and kindred friends. This song has parts to sing-along, it’s a fun song, and it is the very definition of the type of song that needs to be present in the media. This soundtrack is a classic that will live on for generations. Comparing this masterpiece of a song to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack is a terrible juxtaposition. The Lord of the Rings soundtrack has no lyrics. I can’t even name a single song! There is no emotion conveyed, and these songs do nothing to further the plot. 

As we can see from the best movie of all time the key elements to a good story are relatable and convincing characters, exciting visuals, and fun songs. Of course there are other films that include relatable characters, but it is important to look to the source of perfect media to draw conclusions about other stories. Some non-Barbie™ movies that are objectively good are Mama Mia, Mama Mia Here We Go Again, The Hannah Montana Movie, Ella Enchanted, and Tangled because they all include each of the three key elements. Hopefully with more work and effort, soon every major story and film will include convincing characters, stunning visuals, and catchy tunes.

[gwennifergifs]

★ HUGH DANCY GIF PACK.

– CLICK THE LINK IN THE SOURCE to be redirected to 302 gifs of HUGH DANCY from Ella Enchanted (2004). These gifs were all made by me, and are all 268x151. Find all of my gif packs ON MY DIRECTORY at /directory on this blog! (302 gifs total)

MY GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED: Do not edit these into gif icons. Crackships and sidebars are fine. Please like or reblog if you found these helpful, as that really helps get the word out!