Happily N'ever After [DVD]

I have to say I was a bit apprehensive after reading some highly negative reviews - to say it is the worst animated film ever is absurd! Our five year old daughter loves it and wants to watch it over and over again. For a kids film that ticks all the boxes in my book. A good film and a bargain at the current price

There are so many negative comments about this film both here and on the US Amazon site that I am compelled to counter. I agree that this film is not intellectually challenging, but that is also the case with many enjoyable films directed at children. That's not to say that it is grossly simplistic - it has some lovely embedded messages to get across and I think that it succeeds brilliantly on that account. My 4 year daughter after watching the film (for the 3rd time) turned to me and said: "Cinderella likes the washing-up boy and he isn't the prince, but he saved her and likes her back" - you don't get that from Shrek 3 (which she hated).

The tunes are sparse but the ones that stick in my mind are delightful and memorable - namely the ballroom music and the "If I get what I want will I like what I get" tune. My daughter sings along with the words to the latter and, again, isn't that a lovely message to get across? She has also spotted aspects of the film that I didn't notice: the fact that the bouncy hairdo of the Prince is mirrored by his horse's mane, the fact that the horse (mostly in the background) is visibly and humourously unimpressed with the words and behaviour of its owner, etc. I was greatly amused to see that the disco moves of one of the ogres is almost identical to the hilarious dance-floor antics of one David Brent ("The Office" - UK version).

In summary, stop over-analysing and enjoy/buy this film for what it is: a light, enjoyable, delightfully animated frolic aimed at children.

This film must have passed me by when it came out at the cinema, because I had never really heard of it before.unlike the big animated features such as Ice Age and Shrek, this one kind of appeared unnoticed, without fanfare. I suppose the trouble is, that unlike times past, when an animated film took ages to produce because it was hand drawn, these days CGI kids films are being churned out by the bucketload, cheaply and efficiently. A bit soul destroying, really.

Happily N'ever after is a bog standard kids film. It is in the "new fairy tale" style of films like Shrek, where the original fairy tale gets a makeover and gets turned on its head, with a few added jokes for the moms and dads thrown in.

Given this tried and tested formula (!) and the fact that the film does have a few star names on the cast list, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, I am surprised that this film didn't get much press when it came out.

The movie is the story of Cinderella, reworked. All of the fairy tales are controlled by a wizard, who has the scales of good and evilin perfect balance at the top of his castle. He goes on holiday, leaving his two incompetent assistants in charge. Cinderellas' evil stepmother infiltrates the castle, tipping the scales to evil and changing the outcome of the fairy tales: Sleeping beauty never wakes up, Rumplestiltskin gets the baby, Red riding hood is eaten by the wolf, and Cinderella never marries the prince. It is up to humble kitchen sevant Rick, who is in love with Cinderella, to save the day, but can he win the girl when she is destined to marry the prince....?

The animation is OK and the songs instantly forgettable.I guess it has all been done before. My son laughed all the way through and really enjoyed it, but I can't see this film being at the top of any "best animated films of all time" lists.

The film is available pretty cheap from Amazon, and with the school holidays on the way, is an OK way to spend and afternoon entertaining the kids.