Ever After (1998)

Brace yourself for another reimagined story.

This inspiration came close on the heels of a debate that my storytelling class had on fairy tales. When you mention fairy tales, Disney is going to pop in the conversation sooner or later. I am getting pretty tired of everyone harping on Disney. Yes they are not perfect and they have shit bricked alot of crap. But classic Disney was literally where the magic was at. Where the company took elaborate pains to take a fairy story and myth and make it like by little kids practically universally.

Before you take up arms with the complaint that they're tainting the public minds: THERE ARE OTHER FRICKIN' VERSIONS OUT THERE. Fairy tales and myths are constantly recycled and reimagined given the handlers culture, time, and interest. Some people can view fairy tales as precious and timeless archives that should be preserved. Other see fairy tales as in sorely need of updating. There are groups that understand that fairy tales were remodeled in order to make the warning in the story approriate. I am of the of the group where I like to ask the "What If?" in the fairy tales.

And you've seen this happen.
Gregory Mcguire asked, " What if the wicked witch wasn't wicked?" when he wrote "Wicked".
Bill Willingham asked, "What if fable characters existed in our world?" when he created "Fables".
Frank Beddor asked , " What if Alice in Wonderland was really a princess named Alyss"? in the "Looking Glass Wars".

"Ever After" pretty much asks "What if Cinderella was a real human being?"
Damn do I love this movie. It is a beautiful reimagination of Cinderella and romance movie.

In the movie, Danielle (played by Drew Barrymore) is a girl forced to be a servant by her abusive stepmother (played by Anjelica Huston). The stepmother is concerned with having her daughter, Margarite, gain the attention of the Prince (who is absolutely scrumptious....). Danielle couldn't care less as long as her home and servant family stay together.

Through sheer accidence, Daniellle is blessed with money to free one of her servants who is being shipped off. Danielle pretends to be a lady and fights for the servants rights. During the tussle, the prince intervenes and is immediately impressed by Danielles beauty and intelligence.

So begins the love story between Danielle and the Prince. The story is really fun(especially with the gypsys). I love Danielles character. So beautiful, unique and strong. When she is standing in the white costume facing the royal court, wow! Plus she loves books!

The story also adds the involvement of Leonardo Di Vinci whose role is to be the fairy godmother. Da Vinci's role in the movie is sweet and endearing. Almost like that uncle that would tell you an interesting story while pulling a magic trick.

It's a love story and girls swoon over it. If your looking for historical accuracies, look away. It's funny, sweet, and romantic. A great movie to watch after a long day.


(once again, i chose to wrote this blog really late and i'm tired. so i apologize for any glaring grammar mistakes and such!)