Happily N'Ever After

Happily N'Ever After is a 2007 computer-animated film based on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. It is a Vanguard Animation production, released by Lionsgate Films.

Starring the voices of Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sigourney Weaver, George Carlin, Michael McShane, Andy Dick, Patrick Warburton and Wallace Shawn.

Released in theatres January 5 2007.

Taglines:
 * The future looks Grimm.
 * Fairytale endings aren't what they used to be.

Story
As the story begins, we are introduced to the idea that the Wizard controls all of the fairy tales and maintain the balance of good and evil in Fairy Tale Land. With the help of his assistants, the Wizard is checking to make sure that all the fairy tales under his care are "on track" to have their traditional happy endings. As we meet him, however, the Wizard is leaving for Scotland for a long-overdue vacation. He leaves the kingdom in the hands of his two assistants, the uptight Munk and the decidedly goofy Mambo. Ella (better known as Cinderella) starts out a damsel in distress, dreaming of the Prince who will sweep her off her feet. Her best friend at the palace is Rick, the palace dishwasher. Rick takes it upon himself to deliver the invitations to the royal ball to Ella. Ella visits Rick in the palace kitchen to borrow items she needs to complete her chores and to share her hopes of dancing with "him" (the Prince) tonight. Ella sees Rick only as a friend, but Rick secretly loves Ella, although he is too cool and proud to admit it. Rick can't really understand what Ella likes about the Prince. Rick's Three Amigos, the comic chefs in the palace kitchen, believe that Rick has a bad case of "Prince envy". The Prince does everything by the book. He wants it all to be perfect: perfect hair, perfect shirt, perfect everything (he even put on perfect underwear). He plans to meet his Damsel at the ball. However, things don't go as planned at the ball. Thanks to the assistants, Ella's evil stepmother, Frieda, gains access to the Wizard's lair during the Prince's ball. While the boss is away, the wicked stepmother does play. Frieda manages to chase off Munk and Mambo and tip the scales of good and evil, causing a series of fairy tales to go wrong and have comically unhappy endings. As for Ella, Frieda can't stand her hope and goodness. Frieda's goal is to put the "cinder" back in Cinderella. That night, she calls an army of trolls, witches, big bad wolves, and giants to her castle. Ella finds out and escapes to the woods, where she meets Munk and Mambo. Together, they flee to the Seven Dwarfs' home. Witches and trolls, led by Ice Queen, attack them. Rick flies up on a broom, having stolen it from Frieda. The dwarfs hold off the trolls, while Rick, Mambo, Munk, and Ella escape. The Ice Queen is shot down and killed during an attempt to capture them. Frieda discovers the failure and goes after Ella herself. She succeeds in capturing her and Rick, Munk, and Mambo follow her. Ella, meanwhile, is being tortured by Frieda in the palace throne room. Rick, Munk, and Mambo slip into Frieda's castle and attack Frieda. During the fight, Frieda generates a pit of flame in the floor. Mumbo knocks her in, and everything returns to normal. But Frieda had one final trick to play. While plummeting through the magma, she uses her staff to fly back up again. After a short battle, Frieda creates a portal by accident. Ella knocks Frieda back, so that part of her is in the portal, she then finishes her off by punching her and knocking Frieda into the river of time. Later, Frieda is shown trapped in the Ice Age. She is surrounded by seals and dragged off, a rather comical death for the self-proclaimed "Empress of Evil." Set against a backdrop of fractured fairy tales spinning wildly out of control, Ella and her true love Rick ultimately must choose their destinies in a world of happy endings.

Cast

 * Amigos: Tom Kenny, Rob Paulsen, Philip Proctor
 * Dwarves: John DiMaggio, Tom Kenny
 * Stepsisters: Kath Soucie, Jill Talley
 * Witches: Tress MacNeille, Jill Talley
 * Wolves: Tom Kenny, Jon Polito
 * Additional Voices by Lee Arenberg, John Cygan, Jennifer Darling, Debi Derryberry, Patti Deutsch, Shae D'Lyn, Andrew Dolan, Bill Farmer, Jack Fletcher, Roger L. Jackson, Sherry Lynn, Mickie McGowan, Natalie Nassar, Laraine Newman, Jan Rabson, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jim Ward, April Winchell

Reaction
Happily N'Ever After was panned by audiences and critics alike. Most criticisms included poor animation, lazy casting, tepid jokes and a large number of critics felt the plotline was ripping off Shrek. On its opening weekend it only gained $6.6 million and, according to Rotten Tomatoes, has only 4% critical approval rating on the tomatometer (and a very rare 0% in the "creme of the crop" division). But unlike Doogal's 2.8 average rating on RT, Happily got a 3.1 average rating.

Trivia

 * It is the fifth film that Gellar and Prinze Jr. appear together in, counting their role in the Scooby-Doo movie and its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, as well as Gellar's cameo in She's All That. It is also the first completely animated film they are in together.
 * In one of the trailers, the music "New Arrival" from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride can be heard, even though the movie was made by Warner Bros.
 * This film was originally to be made in traditional animation, but after Shrek was released, the idea was scrapped.
 * This film shares a couple similarites to the direct-to-DVD Disney movie, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time. In both movies, the evil stepmother uses magic to thwart Cinderella's perfect, fairy-tale ending. Thus, Cinderella is forced to make her own happily ever after.