Review: Ever After

#70 - Ever After

Ever After is a retelling of Cinderella; however, it is told as a story that actually happened instead of the fairytale we have come to know. It follows the life of Danielle, a girl who lost her father at a young age and was forced to live as a servant to her stepmother and stepsisters. One day, a man is caught stealing her father's horse, and so she hits him in the head with an apple, knocking him off the horse. She discovers that this man is Henry, the Prince of France. This starts the love story of Danielle and Henry. Danielle poses as a Countess and wins Henry's heart. She tries several times to tell him the truth, but it doesn't come out until it is too late. She is humiliated in front of the King, the Queen, the entire court, and the Prince. A mentor to Henry is Leonardo DaVinci. DaVinci tries to make the prince realize that it doesn't matter that he is royalty and she is a commoner, true love is true love, and Danielle is his match. Henry realizes what a huge mistake he has made by turning Danielle away, and he comes to her rescue. They live happily ever after, and Danielle's wicked stepmother and stepsister, Margerite, are sentenced to the same "courtesy" they have shown Danielle for 10 years...life as a servant.

Ever After is the ONLY version of Cinderella that I enjoy. I am not a fan of Cinderella at all, but the character of Danielle brings her to life in a way that makes me like her. I also love the choice to have one of Danielle's stepsisters on her side. Jacqueline is treated very close to how Danielle is treated, so she sides with Danielle and helps her win the prince. It seems more like a victory for the whole family, instead of just Danielle, when the Baroness and Margerite are sentenced to life as servants. Taking the fairytale elements out of the story creates a more realistic and believable environment, and that's what I love about it. No fairy godmothers and magic, just Leonardo DaVinci using his creative talent to transform "Cinderella" for the ball.

The prince is given more of a role in this film as well. In Disney's Cinderella, the prince barely even talks. He seems to always follow his father's orders, and that is definitely not the case in Ever After. Henry makes you connect with him immediately when he is defying his father's wishes and running off into the night to get away from the constraints of the crown. I would usually say, "Boo Hoo, suck it up. You're a prince. Most people would kill to have that title," however, Henry lets us see how tough it is to be the heir to the thrown, and just like commoners who aren't happy with their lives, that can also happen to royalty as well. It's not their fault that they were born into that sort of responsibility, so it seems natural that Henry would want to escape it. He escapes it with Danielle. Even though he thinks she's a Countess, he lets her in and she changes his world. That is something that never happens in the Disney version. This film lets us connect with the prince AND "Cinderella."

Overall, it's such a cute movie.
I give Ever After 4 out of 5 stars.