by CHRIS BARRY

Based on the book of the same name, Ella Enchanted tries very hard to be a feel-good family movie like Shrek, ultimately with mixed results. Essentially a loose re-telling of the Cinderella story delivered with an annoyingly cutesy, ahem, post-modern approach, the big running gag here is that the film's medieval fairy tale kingdom bears an uncanny resemblance to the modern world in both its appearance and social values. Cinderella - oops, I mean Ella - is an assertive left-leaning progressive with a feminist bent, the handsome prince is adored and hounded by crazed female fans à la Bobby Sherman or a young Kirk Cameron, and the sets are rife with nifty little gimmicks like medieval shopping malls sporting escalators and the like. Which is not to say Ella Enchanted is entirely without charm, it's just that it's almost entirely without charm, due to the fact that it's a little too cute for those of us burdened by a delicate gag reflex.

Anne (Princess Diaries) Hathaway is Ella, who as a child was given the "gift" of obedience from a well-meaning fairy with an alcohol problem. But some gift: now anytime anybody barks a command her way, no matter how degrading or destructive, Ella instinctively jumps to the ready.

And the trouble this causes her. If it's not her evil step-sisters bossing her around, it's Prince Charmant's (see what I mean by cute?) dastardly uncle Edgar, who has illegally wrested control of the kingdom and relegated all the poor giants, ogres and elves to the status of slaves. This rubs Ella very much the wrong way, so when she hooks up romantically with the prince/king-in-waiting, she's determined to show him the evils of his uncle's ways and have him rectify the intolerable slave situation. But emancipation is never an easy fight, not even in the land of make believe.

If you're the babysitter or parent of a kid under 12 and need a film to take the mutt to that won't be 90 minutes of sheer hell, then this could be a safe bet. While it's nowhere near as clever as the films it blatantly emulates, Ella Enchanted is still easier to endure than most flicks targeting this demographic.

Ella Enchanted opens Friday, April 9

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