One thing became abundantly clear the further I got into watching Happily N'Ever After. It was apparent that the title wasn't just a clever title - it was indicative of the lack of fun it contained. I went in hoping it would be along the lines of last year’s Hoodwinked, which was very enjoyable.
Happly N'Ever After just plodded along, never catching stride, and rehashing jokes that have been done before. A shame, really. I wanted to like it, but sadly the energy was as leaden as the story turned out to be.
The story has the Wicked Stepmother (Sigourney Weaver), of Cinderella fame, band together all the villains of Fairytale Land to put an end to the cycle of happy endings that plagues all the tales. Fighting on the side of good is Cinderella, better known here as Ella (Sarah Michelle Gellar).
Ella has the twofold adventure of trying to meet the man of her dreams, the dumber than a bag of hammers Prince Charming (the brilliant Patrick Warburton), while also putting a stop to her Stepmother's plot. Along the way she teams with other fairytale characters, most notably the Seven Dwarves.
The crux of the story lies in a tower high above the Prince's castle. Inside the tower is a scale balancing good and evil along with a remote-controlled crystal ball that allows the viewer to keep an eye on the various fairytale characters and ensure that their stories all build to the proper happy ending climax.
Keeping watch over these items are the Wizard (George Carlin) and his assistants Munk (Wallace Shawn) and Mambo (Andy Dick). Of course, things go wrong while the wizard is away - things which allow the Wicked Stepmother to gain control of the magical items.
The movie is framed by narration that breaks the fourth wall by addressing the audience and is filled with self-referential humor. The narration is done by Rick (Freddie Prinze Jr.), the Prince's dishwasher and servant, who not so secretly pines for Ella. This framework does not work well here. It is tired, dull, and terribly unfunny. Rick does not have much to do through the film and this further muddies the story.
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