Feats N' Faults: Ella Enchanted
Yet Another Dumb Man Steals The Spotlight
Welcome back to Feats N’ Faults, where we use our Tiered Point System to rank and record our favorite characters based on their achievements and deeds. For a more in depth look on how points are awarded, please check the About page. Below is our Tier System for quick reference. Spoiler Warning!
Ella Enchanted is one of my fiance Amanda’s favorite childhood films. I even bought her the novel as a birthday present to make her nostalgic. I had personally never seen the film, but I thought it would be fun to see how a one-off comedy like this would do in Feats N’ Faults. There is no shortage of characters, so if anyone plays at home, we rank Char, Ella, Nish, Lucinda, Koopooduk, Slannen, Hattie, and Sir Edgar from least to greatest. Let me know who you thought would end up on top or at the bottom in the comments.
Let’s Get Started
8th Place, Lucinda: -2 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
Yikes, a negative two put Lucinda in the running for one of our lowest scores ever. She deserved it too; what a narcissist. She couldn’t accept any criticism and would just curse people willy-nilly. I understand she thought being obedient was a gift, but for whom? If anything, she was giving the parents a gift, not Ella. Just think of how awful, damaging, and scarring a curse like that would be in the real world. What a nightmare scenario she was forced to live through.
Lucinda even got a second chance before the climax of the movie. Ella was chained to a tree, and Lucinda was confronted about the “gift.” Could she have redeemed herself, removed the curse, and given Ella a proper gift? Why yes, yes, she could have. Did she? Of course not! She got all huffy and offended and just flew away. Lucinda was indeed the real villain of this movie. With all the damage she put on poor Ella, I wish I could have given her a worse score. But Feats N’ Faults has to remain unbiased in our scoring.
One fact I found interesting is that Amanda told me there was a subplot about squirrels that was removed from the film. In this, Lucinda would finally get her comeuppance as Ella’s parents trick her into turning herself into a squirrel. I would have loved to see that ending because I despise this character more than I ever expected. Honestly, I think spending her days as a squirrel is too lenient of a punishment.
7th Place, Koopooduk: 1 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
Next is Koopooduk. I was expecting more from him. I thought the giants would have some sort of uprising, but in the end, it was just two of them walking into a palace. He did so little that it took me a while just to find his name, and there were conflicting reports! I hope the rest of the characters leave more of a mark.
6th Place, Hattie: 2 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
Hattie is the first to discover that Ella has to do whatever she says. While she caused some traumatic experiences, it could have been a lot worse. Hattie is a petty villain, but she is too dense to understand the true power that her knowledge commands. She could have caused Ella to murder, steal, or, at the very least, do Hattie’s homework for her. Instead, she creates some drama and insults Ella’s friend. Pretty weak sauce actions for a main antagonist. She’s mostly just annoying.
5th Place, Slannen: 3 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
Another disappointment is Slannen. Where was this character's development or finale? He got nothing. They spent the entire film talking about how he was going against the grain and wanted to be a lawyer instead of an entertainer. When they set a plot point up and constantly refer to it, you expect there to be a payoff. I thought he would use his law knowledge to get Ella out of prison, free the elves, or save the giants. Yet, in the end, there was no end for Slannen. That setup was never paid off, and he was mostly forgotten about. What happened? Justice for Slannen!
4th Place, Nish: 5 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
Woo Nish! I love a villain turned good guy. When we were first introduced, I assumed I was going to be tracking a villain the entire time. To my surprise, Nish was just the first of many allies that Ella would accumulate along the way. He also makes himself very useful. His primary purpose was to knock out castle guards so the others could infiltrate it. Even though they had a giant on their side, Nish was definitely the muscle.
I appreciate the effort of the practical effects. While they are nothing to write home about, they do the job. The budget for this film could not have been very large, but they achieved a lot with what they had. I think the blue fading into the skin tone does a lot of the work and helps to sell the rubber head and neckpiece. It makes for an interesting effect that really sells the look.
3rd Place, Sir Edgar: 10 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
The first character to break into the double digits is Sir Edgar, Booooo. Who does this king of think he is? I honestly have no idea how Edgar managed to rule this long. Sure, he was able to kill his brother and take the crown, but boy, is he a moron. Look at his fault. He knocked himself out with his own evil scheme. Who in their right mind would tamper with and poison a crown only to put it on yourself? What a numbskull. Even with the lack of intelligence, the crown holds tremendous power. With the stroke of a quill, he enslaved multiple species and even framed and captured Ella. The scheme to turn Ella into a prince murderer was almost a success. He would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for that meddling power of love.
2nd Place, Ella of Frell: 10 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
In second place is... Ella. Why is the protagonist tied with the villain and under her love interest? Oh, that's easy. It's because the writers just had to make the men do everything. It would make no sense for a woman to be the victor of her own story; oh no, we have to get a man to do it for her. I was genuinely pissed at the end of this film when Char was the one to free all the races. That was Ella's entire focus, and now the king will get all the credit for it. Why couldn't they have crowned her Queen, and then she make her proclamation to free the Giants and Elves? Or, if that is too far-fetched, why couldn't they have had Char mention that this was her bill and or she passed it? I get this was the 00s, but come on. A woman could not even succeed and excel in her own rom-com? They did give Ella some agency and let her fight her way out of some problems, but I am tired of seeing the woman character used as a pawn. Even Edgar used her to try and kill the prince. No man can achieve anything without Ella, yet she gets zero credit or praise. Stupid patriarchy getting all twisted up in my rom-coms.
Ella still impressed me. I was not expecting much from this movie. Ella has no powers; if anything, she has an even harder time achieving feats since she can be stopped by simply being asked to. That never held her back. She was still able to kick some butt and spread joy wherever she went. In the end, she does become the Queen, and I know she'll be running that entire kingdom in no time. Ella really did enchant everyone she met.
We might have got a brief look into the world of Ella Enchanted, but the characters had a good showing. To put Ella’s score into perspective, she tied with Robb Stark from Game Of Thrones and Maria Hill from the MCU. Maria and Robb had plenty more movies or episodes under their belt, and Ella achieved this in a single film.
1st Place, Char: 15 FN’F Score (2004) 1 Movie
Yay...Char is in first place…bleh. I know, I know he earned it, but I am not thrilled. He saved Ella from boiling alive, became king, and freed the giants and elves, so he deserves some credit. I just wish I could have given that Species-Level Feat to Ella so she could have been the hero of her own story and the winner of her own Feats N' Faults. Congrats Char. You sure did steal a better woman’s idea and pass it off as your own. Way to go, dude.
Thanks for tuning into another Feats N' Faults! You never know what IP might be covered, so do not forget to subscribe to stay up to date. We cover anything and everything from Sci-fi to Royal Rom-Coms. Speaking of the royals, check out my fiance's substack, The Fascinator! It is the best royal newsletter on the internet. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to stay updated on all the latest fashion trends and tea straight from the palace. You won’t regret it.
Ella Enchanted Review:
Ella Enchanted: 7/10
You know, I was pleasantly surprised by Ella Enchanted. Does it have the feel of a Disney Channel original movie? Yes, but I find that charming. Movies these days are filled with so many special effects and bloated budgets that it never feels real. I am a classic Doctor Who fan. I enjoy seeing the seams of a production. Those imperfections make it feel alive. The lack of budget caused the filmmakers to try and think out of the box and problem-solve. Not everything can be solved by paying millions of dollars to underpaid and overworked CGI artists.
I went into this completely blind. I knew nothing about Ella Enchanted and saw it pop up on Netflix's soon-leaving list. I decided to watch it on a limb and found myself engrossed with the plot. Being forced to obey is a terrifying problem to have. I'm glad it was in a children's movie because I was not prepared for the psychological horror that this premise could have been. While the consequences of this curse are not scarring, they do cause serious problems for our protagonists. Attempted murder, theft, and racism were all caused by this curse. Being forced to obey never stopped Ella. She never gave up, either. It would have been easy to lock yourself away, fearing what others would force you to do. Instead, she left and embraced the world, trying to make it where she wanted to live. The curse was eventually broken, and Ella recruited a motley crew with representatives from each race in the realm. Not only was she the queen that the kingdom needed, but the diplomat that was necessary.
Recommendation: Ella will leave you enchanted
All in all, this was a fun film plagued by a pinch too much patriarchy. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romcoms. It was a nice shot of nostalgia into the veins of this 90s kid.
*fiancée