Ella Enchanted is clearly aimed at a younger audience, but given that fact, I find it patronising that the director and producers felt they had to brighten up the cast's wardrobe to near-luminosity levels and develop character personalities that border on the emotionally unbalanced; as if children wouldn't enjoy it or be able to sit still for one-and-a-half hours if anything less were on offer. Yet Cinderella is a classic tale that leads little tweaking to make it relevant for a contemporary audience of children. The film also missed the opportunity to make a clear point with respect to the potential true value and the potential true harm of obedience - which is the 'gift' that Ella was given at birth. Yes, blind obedience is a dangerous thing, but the film made it appear as though this could only come about through magical means. Whereas as St Paul reminds us of the reality of this condition for us all; stating that we are all slaves to doing those things we hate doing, and not doing those things we want to do, and that the only one to rescue us from this condition is Jesus Christ. The film also failed to highlight the value of obedience in doing those things we don't necessarily want to do, but are in fact good for us. The exception to this was Ella's reluctant honesty and obedience that resulted in her love match. This is an honourable thing, but not when love and romance are placed as gods in themselves and portrayed as the only things worthy of honesty and obedience. Finally, the re-hashing of a couple of old pop-songs to include as musical numbers was (a) strange, and (b) lazy. Ella Enchanted may appeal to girls below teenage years, but if they are to watch the film it shouldn’t be without discussion afterwards with respect to the issues the film raises. For children aged teens and up, Drew Barrymore's Ever After (1998) may make a more suitable alternative to this Cinderella tale.