2004, PG, 95 minutes

The phrase "guilty pleasure" was made for a movie like Ella Enchanted. This fractured fairy tale is so unapologetically goofy and high-spirited that it's easy to give in to its unusual charm. Take a medieval version of Cinderella, cross it with a sort of live-action Shrek, add a few musical renditions of 70's pop hits, and you'll have some idea of what to expect from this fun family film.

Ella (Anne Hathaway) lives in the kingdom of Frell. Her fairy godmother is the scatterbrained Lucinda (Vivica A. Fox), who gives baby Ella the "gift of obedience." So whenever Ella receives a command, she is compelled to do it, no matter how humiliating it may be. Her new stepsisters (Lucy Punch and Jennifer Higham) are quick to discover her curse, and waste no time abusing it.

Ella, a socially-conscious community college student, can't stand Prince Edgar (Cary Elwes), who has segregated the community by banishing giants to the forest and forcing the elves to become street performers. When she learns that Edgar and his nephew Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy) will be attending the opening of the Frell Galleria (the medieval mall is complete with hand-cranked escalators), she attends to protest. When Charmont (or "Char", as his young groupies refer to him) sees Ella, it's love at first sight. For Ella, it's not. Soon, however, feelings begin to emerge, but her curse proves to be a problem she needs to finally break.

To do that, she must travel to find the flighty Lucinda. Ella's eternally young nanny (Minnie Driver) sends Ella off with Benny (Jimi Mistry), a talking book who can show pictures of Lucinda's ever-changing whereabouts. Ella and her book are joined on their journey by Slannen (Aidan McArdle), an elf who dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Prince Char. Along the way, the gang meets up with the giants, who command Ella to perform a karaoke version of Queen's "Somebody to Love."

Colorful characters and modern-day anachronisms are part of what made Shrek such a smash, and that movie is the clear inspiration for Ella Enchanted. Director Tommy O'Haver brings the same kind of freshness and skewed sense of humor to this fairy tale that he did with the underrated Kirsten Dunst teen comedy Get Over It. He's not above throwing in a gratuitous musical number to spice things up (the entire cast joins in an elaborate rendition of Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" at the end of the movie).

The lovely Hathaway (The Princess Diaries) is also a major asset to the film. She has the right kind of charisma to pull off this silly material. Sure, the plot is all over the map, and some of the special effects are less than convincing. However, O'Haver and his energetic cast have a kind of "Let's put on a show!" enthusiasm that makes this goofy comedy worth a look.