“Ever After”: The Best Fairytale Adaptation

Let’s talk about one of the most underrated movies in cinema history: “Ever After: A Cinderella Story” (1998). People don’t talk about this masterpiece as much as they should! This is one of my favorite movies of all time and, in my opinion, the best adaptation of any fairytale. This fact is confirmed when I confess that I have seen this movie over forty times in my short life of only twenty years. On the outside, “Ever After” looks like a plain adaptation of the original “Cinderella” fairytale, but this movie creates so much more than that. While omitting the magical aspects of the original, “Ever After” delves into what it was like living in 16th-century France. 

This movie transcends period romance films. With Drew Barrymore playing Danielle (the stand-in for the Cinderella character), a spirited, well-spoken young woman, this masterpiece perfectly portrays life as a “commoner” falling in love with a prince. As the original fairytale goes, Cinderella is forced to live a life of servitude by her wicked stepmother. In this adaptation, Danielle is still subject to servitude. However, the stepmother (played marvelously by Angelica Huston) has punished Danielle out of pure jealousy that Danielle’s father loved Danielle more than his new wife. There are still two step-sisters: Marguerite (played by Megan Dodds) and Jacqueline (Melanie Lynskey). However, they are by no means ugly. Marguerite tries to win over the prince's affection. At the same time, Jacqueline, with a kind heart hidden behind the meanness of her mother and sister, is soft-spoken but ultimately uses her voice to help Danielle in many ways. After a hilarious run-in at the apple orchard, Danielle comes face to face with the prince, Prince Henry (Dougray Scott). Henry is enamored with her style of speaking and ideas about everyday life. Mistaking her for a courtier, Henry tries to find any opportunity to see her. As the movie continues, Danielle speaks with such eloquence that I deem this movie as having my favorite script. The Disney adaptation of “Cinderella” stripped Cinderella of any real goal or ideals. Danielle, on the other hand, spits off fantastic line after fantastic line, playfully arguing with Henry on politics that he should be concerned about if he is supposed to be king one day, such as education, poverty, and art. One of my favorite lines that shows Danielle’s passion for “simple” things is when Henry and Danielle are looking at books, and he asks her to pick her favorite one. She replies, “I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the heavens.” Henry and Danielle, as they fall in love, show each other little parts of the world around them. Danielle gets a glimpse of royalty while Henry gains a sense of reality. Henry remarks that although he has had tutors all of his life, Danielle has shown him more knowledge in just a few days than he has learned throughout his lifetime. He gains a newfound respect for peasants and serfs, even with Danielle concealing that she is, in fact, a servant. 

Danielle is a character that even Drew Barrymore herself said she wants to be. Instead of having the prince save her in dangerous moments, Danielle does it all on her own. Her quick wit and beyond-her-years way of speaking mesmerize anyone who comes within her vicinity and saves her countless times. Although Danielle is forced into servitude, she never thinks of leaving that life. Sure, she would rather not work for her stepmother and step-sisters, but even through all that, she is constantly thinking of others. From rescuing her family friend from prison to helping the prince, she is kind, genuine, and compassionate to everyone she encounters. Even when you think she might take revenge on her step-mother, she does something surprising with grace and elegance. 

I’m not trying to spoil too much for you, as this movie is one you just have to watch to find out how fantastic this is. The costumes are everything I want in a period romance film and more! Danielle’s outfits, in particular, are a work of pure genius. This movie has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, garnering high praise from critics and high esteem from my friends and family. It is a movie that makes you laugh, cry, think, and dream to have the determination that Danielle has. “Ever After” offers the audience to believe in empathy, kindness, love, and most importantly, a happily ever after!