Anne Hathaway is bringing back her cult-favorite 2000s fantasy movie, but this time as a Disney+ series
More than two decades after charming audiences with magical curses, talking books, and one very awkward obedience spell, ‘Ella Enchanted’ is officially making a comeback. However, this time, the beloved fantasy story is heading to television. According to Deadline, Disney+ is developing a series adaptation inspired by the 2004 fantasy movie that starred Anne Hathaway in one of her early breakout roles. The project is still in development, so fans should probably not start counting down release dates just yet. ‘Ella Enchanted’ has built a loyal fanbase over the years. It may not have become a giant blockbuster at the box office, but the movie developed the kind of cult following many fantasy films would love to have. People still quote scenes from it, revisit the soundtrack, and argue over whether Prince Char (Hugh Dancy) deserved more screen time.
The upcoming Disney+ version will not simply recycle the exact same story from the film, either. Instead, the series appears to be taking the central idea and reshaping it into something a little more grounded. The new adaptation follows 16-year-old Ella of Frell, a girl cursed from birth with the “gift” of obedience. Unfortunately for her, that magical blessing is really more of a nightmare in disguise. Ella is forced to obey every command she receives, no matter how dangerous, humiliating, or ridiculous it may be. In the series version, Ella ends up at boarding school following her mother’s death. While there, she slowly begins uncovering truths surrounding her curse while also building friendships and dealing with a growing crush on her kingdom’s prince. So yes, romance is still part of the package. This is ‘Ella Enchanted’, after all.
However, the school setting changes the tone quite a bit compared to what the movie audiences remember. The boarding school concept also connects more closely to sections from Gail Carson Levine’s original novel, which inspired the film loosely rather than directly. In Levine’s book, Ella spends time at a finishing school where she deals with relentless bullying while also finding meaningful friendships. Those chapters apparently helped shape the direction of the upcoming television version. Behind the scenes, the project has several familiar names attached. Hathaway herself is returning as an executive producer, which is probably the detail longtime fans are happiest about. The series is being written by Ilana Wolpert, whose previous credits include ‘Anyone But You’. Meanwhile, Beth Schwartz is attached as showrunner.
Schwartz already has experience with fantasy-heavy television projects thanks to her work on ‘Dead Boy Detectives’. Production duties are also spread across several companies. Miramax Television and Paramount Television Studios are co-producing the project. Somewhere Pictures, the company connected to Hathaway, her husband Adam Shulman, and producer Johnathan Rice, is also involved. Another production banner attached to the series is iGen Studios, which previously worked on Netflix’s teen drama ‘My Life with the Walter Boys’. For now, Disney+ is keeping details fairly limited. No casting announcements have been made, and production timelines remain unclear.
