Gratuitous Llama Netflix Movie Review (TM) - Family Film Night Division

So the gels came home from Blockbuster last evening with Happily N'Ever After (2007), an animated flick that purports to be a hip retelling of the Cinderella story in which the powers that ensure happy endings in fairy tales go awry, allowing evil to triumph temporarily.

Well, the one good thing I can report about this film is that writing a review of it is easy: In a word, it sucks. The plot is lame, the characters either cardboard or incomprehensible, the writing so self-satisfied that you want to pound it with a two-by-four, the animation clunky. And if I were the legal team over at Pixar, I'd be suing the pants off whoever produced this dog because the bone-headed Prince character is a direct visual rip-off of Mr. Incredible.

It's too bad, also, because I've been a fan of this type of thing ever since "Fractured Fairy Tales". But in order to pull it off successfully, one has to have wit, not just flippancy; a coherent story, not just gratuitous swipes at the originals; and style, not just edginess for its own sake. In this case, it was three strikes and you're out.

Robbo's Recommendation: No Yips! for you! I wouldn't just recommend against buying or renting this flick, I'd also recommend against watching it free if the offer is ever made.