While this had some good points, there were many weaknesses. The characters didn't always fit their voices and the animation was pretty weak. Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s character, Rick, looked like Justin Timberlake, for some unknown reason. Characters walked as if they were automatons, not with the fluidity of humans. And Sarah Michell Gellar, while I'm a big fan of hers from her Buffy days, seemed bored the whole time. In fact, her (Cinder)Ella spoke with the same stilted simplicity as the robot Buffy from Season Five of the series. The monumental talents of George Carlin were wasted in such a small role. The whole thing seemed as if it were a rushed rip-off of Shrek and Hoodwinked.

I will start by saying this is not the worst animated movie I have ever seen, far from it. Doogal, Secret of NIMH 2 and Titanic:The Animated Movie are much worse than this. That said though, while not a terrible movie, Happily N'ever After isn't particularly good either. Good things first, I loved the idea of the film, an ironic take on Cinderella, coincidentally one of my all time favourite fairy tales. Then there is a good voice cast, standouts being Sigourney Weaver, Patrick Warburton and Wallace Shawn. Personally I felt Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jnr were on the bland side, but so were their characters strictly speaking. Plus some funny moments come from the supporting characters such as the gangster wolves and biker witches on motorised broomsticks. And of course Mambo and Munk. However, despite these good things, the film at the end of the day felt forgettable and bland. My thoughts on the animation were mixed, while I liked how audacious some of the backgrounds looked, I thought the character movements were awkward and forced. It is pretty much the same with the music score as well, too exaggerated and overdone for my liking. A great idea for a story, but the jokes were on the whole very derivative and the pace uneven consequently the film lacked sparkle and felt predictable. But the worst offender was the script, it seemed rather lazy for some reason, with more polish and irreverence it could have breathed more life into the film. All in all, not terrible, but not great. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Villains gang up to assure that no one will live happily ever after (including the audience).

Made in the wake of the surprise success of Hoodwinked, Happily N'ever After is a perfectly awful animated film that is easily one of the worst written in the last five years (which is saying a great deal since there have been some real stinkers). You can feel the committee crafting jokes that should be funny (come on really I tell you five year olds will eat this up) and the lack of enthusiasm for the job the actors have for the job thats giving them a fast paycheck (if you want emotion you'll have to pay me more). Nothing in this movie is funny or liable to put even a half a grin on your face. Its beyond awful. To be honest the only thing I've seen worse recently is Doogal-the American re-dubbed version of the wonderful Magic Roundabout.