Ella Enchanted (2004)

For everyone involved in the production, including the cast and crew, some of the most soaring moments of fun came during the film’s two musical numbers, which are woven into the adventure. From the beginning, Tommy O’Haver had been searching for a song for Ellla and Prince Char to sing at the Giantville wedding, a centerpiece of the film and their developing romance. One night he was sitting in his Dublin apartment with Anne Hathaway going through CD’s when he accidentally came across Queen’s “Someone to Love.” “I certainly wasn’t planning on using that song at all,” he recalls, “but from the minute those opening beats came on, we were hooked. Anne started miming the words and then she started dancing around to it and I knew it was the one.”

O’Haver then hired Bruno Tonioli, who has worked on numerous stage shows, music videos and motion pictures to choreograph the dancing. Tonioli collaborated closely with the entire cast – most of whom are not professional dancers – over an intense two-day period, working on their moves until they were comfortable enough to really let go and have fun. “I tried to give everyone very precise instructions so that when it came to the performances, they only had to concentrate on their character’s emotions,” he explains. For Tonioli, part of the challenge was matching his steps to the high-spirited tone of the film. “I really was inspired by Tommy’s sense of humor and the imagination of the sets to create something that would work with that world,” he comments. “The main thing is that everyone had a really great time with the dancing . . . and I think that’s really going to show.”

Tommy O’Haver concurs. “I’ve always loved having musical numbers in my films, because to me they’re like explosions –something that kind of shocks the audience and propels them somewhere else,” he notes. “The first number in ELLA ENCHANTED at the Giantville wedding was so much fun, and so energizing to the cast and crew, that we just had to do another to end on a high note.”

The second dance number, which wraps up the film with a wink and a flourish, is set to Elton John’s hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” For Vivica Fox, it was the ultimate way to end such a magical mystery ride of a production. “That final musical number was my absolute favorite scene,” she comments, “because being part of it gave me goose bumps. It reminded me of being in a great Old Hollywood movie but with a totally modern twist.”

---