Cinderella's wicked stepmother can't stand to see her stepdaughter being happy. Given the opportunity to ruin things for our heroine, she leaps at the chance in Happily N'Ever After, an animated movie with lots of high-powered voice talent but not much charm or pizzazz.

When Fairy Tale Land's golf-loving wizard (voiced by George Carlin) goes on vacation, his two inept assistants (voiced by Wallace Shawn and Andy Dick) have trouble keeping things running smoothly. Why? Two reasons: they mess up outrageously while fiddling around with the scales of justice, and -- most of all -- because Frieda (voiced by Signourney Weaver), the villainous stepmother mentioned above, takes over. She steals a magic staff that's used by the wizard to help balance good and evil in the kingdom. Naturally, Frieda wants evil to finally triumph, so she calls on trolls, giants, witches, wolves and the other bad guys from all the fairy tales to join in her nefarious cause.

Frieda's goal involves making sure that unhappiness reigns, especially for Cinderella (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar) -- called "Ella" here -- and Prince Humperdink (voiced by Patrick Warburton), who's a far cry from the Prince Charming we've come to know and love in other versions of the Cinderella story. No wonder Ella ends up with eyes for Rick (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.), a lowly dishwasher, rather than for the not-so-bright-but-very-handsome Prince. However, Ella isn't Frieda's only target. Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Red Riding Hood are among the other familiar characters who get zapped by her malevolent magic. 

Who can stop Frieda’s dastardly plans? Ella thinks the Prince will save everyone. But Ella soon discovers that it’s she and Rick who must defeat the self-annointed Empress of Evil and her nasty gang.

I’m usually quite entertained while watching films that poke fun at fairy tales. Hoodwinked and those wonderful Shrek movies show what can happen when everything works in such projects. Unfortunately, Happily N’Ever After disappointed me because of its serious lack of charm. The only sequences in this film that delighted me were the fairy godmother’s funny mistakes as she helps Ella get ready for the Prince’s Ball and the seven dwarfs preparing to fight “The Big One.” In the latter scenes, these little guys get die-hard tough after changing into camoflauge uniforms and then manning huge cannon-like weapons that shoot sharp diamonds at the enemy. Very clever!

Although the animation in Happily N’Ever After looks a bit too weird for me, it’s probably fitting for a story like this. The female characters display ridiculously tiny waists; the castle appears more like Salvador Dali’s version of a silo than a palace; Frieda resembles Uma Thurman but talks like Sigourney Weaver -- which annoyed me considerably while the wicked stepmother was on screen. 

Some young children might enjoy this cynical twist on an old fairy tale. However, their parents may be more interested in how soon the movie will be over than whether or not it ends happily.  

(Released by Lionsgate and rated “PG” for some mild action and rude humor.)

Listen to Betty Jo's review of Happily N'Ever After at www.ReelTalkRadio.com.