The 10th Kingdom - Movie Review

Do you like fairy tales? Did you ever wonder what happened after the end of the story, after "happily ever after"? Did you ever wonder what happened to Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty or any of the others? The 10th Kingdom tells the story after "happily ever after", which wasn't as long as some would like to think. John Larroquette, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Dianne Wiest, and Ed O'Neill along with an all-star cast bring this fairy tale to life in this television mini-series.

Anthony Lewis (Larroquette), also known as Tony, is a janitor in New York City who is overworked and under appreciated. His daughter, Virginia (Williams-Paisley), is a waitress. On her way to work Virginia accidentally runs into a dog, who is actually Prince Wendell the grandson of Snow White. Prince Wendell is turned into a dog by his evil step mother (Dianne Wiest), but he escapes and travels to New York where he meets Tony and Virginia. From that moment on Virginia's and Tony's lives won't be the same.

After some strange, and sometimes hilarious, events in New York, Virginia and Tony, along with Prince Wendell travel to the Nine Kingdoms. The Nine Kingdoms are where the fairy tales come to life in this tale. Once Tony and Virginia enter the Nine Kingdoms their adventures become more hilarious and harrowing.

Wendell's step mother enlists the help of many henchmen including Wolf (Scott Cohen) and Huntsman (Rutger Hauer). Wolf switches sides a few times along the way as he is in love with Virginia. He spends nearly the whole movie wooing Virginia.

There are many twists and turns along the way. But in everything that happens to Wendell, Virginia, Tony, Wolf and the Evil Queen happens for a reason. They are all connected in one way or another. Destiny has brought all these characters together. These connections are what make this story so amazing.

The different actors play their roles perfectly. Ed O'Neill is great as the Troll King. Dianne Wiest is very convincing as the Evil Queen. John Larroquette is a convincing imbecile, but proves he is less of one than he lets on. Kimberly Williams-Paisley does a fairly decent job as a character who is constantly trying to keep things under control and to stay invisible.

According to the Internet Movie Database ranking of 10 stars I give this a 10. As a fairy tale story this movie is a little hokey, but being able to see what happens after "happily ever after" is pretty amazing. The sets and scenery are breathtaking. The script is fascinating.