Ever After
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Ever After: a Cinderella Story is a 1998 film adaptation of the romantic fairy tale Cinderella, directed by Andy Tennant and starring Drew Barrymore in the title role.
The usual pantomime and comic elements are removed and the story is instead treated as historical fact, as the story of Danielle de Babaroc (Barrymore).
After the sudden death of Danielle's father Auguste de Babaroc, his wife (Danielle's stepmother) the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (played by Anjelica Huston) and her two daughters Marguerite (Megan Dodds) and Jacqueline (Melanie Lynskey) take over Danielle's rightful home and make her a servant in her own house.
Ten year's later teenage Danielle encounters, by accident, Prince Henry of France (Dougray Scott) who is trying to run away because he is being forced to wed a Spanish princess in an arranged marriage. Seeing his dismay, Prince Henry's parents, King Francis (Timothy West) and Queen Marie (Judy Parfitt) give the Prince a choice instead to wed anyone he chooses. Danielle meets the Prince while pretending to be a courtier so she can rescue her friend, a fellow servant in the her stepmother's household. By continuing her pretence to be a Countess, Danielle gets wooed by the Prince (who is not aware that she is just a servant).
Eventually, a ball is planned for the Prince to choose a bride and invitations are sent out to eligible ladies, including Danielle, her stepmother and her two stepsisters, although the Baroness then orders Danielle to stay home.
On the night of the ball, with the assistance of Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey) Danielle arrives at the ball just as the King is announcing that the Prince will, after all, marry the Spanish princess. As she walks towards the Prince the Baroness realises that Danielle has secretly been seeing the Prince and tells the assembly of her true status and Danielle is sent from away the court.
The Baroness sells Danielle to Monsieur Le Pew, expecting the Prince to marry Marguerite.
As the Prince and the Spanish princess walk down the aisle to get married she is crying and the Prince realises that no matter Danielle's status he must have her. Discovering that she was sold he goes after her.
Ever After is also the name of a novel in the Williamsburg series by Elswyth Thane.de:Auf immer und ewig