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Following 2005′s “Little Red Riding Hood” redux, Hoodwinked, is Happily N’ever After, both of which are most likely a direct reaction to the success of the two Shrek films. The latest in the line is looking to get a head start on the year before Shrek the Third gobbles up the box office. This one is a look at Cinderella in a whole new light. Will it be a success? Who knows. It does have a stacked lineup of all star vocal talent.

The trailer looks like fun, but it could also turn out to be the animated equivalent of a steaming pile. It reminds me of when the Hoodwinked ad campaign. The animation was clearly done on a lower budget than the average Pixar film, but they had the stockpile of starpower in the ADR booth. The trailer for Happily N’ever After focuses on much of the comedy, but does devote a good chunk to name dropping the stars that lent their voices to the project.

Happily N’ever After looks to put a spin on the traditional happy endings. It looks to give evil the upper hand and turn the standard damsel in distree on its ear, taking away the distress and putting her in a more forward and modern position of leading the charge. I have to say, I am leaning towards looking forward to it. If nothing else, the vocal talent will be worth going to see.

I keep speaking of the voice talent involved, I am sure you are all waiting to see who is in it. Wait no longer. The cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn, and George Carlin. Not bad, if you ask me.

Here is the description from Lionsgate:

Once upon a time in Fairy Tale Land, the age-old balance between good and evil has been thrown out of whack. Frieda, Cinderella’s power-mad stepmother, has formed an unholy alliance of evil to take on the good guys. With her own fairy tale spinning wildly out of control, Cinderella (a/k/a Ella) is forced to shed her damsel-in-distress trappings in order to seize control of her own destiny and lead the resistance without her Prince Charming.

In a world of happy endings gone wrong, the race for control of the kingdom is on, with the fate of the venerable storyline ‘Happily N’Ever After’ hanging in the balance.

This animated fairy tale is set to be unleashed on January 5, 2007. Be sure to head over to their official site to get a look at the trailer.