Movie Review: Once Upon a Mattress (2005)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Tracey Ullman and Carol Burnett's performances

Cons: Few great dance numbers

The Bottom Line:

The two leads are great

Dance numbers could be better

Overall, it's fun

Fun Musical Retelling of "The Princess and the Pea"

A long time ago in a kingdom far away, or something like that, there lived Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare). His one desire is to marry, but his mother (Carol Burnett) has no desire to see her only son married, so she has devised a series of tests that any bride-to-be must pass before she marry the prince. Officially, they are to keep the bloodline pure by making sure Dauntless marries only a true prince. Of course, they are so hard that no person would ever be able to pass them.

The prince's unmarried state also weighs heavily on the rest of the court, for the queen has decreed that no one may marry before the prince does.

This especially hits close to home for Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel) and Sir Harry (Matthew Morrison). Not only have they fallen in love, but they are expecting. In order to keep Lady Larkin from being exiled in shame, Harry heads out to find the perfect princess.

Who he comes back with is Princess Winnifred (Tracey Ullman). At first glance, she seems to be the worst princess yet with her brashness and klutziness. The Prince is immediately smitten with her, but the queen devises her most fiendish plan yet. A true princess would notice a pea hidden under a pile of mattresses, right? Will the Prince ever get married?

I've heard of this musical for years, but had never seen it until this version came out. It's a fun retelling of the classic fairytale of "The Princess and the Pea." Humor abounds and I laughed the entire way through. Carol Burnett originated the roll of Princess Winnifred, but here she really digs her teeth into the roll of the queen, making her appearances on screen very memorable. Tracey Ullman also steals scenes are Winnifred.

There were a few things that put me off a little. Most noticeably, the prince and princess are much older then I thought they would be. It adds a creepiness to the relationship between the prince and the queen. The song "Man to Man Talk," while not having anything offensive in it, will certainly lead to questions from curious kids who don't know about the "facts of life." I was surprised it was present in a musical always marketed toward families.

Of course, the thing that makes or breaks a musical is the musical numbers. There were several memorable songs here, most notably "Shy," which Tracey Ullman does an excellent job belting out. Her "Happily Ever After" was a nice tender song while "Song of Love" is very funny. With the exception of the wonderful "Spanish Panic," the dance numbers weren't quite as inventive as I would have liked, but they were enjoyable as well.

Rushed out after the movie ran on TV, the DVD has only a couple behind the scenes featurettes to its credit. Nice, but nothing to get excited about.

Since I have never seen another version, I can't compare this to other portrayals and have no opinion on songs that got left out of the show. While not a perfect musical movie, Once Upon a Mattress will entertain for an hour and a half.