courtesy of Summit Entertainment Christina Ricci as Penelope, a woman cursed with pig features.

Once upon a time, a solid, endearing little film called "Penelope," a faerie tale about a young woman cursed with the snout and ears of a pig, was shelved by studios after its completion. Despite being blessed with a wonderful cast and gorgeous visual style, the 2006 film sat on studio shelves until it got dumped rather abruptly into theaters last Friday.

While the film isn't great, it deserved better than that.

Now that the Christina Ricci vehicle has reached audiences, it's clear to see that "Penelope" is much prettier than its parent studio may have thought.

The film's charming storybook intro is deliciously dark and matter-of-fact in its telling of how an ancestor of young Penelope Wilhern (Ricci) betrayed his lover and brought a curse to the next daughter in the line of the wealthy Wilhern family. Several generations of boy children later and Jessica and Franklin Wilhern (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant) finally deliver a daughter cursed with swine-like features.

Throughout her life, Penelope's overprotective mother keeps her excluded from the outside world while at the same time raising her to be an intelligent, privileged young woman.

When Penelope comes of age, Mrs. Wilhern makes every effort to match her in matrimony with another "high society blue blood" of her own kind in order to break her curse. However, every young suitor to come visit Penelope runs away terrified, even throwing themselves out of windows in terror at her hideous features.

In reality, viewers will see that Ricci is unrelentingly adorable, despite her prosthetic schnozzle, but the unrealistic fear of her face works in the context of Penelope's high-concept fantasy world.

She interviews the men through a one-way mirror in her family's mansion and exhibits plenty of unlikely sass and self-respect despite her continual failures to attract the opposite sex.

One day James McAvoy, a "down and out blue blood" named Max who spends all day indulging his gambling addiction, shows up to win Penelope's hand. After proving himself less shallow than his rivals, he and Penelope begin to bond through the glass separating them.

The realistic, energetic rapport and smart dialogue between the two, despite being on two sides of the mirror, fills what turns out to be some of the best scenes in the film.

Another great scene is Penelope's first venture into the outside world later in the film. Director Mark Palansky perfectly captures Penelope's sense of awe and childlike wonderment at the beauty of things as simple as blowing bubbles and children playing in carnivals.

The cinematography of the film is solid, and the scenes in the big city are absolutely delightful.

Ricci is absolutely delightful, bringing a believable mix of feistiness and innocence to Penelope. It's a testament to Ricci's abilities as a performer that she followed up this performance with her excellent portrayal of a frequently nude nymphomaniac in 2007's "Black Snake Moan," proving that her 18 solid years in the film industry are no fluke.

A pre-"Atonement" McAvoy brings spontaneity and energy to his role as a handsome, scruffy gambling addict. He's proves a perfect romantic lead.

Other actors add some flavor, but not much substance.

O'Hara is solid, though a little over the top, and Grant gets lost in the proceedings.

Peter Dinklage turns in yet another solid performance in his career as a revenge-seeking journalist with a heart trying to get a picture of Penelope.

Reese Witherspoon, one of the producers, is solid (though rather extraneous) in her few brief scenes as a worldly young woman who takes Penelope under her wing.

While the look of the film and its performers are great, the editing and transitions and narration feel like the film has either been heavily cut and missing scenes or was written with gaps in story and logic. It's very sloppy, and the perfunctory voiceovers helping the proceedings along sometimes feel as though they were written after the editing process.

The real problem with the writing, however, is when writer Leslie Caveny adds more than one twist at an end designed to steer the film clear from a message of accepting oneself and an ending similar to that of "Shrek."

The resulting muddle of unclear themes takes away some of the charm of Penelope's ingenuousness and McAvoy's character development.

The film also pushes its "PG" rating at times with some crude humor, themes and language that feel a bit unbecoming of this slightly saccharine film. The tone varies back and forth a little too much between dark and creepy, sappy and sweet.

Despite some weak writing, "Penelope" will likely find an audience and a happily ever after in the movie collections of families and faerie tale fans for years to come.

Cinematography: A-
Acting: B+
Writing: C-
Overall: B-