When I first saw this film on the big screen, I was somewhat less than impressed. The production values seemed skimpy, Stanley Tucci wore on me a bit, Michelle Pfeiffer's voice lacked the command one would expect from a Titania (never mind her California cadence) and Calista Flockhart seemed clumsy with the dialog and too much like her TV character. But we recently rented it and showed it to my five year old, and she is absolutely fixated on it. She speaks along with the dialog, adores the fairy sequences, thinks Bottom (Kevin Kline) is a riot, loves the music -- in short, all the magic that seemed to be lacking for me is there in spades for her. Additionally, now that we've watched it approximately twenty times (no kidding) I find myself appreciating Michael Hoffman's direction very much, little things like the introduction of Bottom, the foreshadowing of Titania and Oberon's arrival, and I also think the text was judiciously edited, which isn't easy. Anna Friel is also absolutely lovely and so easy with the text, she's a joy to watch.
I still hate the mud bath cat-fight, however. It makes me cringe every time.
I still hate the mud bath cat-fight, however. It makes me cringe every time.