Christina Ricci in "Penelope," wearing a scarf to hide her nose, which resembles a pig snout.

No offense intended, but a pig snout is very becoming on Christina Ricci.

The actress is lovably adorable in the adorably lovable "Penelope," a fairy-tale romance that's a perfect mix of Ricci's oddball sensibilities and her inherent sweetness.

The film further establishes the tremendous range of James McAvoy, proving that the co-star of such heavy dramas as "Atonement" and "The Last King of Scotland" is just as engaging as a leading man in a sunny comedy.

Adding to the fun is producer Reese Witherspoon popping up in a small role and clearly having a blast in the background as the story of Penelope the pig-faced girl plays out.

You could hardly find a more different role than the one Ricci played in "Black Snake Moan," in which she spent much of her time chained up by Samuel L. Jackson, who was seeking to mend her character's slutty ways.

Like a storybook of old, "Penelope" offers a pithy prologue establishing long-ago events and their repercussions: An ancestor in a patrician family gravely wrongs a servant girl, bringing down a Gypsy curse: All female heirs to the clan will be born with the face of a pig. The only cure: To earn the love of a person of equal social status.

Five generations pass with only male heirs, until Penelope (Ricci) is born to Jessica and Franklin (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant). Horrified, Jessica keeps the girl in hiding until adulthood, when potential suitors come calling -- and just as quickly run screaming at their first glimpse of Penelope's snout.

One such suitor (Simon Woods) goes public with tales of a fanged pig creature at the mansion.

His story grabs the attention of Lemon (Peter Dinklage), a news photographer whose encounter with the family years earlier cost him an eye. Lemon enlists down-on-his-luck aristocrat Max (McAvoy) to pose as a suitor and get photos of her.

What follows is a smart, funny, endearing twist on "Beauty and the Beast," with Ricci and McAvoy showing boundless charm and chemistry as possible lovers whose secrets run much more than skin deep.

David Germain / Associated Press