Ricci loves message of 'Penelope'

• Tweet

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress Christina Ricci said she wanted to star in the new film "Penelope" because she likes what it has to say about inner beauty.

In the film, Ricci, 28, plays a young woman cursed with a pig's snout who can break the spell if she finds true love.

"I love the message in the movie, which is a gentle reminder, particularly to young girls, not to get crippled by your insecurities," Ricci told the Orange County (Calif.) Register. "People should be who they are. People should see the beauty in themselves. It's all about self-love and self-acceptance."

Ricci said she is aware her own looks don't necessarily fit the Hollywood mold.

"I think I'm more attractive in person than in pictures," the actress told the newspaper. "Luckily, I've been around a long time and I've broken through. I've been accepted by Hollywood. But if some young actress who looked like me was just coming up, she'd really have some problems. What is held up as beautiful in our society is very specific and it's not me."

"Penelope," which co-stars producer Reese Witherspoon and James McAvoy, is in theaters now.