I just copied and pasted this from the help and it ran fine:
[x, y, z] = ellipsoid(0,0,0,5.9,3.25,3.25,30);
surfl(x, y, z)
colormap copper
axis equal
I suspect that you must have altered it somehow, like you said this or something
[x, y, z, someBogusArgument] = ellipsoid(0,0,0,5.9,3.25,3.25,30);
