At the heart of original Disney tales you have the princess awaiting her prince. I miss these type stories, so the advertisements for this movie caught my interest. This is extra special because we go leaping from the world of old time animation to flesh characters.

About the Movie…

Starting in the animated land of Andalasia, our princess, Giselle (Amy Adams) sings and dances with her forest friends. But where there is a princess, a wicked Queen is always nearby. Giselle meets and immediately plans to marry Prince Edward, the Queen’s stepson. At the wedding, evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) pushes our princess into an enchanted well that banishes her into real world New York City.

In a predictable but charming way, we see when purity and innocence run up against the modern world. Giselle is very lost when she shoots out of a manhole. Fortunately, Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) find her and take her in. Morgan believes she is a real princess. Practical lawyer Robert has a lot on his hands.

But little does he know the magic and light Giselle will infuse into their lives. And while Robert is introduced to the world of Central Park song and dance sequences, there’s a lot more action coming out of that manhole.

To the rescue shoots out Prince Edward, running through New York in tights and sword, slaying buses and toppling bicyclists in search of his Giselle. With him is Pip, the feisty chipmunk. Poor Pip finds himself in 3-d animatronic form and he is now voiceless!

Nathaniel is evil henchman to the Queen, and pretend best friend to the prince. He provides repeated failed sabotage. And last through the manhole comes evil Queen Narissa herself to destroy Giselle.

Stay tuned to find that Disney has a happy ending in store for all, lovers, friends, by-standers, and anyone willing to find goodness in their hearts.

Cast Notables

The cast is wonderful with outstanding performances by Amy Adams and James Marsden. Amy never loses character as the ingénue Giselle. She stays sweet and graceful, and delightfully pure throughout the movie. James is fantastic as the “prince to the rescue” who is out of his element. And both have great singing voices. Timothy Spall is another stand out.


Is it sappy? Absolutely. Can you tell a mile away what will happen next? Of course. Does this affect your viewing pleasure? No way! Remember your watching a film all ages can enjoy done in true Disney fashion.

There are hidden charms in the movie with homage paid to direct scenes from classic Disney movies. See if you can spot the exact moments these movies enter into Enchanted. And don’t forget to count how many hidden Mickeys you can find!

Kid Consideration

The film is meant for all to enjoy and many young children will want to see this. Is your child familiar with Disney films such as Little Mermaid or Snow White? This is the type of good vs. evil that they will see. Queen Narissa is the scare factor to consider (but she’s a smaller part in the film).

My 4.5 year old son wasn’t scared at all by this movie. He loved the animated world, and all the adventures to be had in NYC. He did get bored at times because the movie tends to drawn out in some places. But when Prince Edward or Pip was to be seen, there was always fun to be had!

My 3 year old was scared of the Queen. A ten minute sequence towards the end similar to the fight in Sleeping Beauty had my husband take him out to the concession stand.

For the under five set, the movie can be a bit too long. And it gets a bit too over the top to achieve its happy ending. But otherwise, it’s fantastic.

Escape from reality and stress this holiday season and fall under Enchanted’s spell.

This is a Lean-n-mean VI review. Come join us!

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Family Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Duration