Over the years, Disney has created several wonderful animated fairytales. I think I have seen them all and I've really enjoyed them. I still enjoy most of Disney’s newer animated as well even though most people don’t care for them as much. I have been anxiously waiting to see Enchanted, the newest fairytale creation from Disney.
Once upon a time, a beautiful young woman named Giselle lived in the animated world of Andalasia. She and Prince Edward were to be married, but Queen Narissa had other ideas and managed to send Giselle into the real world of New York City. Everything was new and different to Giselle and she didn’t know what was going on. She did receive some help from Robert Philip and his daughter Morgan. Prince Edward followed Giselle, intent on saving her and not realizing that Queen Narissa had sent someone else along to keep them apart.
The plot for Enchanted was very straightforward and even somewhat predictable, which might bother some viewers. There were a few twists and surprises included that worked well and helped to keep things entertaining without really adding any suspense. In some ways, this was much like several of the earlier animated Disney fairytales. It started off in an animated world with a young woman preparing to marry a prince before she was transported to the real world. That element added the biggest twist to the story and made it more original and unique in my opinion. There was a magical weaving together of classic Disney fairytale elements with more modern things in a way that worked and blended together seamlessly. I didn’t mind at all when some more predictable moments popped up later in the movie because it was so well done overall.
With Enchanted, Disney did seem to be poking a bit of fun at their earlier fairytale animated movies. In most of those, the young woman would be able to communicate with animals in some way. In some of those previous movies, it wasn’t unusual for the animals to flock around the woman while she was singing and dancing or to even do things to try to help her. Giselle had the same ability even once she was in New York, though she did end up with questionable cleaning assistants when she called forth what local wildlife there was. Giselle would fit right in with the previous Disney princesses like Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White. Giselle was so innocently sweet in a genuine way instead of the fake sweetness that gets annoying in no time. There was no way not to like her and want her to be happy. There were many other little things throughout the movie that pointed back to the earlier animated fairytale movies. I loved how all those bits were added in.
Enchanted started off showing first Giselle and all her animal friends and then Prince Edward in Andalasia before Giselle arrived in New York City where the majority of the movie took place. It looked like Andalasia was a magical, happy place with the exception of Queen Narissa who was obsessed with making sure nothing happened that could remove her from rule. New York City was a huge contrast to what Giselle was use to, and she didn’t understand anything at first. She had grown up believing in the power of true love and living happily ever after. She tended to burst into song at a moment’s notice, so she didn’t exactly fit in once she was in the big city. She was shocked to realize that things were so different in New York. She did have to face some realities that weren’t pleasant for her. Some conflicts did pop up later in the movie that were all resolved by the end. The resolutions may have seemed too easy, but that is normal for a fairytale type of movie, so I wasn’t bothered by it at all.
There were several funny things included throughout Enchanted. Some of the things done for laughs were kind of silly, but I had expected that before seeing the movie and wasn’t bothered by them. The humor worked well with what was going on. There were only one to two gross type of jokes used which is much less than many movies use these days. Several laughs were provided by Pip, Giselle’s little chipmunk friend. He traveled to New York with Prince Edward to look for Giselle. Pip kept trying to talk and got frustrated when all he could manage was a few squeaks since he couldn’t talk in the real world. I do think most of the funniest things were in the trailer, something that unfortunately happens all to often. I did still think the movie was funny overall.
Many of my favorite animated Disney movies also included wonderful music. For several of those, Alan Menken was involved in writing the music and he won several Oscars for his work. He and Stephen Schwartz, who had previously worked together for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, reunited to create the original music for Enchanted. Giselle sang a few songs and she had a beautiful singing voice. The Happy Working Song was really cute and managed to both pay tribute to similar songs in earlier Disney movies while also poking just a bit of fun at them as well. The music was all well done and fit in perfectly with what was going on, even when Giselle launched into a full-blown production number, complete with choreographed dancing, in the middle of a park. I did enjoy the songs, though I’m not sure any of them reached the same heights that Menken’s work with Howard Ashman on movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin achieved.
All fairytales have to include a handsome prince and some romance. Enchanted was no different and actually sort of had two princes considering how Robert showed up and then continued to help Giselle. She and Prince Edward had a very quick relationship, even quicker than most in fairytales. There just wasn’t enough time to allow for more development of their relationship and that actually worked in with the plot and how romances seemed to work in Andalasia. Robert had been seeing a woman named Nancy for many years and he was still very slow to move forward. There wasn’t anything racy or explicit in the PG movie, so parents shouldn’t have to worry about taking their kids to see it.
Animation was used for the parts of Enchanted set in Andalasia. I had thought that the animation looked like it was done by hand from the previews. I did see in the credits that there was a hand drawn animation supervisor, so I was right about that. The animation shared a similar look with some of the pervious Disney fairytale animated movies. The movie even opened by showing a storybook and had a narrator introducing the story. I thought the choice to use hand drawn animation instead of the newer computer animation was another way of paying tribute to the classic animated fairytales. I thought the animation was done well even though it wasn’t as showy as much of what can now be accomplished with computers. There were a few special effects used throughout the movie once Giselle and Prince Edward were in New York. The effects that were used were very well done and blended in so that they didn’t stand out like happens in some movies.
Giselle was a sweet, kind, innocent, and somewhat naive young woman. She did things that seemed out of the ordinary to most in the real world but were just how she did things in her world. She was genuinely thankful and happy most of the time. There was a sense of wonder surrounding her throughout the movie as she encountered new things. Amy Adams was absolutely amazing as Giselle, skillfully bringing her to life without making her look like a complete dingbat even when she did bizarre things like get a drink from an aquarium. There was a fine line that had to be walked with Giselle to keep from being downright ditzy and annoying. I think Adams walked it perfectly, creating a wonderful character. She did all of her own singing and has a beautiful singing voice that fit the songs wonderfully. Adams is a very talented actress and I hope she is able to achieve the success she deserves.
Prince Edward was the charming, handsome prince of Andalasia. He had liked the idea of finding his true love and he was determined to rescue Giselle. He had a bit of trouble figuring out how things in the real world worked as well, which was why he ended up stabbing a city bus in an attempt to rescue the people it was holding hostage. Prince Edward wasn’t developed as much as Giselle, but that seemed to happen with many of the prince characters in other fairytale movies. James Marsden, perhaps best known for playing Cyclops in the X-Men movies did really well with the part. Marsden, who was in Hairspray earlier this year, also did all of his own singing.
Robert was a lawyer and single father who ended up helping Giselle despite the fact that he thought she was missing several marbles at first. He became charmed by her but still tried to inject reality into her life. He really loved his daughter Morgan and was a bit protective of her. Patrick Dempsey was fine in the part. Rachel Covey did a good job as Morgan, making her a likable little girl. Robert had been dating Nancy for several years. There really wasn’t much else shared about her, though from one scene I think she had some sort of clothing design business. She was just sort of there in some scenes without doing much. It was too bad that Nancy didn’t do any singing because Idina Menzel is a Tony award winning actress.
Queen Narissa did seem to come from the same mold as several previous Disney evil queens. She really reminded me of Maleficent, the evil queen from Sleeping Beauty. The first time I caught a glimpse of her in a preview, I thought it was Maleficent. I’ve always thought that Maleficent was the scariest and most evil of the evil queens created in those classic animated movies. Queen Narissa had the same quality and it worked perfectly, making her a wonderfully wicked villain. She tended to wear elaborate outfits and make-up, both of which were perfect for her and made her seem that much more menacing and evil. Susan Sarandon handled the part well without going too far over the top with the performance like some other actresses might have.
Nathaniel, a man who had been keeping Prince Edward busy back in Andalasia, kept popping up. Timothy Spall fit the part really well. He is probably most known for the part he has played in a few of the Harry Potter movies. Pip ended up being rather important even though he spent the majority of the movie not being able to talk. He was a cute little character that I really liked. Several other animals turned up at different times, usually to somehow help Giselle. All of the animals in Andalasia could talk, but none of them seemed as important as Pip was. Julie Andres severed as the narrator at the beginning and ending of the movie.
Main Cast
Amy Adams - Giselle Julie Andrews - Narrator Rachel Covey - Morgan Philip Patrick Dempsey - Robert Philip James Marsden - Prince Edward Idina Menzel - Nancy Tremaine Susan Sarandon - Queen Narissa Timothy Spall - Nathaniel
Kevin Lima - Director
Enchanted was a wonderful, magical, entertaining family movie that is worth seeing at least once. I loved it and am sure I will be picking up the DVD once it is released. People that have enjoyed other Disney animated fairytale movies should give this one a chance. It wasn’t serious in any way. It was just a sweet, entertaining modern fairytale that fits in with Disney perfectly.
A classic Disney animated fairy tale meets with the modern, live-action romantic comedy in Walt Disney Pictures ENCHANTED. Featuring an all-star cast,...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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