Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

One bad habit that I don't think I'll ever be able to break is psyching myself up for movies and then getting let down with the results. For Enchanted, I was psyched up real well, but happily Disney delivered the goods - and then some.



The Plot

I think the plot is pretty much laid out in the trailers. This film is about a beautiful animated redhead named Giselle who longed for love from a handsome Prince. She lived in a wonderful cottage in the woods of Andalasia, and her only friends were the wildlife that came to visit her each day. She had one best friend named Pip, who happened to be a wisecracking chipmunk. This may be a Disney cliche, but that was the point.

Then there's Prince Edward, who in this wonderful animated dimension, was busy capturing ten trolls a month. When we meet Prince Edward he also started to feel the "draw" of domestic life. He and Giselle found each other through song of course and they vowed to get married that day. Prince Edward's stepmother, Queen Narissa has other plans for this wedding day. The queen's fear is that a Princess Giselle will take her crown. The Queen is endowed with powerful magic and with a disguise as a nice old lady; she tricks her into making a wish at the fountain on her wedding day. When Giselle leans over to wish, Narissa pushes her in, and she falls down a hole in a similar Alice in Wonderland fashion, and ends up in a sewer underneath New York City.

Giselle emerges from the manhole in her tremendous wedding gown, and is subtly startled by the look of a world that is not animated. She asks the people for help to direct her back to Andalasia so that she can marry her Prince Edward. She ends up alone in NYC, she gets mugged by a homeless man for her tiara, and now it's raining. She is spotted from a cab by the daughter of a divorce lawyer named Robert. His six year-old daughter Morgan convinces him to help the damsel in distress. He brings her home so that she could dry off and use the phone, but she falls asleep on his couch and he is now stuck with her for the night. Giselle ends up spending more than just a night with Robert and Morgan, and when he decides to trust that she is not some mental nut, he begins to like her company. Giselle also loves to be with Robert and Morgan.

Just because Giselle is in this new world, she is not without her animated powers. She can still summon wildlife with a song to help her with chores (although, in NYC this consists of rats, pigeons, cockroaches and other insects). When she sings, others magically know her song and sing along with her, much to the amazement of Robert. Prince Edward now emerges from the manhole and he begins his quest to find his bride to be. Also, in NYC is Nathanial, he does the Queen's evil bidding in hopes of her affection. It's Nathaniel's job to keep the two apart and also to feed Giselle one of her poison apples.

So what will happen in the end? Will the two finally get together? Is there something in the air for Giselle and Robert? Will the evil Queen be victorious? Only you can make these predictable outcomes, or better yet - just watch the film.


My Thoughts

I’m not sure if you know this about me yet, but I am freakishly into Disney. I started late in life with my fascination with all things Disney, but I think that I have caught up with some of the nuttiest fanatics. One of the real pleasures of Enchanted is spotting the many allusions to Disney Classics of the past. Enchanted is really not much more than a fabulous veneration to the most beloved animated films from Disney.

The character of Giselle is portrayed by the beautiful Amy Adams (Talladega Nights, Underdog). Even while she was in the “real world,” she maintained an animated feel through her mannerisms (i.e. - her pinky fingers were usually extended) and her exaggerated sing-song like voice. Her facial expression, when not smiling or laughing, always gave the impression of naivety. Amy Adams' effortless beauty is a joy to behold.

Patrick Dempsy (Grey's Anatomy, Sweet Home Alabama) plays divorce lawyer Robert, a victim of circumstance who ended up involved in the life of Giselle. Of course he doesn't even entertain the thought that Giselle is originally from a different dimension where the world is animated. Yet when she breaks into song, summons animals to clean his apartment or creates a new dress every morning at his house by cutting up his drapes - his reaction is very funny and entertaining. As the two come to know each other even more, you as the viewer begin to hope that these two end up together in the end.

A nice surprise for me was that Idina Menzel (Ask the Dust, Rent) was in the cast. She played Nancy, Robert's love interest. I loved her in Rent as Maureen, and she was good here, but I was disappointed that she didn't sing any numbers because she has such an incredible voice. Despite her very attractive appearance and her nice enough disposition - Robert didn't seem too into her, and his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) did not connect with her either. Morgan's mother left the family when Morgan was very young, and at first I assumed it was because she died, but later it seems that she just left. They never explained it unfortunately; I thought it would have given Robert and Morgan a bit more depth.

Susan Sarandon was cast as Queen Narissa, and it was kind of a small part, especially for her short time on screen when she appeared in the real world unanimated. But having said that, her portrayal of the wicked queen was spot on. They didn’t explain how or why the queen knew of this other dimension, but in the end I suppose it didn’t really matter. Speaking of the other dimension, where the world is 3D and less colorful, I was a little let down that the characters from Andalasia weren’t more taken with this brand new experience that they beheld. I feel that this one aspect cheapens the film a bit, and it would have been something that would have only taken a few seconds to show.

The best part of the movie for me was probably the biggest scene in the film. It was a musical number called That's How You Know, and a huge cast of extras along with the cast were involved in it. It was very funny and entertaining at once. The song was written by Disney alumni Alan Menken, who had worked on almost everything from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and on - and Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pocahontas). All of the musical numbers in the film were instant Disney classics and they made the film that much more enjoyable.


The Blu-Ray Experience

The video quality on this disc is probably the best example of why to go Blu-Ray that I own. Presented in a brilliant 1080p transfer and presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. I realize that it’s already getting a bit cliché to use the terms to describe high definition images, but the video is truly jaw-dropping. The colors pop off the screen with nice detail. From the greenery of Central Park, to the color of the lights in Times Square, Enchanted is a real treat for your eyes.

The audio was good enough; I experienced the Dolby TrueHD while watching. The sound was dynamic yet nice and even. My only complaint was the lack of use of the back surround speakers. I was expecting a musical movie such as this would have me ensconced in rich audio throughout the film, so I was disappointed that they used the back surround speakers so seldom. I was hoping that there would be an option for 7.1 surround sound, but the most we have (again) is 5.1 Dolby TrueHD.

I thought that the extras were entertaining, the ones that I had played with anyway. I love that the video for Carrie Underwood’s song Ever, Ever After was included. Also there is a feature called The D-Files which is pretty much viewing the movie with some trivia questions and answers along the way about how every scene relates to older Disney classic movies. It’s a great idea because it’s most likely that you will be having this discussion anyway, so here is the authority answering all the questions and pointing out the ones that you may have missed.


Enchanted is a wonderful Disney film, with great music and humorous scenes. I would recommend viewing this in the Blu-Ray format, as it will likely be a showcase disc for your home theater set up.



Viewing Format: Blu-Ray

Recommended: Yes

Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4