Enchanted [G]

Life is a fairy tale for Princess-to-be Giselle. She has found her prince, they have fallen in love and are to be married and live happily ever after. But that dream is short-lived when Giselle is banished from the animated land of Andalasia and thrust into the bustling and rude reality of New York. Desperate to get back home to her true love, Giselle finds help in a cynical, no-nonsense lawyer and as the two learn about one another, each gets enchanted. 

This has to be the cleverest Disney movie ever made! With a wonderful story, catchy new songs, and brilliant characters, Enchanted is a new Disney classic with a twist. 

“One upon a time, in a magical kingdom known as Andalasia, there lived an evil queen. Selfish and cruel, she lived in fear that one day her stepson would marry, and she would lose her throne forever. And so she did all in her power to prevent the prince from ever meeting the one special maiden with whom he would share true love’s kiss.” 

When Giselle is rescued from a troll by Prince Edward, the two fall in love and arrange to be married the next morning. But when the evil queen Narissa learns of this plan, she banishes Giselle to a place where there a no happily ever afters: the cold, harsh, chaotic reality of New York. Lost and confused, Giselle desperately tries to find her way back home to her Prince, but her attempts are to no avail. Then a rational, no-nonsense lawyer comes to her aid and, as the two share their ideas and experiences with love, each becomes enchanted. 

As I mentioned before, this is a Disney classic with a twist. The twist is that it takes the piss out of Disney. It embellishes the initial romance between the maiden and the Prince, showing how spontaneous and impractical the romances of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are. It’s really quite clever. On a trivial note, and I’m sure that it’s only the Disney tragics like me who actually noticed this, the film is filled with references to other Disney movies. That’s the other thing that makes this movie so clever. Narissa is obviously the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as is shown by the way she turns into a hag and tempts Giselle with a poisoned apple. Giselle seems to be a mixture of a number of Disney princesses, she has red hair like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, she lives in a modest house in the forest like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and she has a beautiful voice that calls animals to her just like Aurora and Snow White. The Happy Working Song that Giselle sings whilst she and the animals are cleaning Robert’s apartment is an obvious reference to the scene from Snow White when she’s cleaning the dwarfs’ house and singing Whistle While You Work. During the song there’s a part where Giselle is cleaning the bathroom and there are bubbles everywhere reflecting her, that’s from Cinderella. In the park, an old woman asks Giselle if she’d like to feed the birds, a bit of Mary Poppins there, and the restaurant where Giselle and Robert have dinner is called the Bella Notte, which is the title of a song from Lady and the Tramp. Narissa turning into a dragon is obviously from Sleeping Beauty and Giselle leaving her shoe behind is the calling card of Cinderella. It’s fantastic how all these little things creep into the mix. 

Amy Adams is Giselle and she is absolutely adorable. Enchanted was the movie that really catapulted her into awareness. Seriously, before this movie, I had never heard of her. With her flowing arm gestures, her beautiful wide eyes, and her enchanting voice, she truly was the star of the show. Positively mesmerising. 

Patrick Dempsy is the cynical lawyer Robert who supplies the movie with a healthy dose of reality. He’s always pointing out how ridiculous it is to marry someone after only knowing them one day and how unbelievable it is for everyone to know the words to a song that’s being made up as it goes along. Every movie has to have a killjoy and Patrick played the park perfectly. 
James Marsden is Prince Edward and he was just downright awesome! Delivering a very over-the-top and grandiose performance, whilst wearing sleeves that look like he’s hiding rockmelons in, he’s an absolute delight to watch from start to finish. He’s handsome, dramatic, egocentric, and a little dim, but all the while you’re rooting for him. Rock on! 

Also starring Susan Sarandon as Queen Narissa, Timothy Spall as Nathaniel the queen’s servant, and Julie Andrews as the narrator, Enchanted is a perfect family film filled with action, romance, drama, fantasy, and outrageous musical numbers. Perfect for the whole family any and every time. You’ll be enchanted (you can’t have expected me not to do that!). 

"I’ve been dreaming of a true love’s kiss."