ENCHANTED
Review by Peta Jinnath Andersen
Disney Media
Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, and Susan Sarandon. Note: review contains spoliers.
ve been dreaming of a true love's kiss
And a prince I'm hoping comes with this
That's what makes ever-aftering so happy…"
A live-action film framed with traditional Disney animation, Enchanted is a light parody and, according to director Kevin Lima, a "giant love letter"[1] to the Wonderful World of Disney. The movie opens with the animated Giselle (Adams) singing about "True Love's Kiss", a song and opening scene reminiscent of the 1930s Snow White's "I'm Wishing". Moments later, Giselle does in fact meet her prince, and set a date - the following morning - for the wedding. But Prince Edward's (Marsden) stepmother Narissa (Sarandon) is unwilling to give up the throne and sends Giselle through a magic portal to a place where "there are no happily ever afters".
From this point on, the movie continues in typical Disney fashion—arriving in New York, the now live-action Giselle meets Robert (Dempsey) a divorce lawyer and his daughter. Meanwhile Prince Edward, Pip the chipmunk, and Narissa's lackey Nathaniel (Spall) also arrive in New York to "find" Giselle. Love entanglements and musical numbers ensure, a dragoned-up Narissa attempts to kill all, and all comes to a somewhat satisfying end. The dragon scene with Narissa, however, is somewhat stilted, and the dragon's actions (climbing to the top of a building a la King Kong) make little sense. It's almost as if the entire scene was added as an after thought to add excitement, along with a bigger dose of fairy tale evil, to an already quite acceptable comedy.
"Everybody wants to live happily ever after
Everybody wants to know their true love is true... "
The signature Disney numbers, are worth remarking, providing clever insight into how fairy tale musicals might just work in real life, most particularly "Happy Working Song", a reference to Cinderella's "The Work Song" and Snow White's "Whistle While You Work". Most fun of all, though, is the half-parody "That's How You Know", an intricately choreographed song and dance filmed over seventeen (yes, seventeen) days in New York's Central Park.
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