Walt Disney pictures announced not too long ago that they will finally be making a sequel to the great, and underrated, movie Enchanted. Back in 2007 when it was released audiences and Disney fans loved the movie for its parody of films from the past (princess and other classic Disney stories) and its creative story.
Giselle (played by Amy Adams) is a girl from the animated world who is about to marry the man of her dreams, Prince Edward ([played by James Marsden). But his thrown craving stepmother, the Queen (played by Susan Sarandon) takes her and throws her down a magical well which banishes her from the kingdom and transports her to our world, a live action New York City of 2007. She encounters Robert Phillip (played by Patrick Dempsey) and with inadvertent help she discovers life is very different between a Disney animated world and the real world. At the same time Edward, Giselle’s chipmunk friend Pip, and the queen’s lover Nathaniel (played by Timothy Spall) follow her to our “strange” home.
There is no doubt that Amy Adams is this movie. Surprisingly she was never type cast in oddball roles because the character Giselle in this movie is what put her name and her as an actress into the world of movies and the public. Today and for the past few years she has played very serious roles in movies like The Fighter, American Hustle, and the DC Extended Universe’s version of Lois Lane.
Amy Adams isn’t the only star in the movie though. Her male leads are played by James Marsden (X-Men series) and Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy). Dempsey is great at representing us in this movie. He is the man who Giselle literally shows the world of animation to in a live action way. His reactions to the oddness are priceless but who wouldn’t be weirded out that this strange girl has literally created a movie musical number and summoned animals with her voice?
Marsden also brings hilarity to this. Unlike Giselle who is frightened and confused about where she is, Prince Edward enters the real world with confidence and brings some of the greatest laughs with him. The man is so into himself and doesn’t realize what type of world he’s even stepped into or what’s happening right in front of him. The bike and bus scenes with Edward are by far the funniest moments of the movie. Pip, who can no longer talk and now is a real chipmunk, is funny in his own way and the cutest character in this while Nathaniel’s personal conflict feels like you’re watching an episode of a soap opera. It makes for laughs as well.
The music feels like a character itself. Disney veterans Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz got the helm of composers for this movie and like the Disney movies before, Enchanted’s soundtrack is a winner. While “True Loves Kiss” is a memorable song, it doesn’t hold up to “Happy Working Song” and “That’s How You Know.” Both numbers sung by Amy Adams are catchy and are probably on everyone’s, including my own, Disney Spotify playlist. “So Close” is also very memorable. The song is beautiful and really helps the viewer get in the moment. It’s probably one of those songs that couples dance to at weddings and they don’t even know where it comes from. “So Close” is also the song single people may listen to while dreaming of meeting their somebody in life.
The only parts that seem to be cons of this movie are its ending and some of its dialogue. While most of it is good, there are moments where characters seem to be explaining to the audience what is happening on screen. While this is not the first time this has happened, it is annoying when it does. We as an audience aren’t dumb. We see in the climax that the roles are reversed. Speaking of the climax, the defeat of the villain scene is a bit of a letdown. From the trailers, we see a Maleficent-type dragon and yes that is in the climax. But the end result is a downer. Not that it was terrible, but I was expecting more power and action to it.
Enchanted is a good movie for being the type that it is. It shows you just how good of filmmaking Disney is because they were able to poke fun at themselves by parodying classics from the past while giving us something new at the same time. Speaking of classics from the past, if you’re someone who has watched every Walt Disney Animation Studios film in chronological order plus Mary Poppins, then this is the best way to end the “marathon.” Catching all the nods to past movies (there’s a lot) and seeing old voice actors and actresses pop up make this movie even more enjoyable. With the sequel on its way and hitting Disney plus in Fall 2022, it’s time to refresh your memory with this very underrated movie from the house of mouse. Maybe with the sequel coming close, the average movie goer who is familiar with Disney will finally give this another go and see it as most Disney fans (including me) do, a love letter to one of the greatest film studios of all time created by one of the greatest figures of all time. This movie gets a 9/10.
This movie review was written by Benjamin Slack
