The real world and the animated world collide.
The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Runtime: 107 minutes
Rating: 7.5/10 (49,240 votes)
Release Date: 20 October 2007
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Walt Disney Pictures
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated PG for some scary images and mild innuendo.
Director(s): Kevin Lima
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Producer(s):
Christopher Chase - executive producer (as Chris Chase)
Barry Josephson - producer
Sunil Perkash - executive producer
Susan Ringo - associate producer
Ron Rocha - animation producer
Doug Short - associate producer
Barry Sonnenfeld - producer
Ezra Swerdlow - executive producer
Writer(s):
Bill Kelly - (written by)
Cast:
Amy Adams - Giselle
Patrick Dempsey - Robert Philip
James Marsden - Prince Edward
Timothy Spall - Nathaniel
Idina Menzel - Nancy Tremaine
Rachel Covey - Morgan Philip
Susan Sarandon - Queen Narissa
Julie Andrews - The Narrator (voice)
Jeff Bennett - Pip in Andalasia (voice)
Kevin Lima - Pip in New York (voice)
Music: Alan Menken
Christopher Chase - executive producer (as Chris Chase)
Barry Josephson - producer
Sunil Perkash - executive producer
Susan Ringo - associate producer
Ron Rocha - animation producer
Doug Short - associate producer
Barry Sonnenfeld - producer
Ezra Swerdlow - executive producer
Writer(s):
Bill Kelly - (written by)
Cast:
Amy Adams - Giselle
Patrick Dempsey - Robert Philip
James Marsden - Prince Edward
Timothy Spall - Nathaniel
Idina Menzel - Nancy Tremaine
Rachel Covey - Morgan Philip
Susan Sarandon - Queen Narissa
Julie Andrews - The Narrator (voice)
Jeff Bennett - Pip in Andalasia (voice)
Kevin Lima - Pip in New York (voice)
Music: Alan Menken
April 4th, 2009
"Sire, do you like yourself?"
"What's not to like?"
It is the simplest exchange of dialogue in the movie. But underneathit, whether the director intended it or not, lies layers of meaning.Nethaniel, suddenly seeing things in the light of the real world, asksthis question to Prince Charming, whom is looking for Giselle and stillstuck in the magical-happy-go-lucky state of mind. Prince Charming isthe representation of the old-school Disney, the very simple, clean,wholesome, lovable Disney that every single child grows up with. In theold-school days, dreams come true, the heroes and villains are defined,and beauty runs deep within the main heroine.
Nethaniel is new-school Disney, unsure of itself, lacking any postureor ability to stand up and become known. Enchanted is quite possiblythe greatest meshing of old-school with new-school, and while Disneyself-mocks itself, it also statuses itself as the last main white hopein the dreams of children and adults. In a world full of cynicism,disappointment, and uncertainty over the actions and motives of otherpeople, we all need a little bit of pixie dust to continue life. Thequestion is can an old-school princess survive in a new-school world?Or would the new-school world consume the hopes and mannerisms of ourprincess? Enchanted stands as one of Disney's best family moviesoutside the Pixar realm this decade, and ultimately is an amazingcelebration of the Disney image and reputation that it has sustained(in roller coaster fashion) for nearly a century.
Enchanted is about a princess (Amy Adams) whom is flung into a worldwhere "dreams don't come true" according to our main villain Narissa(Susan Surandon). The reason for this is so that Narissa can remain atthe throne and Giselle and Prince Charming don't marry. Giselle (inreal-life form) winds up in New York City, where she runs into apessimistic divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) and his curious daughter.While waiting for Prince Charming to arrive to New York to save her,Giselle learns that her new setting is full of people that do not havehope in life and do not believe in a happy destiny. What's worse isthat Prince Charming isn't the only one that makes his way to New Yorkfrom the magical land….
The script, written way back in 1997, went through a major series ofchanges before the final product was unleashed. And my what a script itis. Full of Disney references that could open up an amazing drinkinggame and full of bubbly fun, the story and dialogue remain crisp,clean, and despite predictable, contains plenty of unpredictablecurves. However, the script doesn't make the film: Amy Adams does. Herperformance is one of the few in film history that should quality foran Academy Award win, but won't get the nomination because of thecontent. It's definitely hard to praise the performance of a Disneyprincess, but Adams does spectacular as Giselle singing andacting-wise; infusing a jolt of energy and spirit rarely ever seen byanybody out there. Beneath her beauty is a bubbly personality that'simpossible not to like. Everyone else did a grand job, including JamesMarsden and Timothy Spall as Prince Charming and Nethaniel respectably.
Enchanted's charm comes from its celebration and references to pastDisney princesses, and its message about finding hope in a lost world.Just like in the movie, we as a generation of people exposed to thenegativity of the world on a minutely basis lose all sorts of hopes inall aspects of life. The Flapper era and the Baby Boomer saga are twoeras that just might not be duplicated for a very long time; thecare-free, happy-go-lucky, positive time period in which all is wellwith the world. Walt Disney Studios used to be able to bank on thissort of happy time period. After all, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp,Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty all came out in the 50s alone.Disneyland came out in 1955. That time has passed, this sort ofeventual happiness nowadays passes off as clichéd. Even Enchanteditself was tough to watch at first because films nowadays just doesn'thave that happy feeling throughout all 90-plus minutes. Even modern-dayDisney flicks have a bit more gloom than before: see Lion King,Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahantas, Aladdin, and dear goodness Fox andthe Hound.
The film's greatest strength is more than its humor, charmingcharacters, and ridiculously happy ending; it's the message of hope andfinding sunshine in a cloudy day that's screaming out to you within thefirst, second, and even final acts. Old-school Disney values are flunginto New York City and the payoff is grand. Then there's the adorablemusical numbers and nice choreography. You just want to hug the moviefor being so cute. Even a bitter cynic like me couldn't help but smilethroughout the entire thing, no matter how ridiculous it might be.
Bottom Line: Disney's old-school allure can be found here, as thecelebration of works past and present are sprinkled throughout acreative story full of easter eggs and adorable performances. Amy Adamsruns this optimistic show as the film opens up a can of happiness toanyone that sees it; no matter how bitter you claim yourself to be. Thefilm isn't absolute perfection, but easily one of the best live-actionDisney works this entire decade. Despite the childish outer look, youmust see it for the deeper messages of hope and love. Highly recommend,and its great fun for the entire family. Kudos to Disney for heading inthe right direction after years of questionable decisions.
"Everybody has problems. Everybody has bad times. Do we sacrifice allthe good times because of them?"
Not in Disney's watch.
July 25th, 2009
Giselle is a simple girl living in a cottage in the middle of the woodsin the beautiful country of Andalasia, where she is friends with allthe furry little animals who come and joyfully help her keep her cozylittle home neat and tidy. One day the handsome, brave and ratherstupid Prince Edward comes across her as he's engaged in his favoriteactivity, troll-hunting, and after saving her the two immediately fallin love. But alas, Edward's stepmother, Queen Narissa, has otherdesigns – she doesn't want Edward to ever marry and have a child totake away her throne, and so when Giselle comes to the palace to marry,the Queen tricks her into falling down a deep well, eventually to landin….Times Square. And to leave the world of Cinderella and SleepingBeauty-style 50s Disney animation and enter the world of "reality."Kevin Lima's film attempts to walk an almost impossible tightrope -being a film that is both a parody of the traditionalfairytale-animated film that has been Disney's bread-and-butter for 70years, yet also holding onto the fairytale charm and warmth amidst themockery. Somehow, he comes very close to perfection. No small part ofthis is due to the absolutely radiant presence of Amy Adams as thereal-life Giselle, walking, dancing and (wonderfully) singing her wayinto the home of divorce lawyer and single father Robert (PatrickDempsey) and his young daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) – who of coursebelieves that the princess is everything she in fact turns out to be,while daddy takes a little while longer to accept this mad, magicalgirl.
Life is further complicated when our handsome prince (James Marsden)appears on the scene as well to rescue Giselle and take her back toAndalasia to wed. By the time he finds her though, Giselle has startedto learn that our reality is as interesting and wonderful as – if farless simple than – her cartoon homeland and when the evil queen (SusanSarandon) finally makes an appearance in the flesh, it's clear thatGiselle's human mind has started to dominate her animated heart.
I haven't experienced so much sheer joy and delight in a film in a longtime; why oh why did I miss this in the theater? Adams is spectacular,funny and naive but so utterly convincing and "real" in her "unreality"- she really feels like an alien being through the first 2/3 of thefilm, so solid and literal and deliberately one-dimensional, and itmakes her eventual transformation into a more real woman all the morespecial. Her songs are mostly wonderful – "Happy Working Song" is thebest movie song I've heard in a decade at least – and the rest of thecast is more than solid. It's got all the adventure and thrills thatthe best of the Disney classics had, with loads of references bothsubtle and overt to such films as Beauty and the Beast, The LittleMermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and especially Snow White, but itnever feels particularly derivative or lacking in enthusiasm and vervedespite all the cobbling it does from other sources. The soundtrack ismostly terrific, the choreography solid, the animation makes me longfor the return of traditional Disney pen-and-ink work. I had a feelingI'd like it, but I didn't expect anything this excellent. If there's aflaw, it's that the ending feels a little too rushed, and some of theCGI just looks a bit weak compared to the traditional animation. Butthese are small issues, and I suspect I'll like this even more on asecond viewing. Just wonderful.