MM Film Blog

Disney's latest offering Enchanted is extremely clever, loads of fun, and of course, thoroughly enchanting. Combining animation with real life actors, Enchanted starts with a classic fairytale and turns it upside down, literally. In Alice-through-the-Looking-Glass fashion, our heroine falls down a well and turns up -- where else? -- coming out of a manhole in New York's Times Square!

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Dressed in a white wedding gown, bride-to-be Giselle is lost in modern-day New York City, trying to find her way back to the castle in Andalasia. The madness continues, as Prince Edward emerges in search of Giselle, followed by a talking chipmunk (eat your heart out, Alvin), the queen's henchman, and the evil queen herself.

The dream cast brings the story to life in a big way. Amy Adams is perfect as the idealistic princess who starts to fall in love with a New York divorce lawyer named Robert, sensitively played by Patrick Dempsey. Susan Sarandon outdoes herself as the evil queen; strikingly beautiful and deliciously wicked, she will go down in history as one of Disney's best villainesses. Idina Menzel (the original Elphaba of Broadway's Wicked), who is no stranger to fairytales turned inside out, takes a nice turn as Robert's girlfriend Nancy. (Sadly, Menzel's one musical number was cut from the film.) James Marsden is the perfect embodiment of the arrogant, not-very-bright Prince Edward. And Timothy Spall, no stranger to playing the villain's henchman (Harry Potter fans will recognize him as Wormtail), deftly handles the role of the queen's henchman, Nathaniel. Rachel Covey is very sweet as Robert's 6-year old daughter. And rounding out this list is the voice of the inimitable Julie Andrews as the narrator.

There are also a few hidden gems in the film. Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid) has a few scenes as Robert's secretary. Paige O'Hara (the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast) has a scene in a TV soap opera, and Judy Kuhn (the voice of Pocahontas), has a tiny scene opening a door of an apartment to Prince Edward.

The music in the film is delightful. My 11-year old nephew walked out of the film requesting the soundtrack, and admittedly, the songs have been running through my head ever since. In addition to being catchy, the songs are quite fun, as Disney is poking fun at itself. Of particular note are "Happy Working Song" and "That's How You Know". In the former, Giselle whistles for the help of her animal friends to clean up Robert's messy apartment. But in New York -- you guessed it -- the animal friends are pigeons, rats, and even cockroaches. In the latter, Giselle breaks out into song in Central Park, and is joined by assorted street musicians and the like, leaving Robert to wonder how everyone knows the song but him. The genius of Ms. Adams' performance is that she never loses her wide-eyed fairytale princess innocence, even in the most absurd circumstances.

And indeed, that is the genius of the film on the whole. It stays true to the Disney fairytale genre while at the same time giving it a sendup for laughs. And who doesn't love a good, funny, romantic fairytale, even if it takes place in modern-day New York City?

Enchanted is a real treat -- a "must see" for the entire family.

MM Rating - * * * * *