Enchanted Review

One of my favourite recent Disney movies is the live action/animated, Enchanted.  Released in 2007, Enchanted has big name stars including Amy Adams as Giselle, James Marsden as Prince Edward, Patrick Dempsey as Robert and Susan Sarandon as Queen Narissa.  While most of the film takes place in the live action city of New York, there are some parts, mostly toward the beginning, which are classically animated in a way that reminds me of older Disney movies such as Snow White.

The movie begins (animated) in a song where Giselle and Prince Edward meet, fall in love and agree to get married.  Just before the wedding can begin, Giselle is whisked off by an old lady (Prince Edward's stepmother Queen Narissa in disguise) who insists on giving her a magic wish on her special day.  Queen Narissa pushes Giselle into a magic fountain as she is making her wish and sends her away to a place where there are no happily ever afters.  Giselle emerges from a pot hole (here the animation changes to live action)and is immediately scared of where she has ended up, in the busy streets of  New York City.  Eventually a man, Robert, and his six year old daughter, Morgan, discover her and try to help her.  Uncertain of this strange new world, Giselle tries desperately to find her prince who has also made his way to New York in search of her.  In a tale of fantasy meets reality, things are certainly never boring and always fun.

There are so many elements to this movie which make it perfect for a real Disney fan.  To start off with, there is the perfect female lead, Giselle.  She is the typical Disney Princess, reminiscent of the classical princesses such as Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty but there is definitely a bit of Ariel in her too.  Much like the film is a tribute Disney movies, Giselle is a tribute to Disney princesses.  There are scenes throughout the movie that show Giselle doing things in ways that remind me of moments in other Disney movies.  A notable one is when she is scrubbing the floor and there are bubbles everywhere, which is very similar to a scene in Cinderella.

Photo Courtesy of Fernl on DeviantArt
http://fernl.deviantart.com/

Speaking of Disney Princesses, there were some past ones in this movie.  I spotted the first two of three almost right away.  The first one is Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, who plays Robert's secretary.  The second one is Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle, who is an actress in a soap opera.The third one is Judy Kuhn, the singing voice of Pocahontas, who is a woman with children.  Audiences can also enjoy Mary Poppins herself, Julie Andrews as the narrator.

There is also a prince in this movie - Prince Edward.  He is the image of Disney Princes, very charming, handsome and meant for this role.  He gets very into being a prince, doing the classic storybook tale of trying to find a princess to marry.  There is also another leading male, Robert, who is a divorce attorney in New York.  He has stopped believing in fairy tales and happily ever afters and is trying to raise his daughter not to believe in either.  He is very handsome though and has some quirky qualities to him that make him a fun challenge for Giselle. 

Every movie needs a villain and this one has Queen Narissa.  She is mostly like the Evil Queen from Snow White and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.  There are a couple times where she is in disguise as an old hag, which is very similar to when the Evil Queen did the same thing in Snow White.  She also transforms herself into a dragon, like Maleficent did in Sleeping Beauty.  However, both of these happen in the real world, so its neat to see old animation re-imagined into the modern world.  When she is in her regular human form, Narissa is a representation of the classic Disney villain - evil, mean, yet stylish in the typical villain way.

Photo Courtesy of Fernl on DeviantArt
http://fernl.deviantart.com/

There are a few songs, mostly sung by Giselle, which help make the movie a true Disney classic.  All the music was done by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken, the latter who has been creating music for Disney since The Little Mermaid.  If I had to pick a favourite song it would be "That's How You Know," which is sung by Giselle in New York's beautiful Central Park.  In the song, she explains to Robert that he should try to show his girlfriend Nancy that he loves her in romantic ways.  This is the big, show stopping number in the movie, as Giselle gets everyone in the park joining in, singing and dancing with her.  The other two main character-sung songs include "True Love's Kiss" and "Happy Working Song."  The first is a typical Disney romantic song, as Edward and Giselle both express their desire to find their one true love.  The second is Giselle's way of cleaning Robert's messy apartment with the help of her new animal friends in New York City.  This one reminds me of Snow White's "Whistle While You Work," as it is a fun cleaning song.

As you can see, there really is more to this movie than meets the eye.  It has every Disney element you could ever want, including a truly special happily ever after.  It has the princess, the prince, the music and even a villain.  So next time you want to enjoy a great Disney movie, be sure to check out this unique masterpiece and be enchanted.