A New Kind of Fairytale...

Rating: 7/10 (23 November 2007)

With Enchanted, Disney returns to really good family film-making. More recently, the studio has been releasing dumb very immature "comedies" such as The Game Plan. Enchanted does what some were beginning to think Disney could no longer do: appeal to the adult audience coming with the kids.
Giselle is an animated princess-to-be on her way to her wedding to Prince Edward when his Stepmother Queen pushes her into a black pit in a desperate attempt to hold on to the crown. Giselle is sent into the most terrifying world of all: Ours. She is rescued by Robert, an engaged father who doesn't believe in love- but Giselle must of course fix that. Problem: our Princess is soon followed by her lover Prince, his servant, and eventually the Queen herself... and New York will never be the same.
Amy Adams stars as Giselle in this fairy tale with a twist, and star is indeed what she does. Her energy flows from the screen in an irresistible and delightful way. There is talk of an Oscar nomination for Ms. Adams, and I must say I would agree with it. She pokes fun at the classic Disney princesses at the same time as respecting them and becoming an icon herself. The rest of the cast all supports nicely, James Marsden sticking out particularly as Prince Edward. Mr. Marsden is one of my favorite comedic actors, and he's at his best here.
And of course it's a story about love, promoting happily ever after blatantly. What makes Enchanted special, though, is that the characters debate the reality and even need for happily ever after in today's world. Giselle is thrust into a modern day that doesn't instantly accept true love as natural or even possible and she can't understand this. Where she comes from, chance romance equals true love. "Let's be married tomorrow!" cries her Prince two minutes after she meets him. In this new world, though, people aren't so easy to believe. Giselle is desperate to convince everyone around her that love is forever, though they're very reluctant to accept it- and that's what makes it brilliant. For the first time, Disney isn't all instantly happy endings and true love with a prince. For the first time the Princess begins to realize that love is flawed and imperfect; but that doesn't make it any less of love.
At heart, Enchanted is a light-hearted comedy/musical that fits nicely into Disney's other such films. It's filled with good morals, good-hearted characters, and good clean humor. But it also discusses what real love is all about, a subject Disney has been a bit overly optimistic about in the past. That's a lot to pack into a little kid flick. 7/10 stars!
Jay Addison