Great antidote to the blues!

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2008)

I had just watched Atonement, and desperately needed a 'happy' fix, so I was glad this came in the mail for me. Absolutely delighted! The songs are good (and well sung), the story is cute (something of a reverse gender take on Miracle on 34th Street), and everyone, but EVERYONE, gets a happy ending! It's worth the price of admission just for James Marsden's Edward, gloriously over the top here as the handsome prince who finds his true love, though not in the way one might expect (this was very nice, as the man seems to have spent a chunk of his career being the guy that didn't get the girl). And that guy has a serious set of pipes! Patrick Dempsey works beautifully as Robert, the very practical man who has lost faith in love and magic discovering it all over again (or perhaps for the first time). Idina Menzel, for my money one of the most gorgeous women on the planet, shines as Nancy, who really really would like to be someone's princess. And Amy Adams (who is making me crazy because she reminds me very much of someone here, and can't think who -- a little Sandy Duncan, perhaps?) pulls out all the adorable stops as Giselle.
Special kudos to a regally witchy Susan Sarandon channeling Maleficent, and to Timothy Spall's lovelorn henchman. And yes, that is the wonderful Julie Andrews narrating.
It works as both a loving homage to and a hilarious parody of all the classic Disney fairy tales, with some nifty special effects thrown in. If you're in need of an emotional pick me up, you can't do much better than this one.