Great But With Some Weak Points

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2019)

2 December 2007. Unfortunately, this fun, entertaining, and delightful romantic, animated/live action movie has a problems that just can't be ignored and besmirches an otherwise solid film. The music, the plot, and fusion of live animated characters, the idealistic fantasy world values and the blending of the real world values are emotionally satisfying. Giselles first experience of the real world is a dizzying and brilliant sequence full of hurt, bewilderment, and the whole range of just what one would expect from fantasy meets New York. It is intriguing how the flat, old animated beginning sequence was necessary at this junction in such a film as this in order to heighten the contrast between the old fashioned animation film characters and live human characters. The animation technology has advanced sufficient to actually make this movie effectively successfully, something that wouldn't have been as rich and believable even a decade ago. The first problem occurs with the casting of Nancy, the protagonist's girlfriend, with actress Idina Menzel. Her physical appearance just doesn't lend itself to the overall movie's theme and character by the end of the movie. There wasn't sufficient character development if she was to be used, which wasn't really necessary, but she was cast almost too animated-like as a black and white idealistic character instead of the more complicated human character of New York City. A second problem with this movie was the over-exaggerated musical reality that occurred midway through the movie turning this movie for a brief time into a fantasy musical when in fact most of the movie is charming just for its more realistic bent meeting idealistic fantasy characters. This sequence while charming, didn't fit in this movie and took away some of the flow of the movie. Finally, reminiscent of THE GOLDEN CHILD (1986) starring Eddie Murphy, he gets to battle an evil character who seems to transform into a large, horrific character played Charles Dance. The major conflict sequence seems somewhat confused, less effective, particularly as to what happens to the Queen. Overall, this is a fun, family movie that is rich with family themes, the importance of romance but also the importance of achieving one's balance with reality. It's not one or the other. Seven out of Ten Stars.