A most notable modern tribute to the old classics.

Rating: 7/10 (1 March 2009)

When two brothers decided to write a collection of simple children's tales they never thought that they would become so well-known and certainly never considered them to inspire hundreds of terrific other books, stage shows and of course films. Some of these have reverently mocked them, such as the timelessly entertaining 'Shrek' series (2001- .)'Brothers Grimm' (2002) exposed the gruesome gore hidden in these stories. But largely the most successful and perhaps the most exceptional of the lot are the marvellous array of award-winning animated classics from the legendary Walt Disney Company that initiated with the ground-breaking masterpiece 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937.) And now in Christmas 2007  nearly seven years after their final cartoon release 'The Emperor's New Groove' (2001) they've decided to come back for more with a vastly more modern creation that isn't quite as pleasurable as the others but still a success.
This is the charming story of another sweet, beautiful princess. Once upon a time in the faraway kingdom of Andalasia there lived a lovely young woman named Giselle (a splendid Amy Adams.) She lived in a small cottage deep in the woods with her many animal friends and every day dreamed of meeting her one true love. One day a dashing young prince named Edward (James Marsden) rode past the cottage singing a love song, Giselle rushed up to meet him and as soon as they each set eyes on one another they new that they were destined to be wed and so the wedding was instantly arranged. The word of this union soon spread throughout the land and everyone was overjoyed to hear the wonderful news, all except for Prince Edward's cruel stepmother Queen Narissa (a most wonderfully intimidating Susan Sarandon.) She knew that if her son married she would lose the crown and so banished poor Giselle to a feared place where no one ever lives happily ever after.
So out she pops through a manhole into the busy streets of New York. Dazed and confused, she takes shelter in the home of a placid, sensible divorce lawyer named Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his adorable little daughter Megan (Rachel Corvey) who have been at a great loss since the death of their wife and mother. Back in Andalasia Giselle's faithful friend Peppi the chipmunk (voiced by Kevin Lima and Jeff Bennett) has lead the prince through the portal and into the real world to save his true love. Now more furious than ever, the Queen sends her lovesick slave Nathaniel (a masterful Timothy Spall) to make sure that he does not find her. After he fails, she makes an incredibly dramatic and terrifying entrance into New York as well to take matters into her own hands.
The film's main power source  apart from its vastly compelling cast  is the delightful entertainment in watching exaggerated, unrealistic fairytale concepts being put to the test in the world of reality. This film definitely shows that although their founder is long gone and they've changed immensely over the years they still have some of the unique quality that's made them what they are today left in them.