I can't believe a 22 year old man likes this movie...

Rating: 10/10 (28 November 2008)

I was completely caught off guard. I had heard of it when it was coming out in theaters and everything, but I didn't pay any attention. Then, this Thanksgiving it was just my aunt and I by ourselves and my mom left us the movie to watch. I thought, "okay, whatever. Sure." This movie was a big surprise. I don't know if you'd consider some of my comments spoilers exactly, but whatever.
I'll tell you why this movie was so great. For one, it's a marriage of reality and fairy tale, of course leaning for towards the fairy tale side, but whatever. At first you get a sense of how ridiculous the whole Andalasia world is. By the way, I liked the old, more grainy, animated 2D world of Andalasia. The artwork is admirable, and it's awesome to see CGI hasn't taken over EVERYTHING. I kind of missed the old school way of animation. Anyway, so they completely play up the whole fantasy, fairy tale world with a combination of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Giselle sings and has animal friends. Everything is so stereotypical and childish that it's funny. I laughed my .. ah-hem... butt off. Then, when Giselle gets to the "real world" of Manhattan, it's hysterical. She has NO clue where she is, what she's doing, or who she's dealing with. She's too beautiful and innocent. The funny part is I didn't expect her singing and beauty and kindness to work, but it does! She ends up making some.. "new friends" with the animals of NYC, having sing-alongs with people in Central Park. It's crazy.
That brings me to my second point. Amy Adams.... WOW.. DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, especially at the end. I don't think I've ever seen her before, but she is fantastic. She plays the part of Giselle so well. She eventually starts to learn about how the real world is and begins to feel emotions she's never felt before, like anger and falling in love with another man when she's "supposed" to marry prince charming. She, of course, ends up falling in love with Robert (Dempsey), but HE ISN'T the romantic, charming prince. What gives, right? I thought her character really grew throughout the film, but only in a way that made her much more appealing, beautiful and strong. She maintained her innocence and kindness, but not to the point that she seemed like some naive, one-dimensional princess. She became a character that you could feel for and like. Move over, Dempsey! I'm on it, baby!
Anyway, Prince Edward is funny as hell. He's so out of place, and unlike Giselle, doesn't learn any new things really. He's stuck in fantasy, prince charming hero mode. Really funny scenes play out with him in traffic in Times Square, in a motel, watching TV, etc. He's such a fool. Once he was out in the real world, I actually thought he was going to end up being a real jerk who was conceited and more or less just interested in having a beautiful princess because it's what he wanted.
Patrick Dempsey, as Robert, played his part well. He was a charismatic, sarcastic and funny, but polar opposite of Giselle. A single dad who is a divorce attorney meets a fairy tale princess. Trust me. It's funny. From a neutral perspective, and I don't mean to sound... well, whatever, he really is a likable, good looking character that you can also empathize with and feel for.
Some of the morals of the story I came out with are that you can find love in unlikely places when you least expect it. You can actually be a optimistic, kind hearted person in a sometimes cold world and live happily. Also, what hit home for me is the sense that you may not be "prince charming," even he is far from perfect, and you may even need a beautiful girl to rescue YOU sometimes, but you can still be a beauty's true love. Nice, right?
Overall, I thought it was great. At first, I was apprehensive, and I didn't want to seem like a real wuss for watching and getting into some fairy tale Disney movie. You know what? I DON'T CARE. It's a feel good, unrealistic, happy movie that will make you laugh a lot, and learn to care and root for the protagonists. I have no shame in liking this movie.
Amy Adams, I love you....