Clever Throwback to Disney's Better Days Provides an Ebullient Breakthrough for Adams

Rating: 7/10 (27 March 2008)

For those fortunate enough to have seen Amy Adams in Phil Morrison's "Junebug" (2005), you saw a genuinely guileless actress who is capable of conveying sincerity without a hint of irony. As the perennially sunny and interminably pregnant Ashley, she stole that picture easily, and the same holds true for this far more extravagant 2007 Disney production directed by Disney stalwart Kevin Lima ("102 Dalmations", "Tarzan"). This time, she provides the voice for Giselle, a fair maiden in bucolic woodland where the animals sing and dance as she dreams of kissing her prince. Fortunately, the handsome, self-absorbed Prince Edward shows up with his Marty Feldman-like sidekick Nathaniel in the nick of time as a gigantic troll is about to pounce on Giselle. They fall in love and decide to marry the next day.
However, Edward's stepmother, the evil Queen Narissa, does not want Giselle in line for the throne, so she plots to be rid of Giselle by pushing her into a portal that ends up in the middle of Manhattan's Times Square. It's at this point that the film turns to live action, and Giselle is fully embodied by Adams as a wedding ball-gowned fish-out-of-water. Bill Kelly's amusing though somewhat erratic screenplay has her going through the predictable shenanigans, including a chance encounter with Robert, a pragmatic divorce lawyer and a single father to Morgan, an Abigail Breslin-look-alike moppet who wonders if Giselle could be really a fairy princess. Of course, complications ensue with not only Robert's suspicious fiancée Nancy but also Nathaniel, who has come after Giselle upon Narissa's orders. Edward also shows up, and consequently a romantic quadrangle develops with Giselle in an unfettered search for true love.
Most of the musical numbers by Disney veteran Alan Menken and Broadway composer Steven Schwartz are catchy and true to the spirit of the story. "Happy Working Song", a vermin-infested paean to Snow White's "Whistle While You Work", and "That's How You Know", which mimics the calypso beat of The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea", benefit from witty staging and Adams' surprisingly clear soprano. The only exception is the turgid love ballad near the end, "So Close", sung by Michael Bolton-wannabe Jon McLaughlin. Beyond Adams, James Marsden plays the hilariously misguided prince with gleeful panache, and Timothy Spall dances easily between malevolent and befuddled as the conflicted Nathaniel. Susan Sarandon is slumming as the Queen, but once she finally shows up in human form, she puts her authoritative spin and killer rack into the character. Perhaps because his character is scripted as such a downer, Patrick Dempsey makes for a lifeless romantic lead for the ebullient Adams. A couple of familiar Broadway performers show up  Idina Menzel ("Wicked", "Rent") as Nancy, and Tonya Pinkins ("Caroline or Change") as an embittered wife facing a nasty divorce.
The one problem I had with the movie is the drastic shift in tone during the overdone, CGI-saturated finale. While I can appreciate the female empowerment orientation being conveyed, the story could have easily ended about ten minutes earlier. Fortunately, the hand-drawn animation in the opening sequence is a fine tribute to Disney's pre-Pixar glory. Given it is from Disney, the 2008 DVD has plenty of extras beginning with a behind-the-scenes featurette, "Fantasy Comes to Life". Divided into three parts, it shows how the production numbers for "Happy Working Song" and "That's How You Know" came together, as well as the finale. There are six deleted scenes, all introduced by Lima, which includes a storyboard-only alternative to the opening sequence. A two-minute blooper reel is included, as well as a five-minute short for the kiddies called "Pip's Predicament: A Pop-up Adventure" about the daredevil chipmunk and a music video of Carrie Underwood's "Ever Ever After". Definitely better than I expected.