Sisters! Hear me. Too long have we had to endure the animation domination of The Man. In recent years talking cars, ogres and vermin have taken over our screens, grossing obscene amounts of money and winning innumerable awards. No more! Dig out that old plastic tiara, because the Disney Princess film has returned! Not only is Enchanted totally cute, but also tremendously entertaining.
On the day of her wedding to Prince Edward (James Marsden), Giselle (Amy Adams) is transported from animated Andalasia to present-day New York City by Edward's evil stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon). In New York Giselle meets Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a divorce attorney with a decidedly unromantic view of love, and they form an unlikely friendship. Narissa sends her lackey, Nathaniel (Timothy Sprall) to thwart Edward's quest to find and marry Giselle. As she spends more time away from her fairy-tale home, Giselle begins to question what she believes and her true feelings.
The beautiful princess, dashing prince and scheming queen are all standard parts of a fairy tale, but Enchanted uses these stock elements in such a way that they don't feel tired. In Andalasia, adorable woodland creatures help Giselle with projects and sing songs. In New York, however, Giselle is aided by rats, pigeons and cockroaches. The whole film is a play on fairy tale conventions, but the jokes are made with affection instead of spite. It is more homage than parody.
The greatest tributes to the classic Disney pictures are in the film's musical numbers, which were crafted by heavyweights Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Menken composed the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, just to name a few, while Schwartz wrote the lyrics for Pocahontas and the Broadway hit Wicked. The numbers in Enchanted add the extra energy and magic that makes the film something more than merely pleasant.
Even with the fun musical numbers, Enchanted wouldn't work half as well without its talented cast. Amy Adams blew minds two years ago in Junebug, so it's no real surprise how well she inhabits Giselle. It is a testament to Adams' abilities that the eternally perky princess didn't inspire audience members to claw out their eyes. Marsden is also successful in keeping his character from being grating. His charm and enthusiasm prevent Edward from becoming a Gaston. Dempsey is perfectly agreeable as Robert, but he isn't very engaging. He's handsome and fairly funny and he seems relieved to have escaped the soul-crushing angst at Seattle Grace. Robert's daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey), is appropriately adorable and, luckily, never cloying. Susan Sarandon brings the gravitas of her years of experience to inspire the reaction of, "oh, look, Susan Sarandon."
A big name star and the constant references to past animated classics do remove the audience from the film a bit, but it's not enough to ruin the fun. Overall Enchanted is a charming and affectionate film that can be enjoyed by many age groups, even college students.
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