Source: John’s Movie Blog
Enchanted is like a grand, livewire musical symphony of all the Disney fairy tales we grew up loving. We know all the ingredients: the beautiful singing princess in the tall tower, the prince in shining armor, the evil stepmother or queen who were probably one and the same to begin with anyway, the comical animal sidekick, and perhaps a little kissing to seal true love. And with its ingenious premise, Disney has found the most ideal place to create its own genre-bending musical comedy – New York City.
The movie opens with a brief bit of animation to introduce our heroine, Giselle (Amy Adams) in a musical interlude that walks the tightrope between being the most earnest musical number Disney never made and a hilarious parody exposing the old classics for all the frothy sugar that cynics throw stones at. From her tall castle in the land of Andalasia, she not only beckons one animal helper with her singing voice but calls an entire kingdom full of chipmunks, parrots, doves, owls, etc. And she meets her handsome Prince Edward (James Marsden) because, fate of all fates, they literally start singing the same song as a duet from miles apart and instantly know they are meant to be.
Of course, there is Edward’s evil stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) who doesn’t want them to be. So right before her wedding day with Edward, she pushes Giselle into the real world where she ends up in, of all places, Times Square. This is where writer Bill Kelly and director Kevin Lima correctly reject the route of placing animated characters in the real world and instead rely on the absolutely enchanting (yes, enchanting, with not a hint of pun intended) performance by Amy Adams.
She no doubt has to be because her character possesses the infectious energy of all her animated Disney precursors in a bottle. It is all hers to make an initial cynic like a divorce lawyer she meets, Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey) and all of us captivated by her utter naivete and sincerity so far as to wipe out thoughts of bringing her back to our own senses of grim cynicism. Indeed, enchanting is the best word to describe her performance, although I would also add delightful, radiant, magical, and, yes, brilliant. And these are all adjectives that everyone beyond the fortunate few who already saw her in previous works like Junebug and Catch Me If You Can can finally ascribe her to now.
By building a counterpoint in Dempsey’s character, the movie finds endless opportunities to comically run the gamut between chirpy fairy tale idealism and the cynicism that surrounds everyday reality including romance. That includes one particularly hilarious scene where Giselle starts sobbing after seeing one of Robert’s divorcee clients. And in one of the most hygiene use of roaches you’ll ever see, after he takes her in at the behest of his daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey), she beckons all the animals in New York, including the roaches in the sewers, to squeaky clean his entire apartment.
The addition of Robert also adds some new wrinkles to the old fairy tale, particularly when Giselle starts heeding a concept unheard of in fairy tale land – dating. Robert is already dating someone else, Nancy (Idina Menzel) and Giselle has already met her handsome prince who is on her way to rescue her in the city. But as his defenses breaks down, it becomes anyone’s guess whose kiss Giselle will finally receive. That is, of course, if Queen Narissa doesn’t foil her plans first.
All of this is surrounded by the usual quality music by Alan Menken with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Being on familiar ground from previous works like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, they deliver their song and dance numbers with a nudge and a wink, aided by the vocal talents of Adams and Marsden, who do all of their own singing. This is particularly true of Marsden, who outrageously camps up his singing and performance to reveal the typical handsome prince persona for the blow-hard, naïve goofball that he really is.
In a way, after the fadeout of hand-drawn Disney and the takeover of computer animation, Enchanted plays like a swan song that is unexpected yet somehow inevitable. And if that sounds like a paradox, it is, just as a winning, gentle and wholesome satire like this film should be. We just needed the beloved genre to draw its curtain with a bang and this film has packed that, too.