Review of Enchanted

Classic Disney movies almost always contain joyous songs to ease the effort of work, generically handsome princes and cooperative, talking animals. The people at Disney, apparently wanting to revive the old standard, created Enchanted, a film about a prince and princess, personified animals, and, in a modernized twist, a divorce lawyer in New York.

Enchanted begins, rather unassumingly, as an over-the-top cartoon romance in which Disney uses its old clichés to make fun of itself (just like in the ploy-laden Shrek series). Giselle (Amy Adams) is a beautiful young woman who communes with forest animals and waits for her true love to find her. Predictably, a prince named Edward comes to her rescue and the two decide to wed the next day.

Unfortunately for the couple, Prince Edward’s evil step-mother, Narissa (Susan Sarandon) wants to keep the throne to herself and plans to do anything to keep Edward from marrying. She pushes Giselle into a magical well and, after transforming into a real-life version of herself, Giselle emerges in the middle of New York City. Here, she meets Robert (Patrick Dempsy), a single father and divorce attorney who no longer has faith in romantic love.

Enchanted employs a lot of gags regarding the evident differences between Giselle’s fantasy world and New York, but most of them are clever and some are even funny. When Prince Edward follows Giselle to the real world with his sidekick, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), everything from a revolving door to a city bus becomes a source for humor. Unlike many other current movies marketed toward children, Enchanted thankfully does not rely on ridiculous gross-out jokes. It also refrains from using one-liners aimed at adults (obviously intended to keep parents from falling asleep during otherwise trivial films). Instead, Enchanted is genuinely amusing for both children and adults with humor that applies to both audiences.

As Prince Edward searches for Giselle, she explores her new surroundings with Robert and his daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey). Giselle’s optimistic spirit is contagious and she soon has an entire park filled with people dancing and singing about love. However, Robert, although he is kind and sympathetic towards Giselle, cannot be convinced that romance can last or that falling in love is reason enough to get married. Meanwhile, Queen Narissa is trying to have Giselle killed, and also ends up going to New York to do the job herself.

The movie peaks at a ball in Manhattan with an angry dragon, a poison apple, and a magic kiss. We learn that true love does not happen in an instant, but that it is real and worth believing in. The film even caps off with a feminist twist and of course everyone lives happily ever after.

What really makes this film so much fun is the good-natured innocence with which Giselle and Prince Edward view things in the modern world. The characters’ interpretation of new oddities is shaped by their experience in the fantasy world. The wittiness evident in this aspect of the story is a credit not only to writer Bill Kelly, but also to the actors. There is no dullness in their deliveries and their characters, despite many being live versions of cartoon characters, are somehow entirely believable. Amy Adams, especially, brings energy and honesty to her role, creating a humorous and endearing persona.

Narrated by Julie Andrews, Enchanted is one of a small number of recent movies that is actually entertaining to both children and adults. A genuine family film destined to warm hearts and cause laughter, Enchanted truly is enchanting.