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Enchanted
(2007)
Just in time for the holidays, Walt Disney Pictures
and producer Barry Sonnenfeld (director of The Addams Family and
executive producer of television's Pushing Daisies)
unveil a lighthearted truffle that's a mixture of animation
and live action, filled with songs and romance, and sure to
appeal to the entire family.
In the storybook land of Andalasia, the blissful Giselle (Amy Adams)
is engaged to be married to Prince Edward (James Marsden), a union
opposed by Edward's wicked stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon).
Narissa tries to eliminate Giselle by shoving her through a magical
portal that transports her to the real world of New York City.
Wandering around the city in confusion, Giselle is taken in by divorce
lawyer Rob (Patrick Dempsey) and his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey).
After Edward follows Giselle to the real world, Narissa sends her
bumbling henchman Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) after him to ensure that
he doesn't marry Giselle and threaten her control of Andalasia.
Director Kevin Lima (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians) understands the
conventions of classic Disney films, and Enchanted has numerous
references to them while also gently poking some fun at them. The
film portrays Andalasia using traditional animation, then switches to
live action when the story moves to the real world, and the transition
is smoothly handled and believable in the context of the story. The
live action sequences are enhanced by CGI effects to bring to life
various animals and creatures that help Giselle, as well as a menacing
dragon. It's such an exuberantly frothy concoction that you can't
help but be carried away by it.
The charming screenplay by Bill Kelly (Premonition) understands the
appeal of happily ever after fairy tales. It may be predictable in
the way that Disney films usually are, but what makes it so fun is
seeing how artfully the familiar tropes are employed here, and how
enjoyable they can still be when done right. It's also a clever
homage to Disney classics that fans of those films should enjoy.
Cinematographer Don Burgess (Spider-Man, My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
and production designer Stuart Wurtzel (Stepmom, Charlotte's Web)
bring a bright, airy look to the film that gives the live action
scenes the ambience of an animated fairy tale. Costume designer Mona
May (Stuart Little 2, The Haunted Mansion) provides some fantastic
gowns for Giselle.
Sometimes characters in these kinds of films burst into song, and the
songs here are provided by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. As
individuals and as a team, they've been responsible for the songs in
past Disney films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast,
Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as Broadway
productions Little Shop of Horrors and Wicked. Their
contributions here are as clever and tuneful as one would expect from
their past body of work, and add greatly to the pleasure of watching
the film. One only wishes that there were more than five songs. The
choreography by John O'Connell (Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge)
is energetic, including a big song-and-dance sequence set in Central Park.
The luminous Adams is ever-so-perfect as a Disney Princess come to
life and having to deal with the tribulations of a world that doesn't
believe in magic or happily-ever-after, while Marsden exhibits a goofy
charm as her earnest but none-too-bright fairy tale prince. The rest
of the cast shines, too, including Dempsey as the practical-minded
lawyer who slowly falls for Giselle, Covey as his daughter, Sarandon
as the archetypal wicked stepmother/evil queen (she seems to be having
a lot of fun in the role), Spall as the bumbling henchman, Idina
Menzel as Bob's fiancée-to-be, and Matt Servitto as the boss of a
sewer crew working at a manhole that just happens to be the exit point
for the magical portal. Julie Andrews is the narrator, while Jodi
Benson (the voice of Ariel in "The Little Mermaid"), Paige O'Hara (the
voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast), and Judy Kuhn (the singing
voice of the title character in Pocahontas) have cameos.
Enchanted is a magical romantic comedy for those of us who still
want to believe that there can be a happily-ever-after. What it may lack
in substance it amply makes up for in entertainment value.
-Danielle
Ní Dhighe
Other
Thoughts: Mark Moreland 
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All contents ©
2004-2007 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Kevin
Lima
Writer: Bill
Kelly
Starring: Amy
Adams, James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Covey,
Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Julie Andrews
Distributor: Walt
Disney Pictures
Runtime: 107
min
Rating: PG
Release Date: November
21, 2007
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