There’s nothing like a Disney musical comedy to cleanse your palate after a three-hour Oliver Stone epic, is there? You’d think it would be quite jarring, going from one extreme to another. But you know what? It was actually quite nice to go from something you have to devote every ounce of your attention to… to a light-hearted, ridiculous slapstick comedy based on a bunch of fairy tales.
Enchanted has an all-star cast, but is led by Amy Adams as Giselle; a soon-to-be Princess who has been banished from the fairy tale world and is forced to live in present day New York. Giselle is shocked and saddened by this dreary, normal world at first, until she starts to fall in love with a dashing divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) whilst the rest of the world starts to fall in love with her. Initially, her goal is to get back to her home so she can marry her Prince, but after a while, her intentions completely reverse.
I guess it makes sense that Susan Sarandon would play the evil stepmother. And yes, that is ALL shade.
With a name like Enchanted, you’d expect this to be quite, well, enchanting. And you’d be completely right! Beginning with a ten minute animated sequence that invokes classic Disney nostalgia from years gone by, the whole thing is rather charming on the whole. Live action fairy tale adaptations will always be in en vogue, so this one plays right into the hands of that idea and it does it with gusto.
What is so brilliant about this movie is that it’s very self-aware; although technically for kids, it is intentionally cheesy and filled with undoubtedly adult humour and references to previous Disney films so it is bound to satisfy older audiences too. It doesn’t hurt that the songs are wildly catchy either, which is no surprise seeing as Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz were behind them.
In front of the camera, I can’t think of anyone more well-suited to this role than Amy Adams. I mean, I’m sure there are others who could do it, yet she once again reminds us that she’s not only a wonderful dramatic actress, but a talented comedic one too. And her singing voice isn’t bad either! The rest of the cast (particularly Timothy Spall) completely understood the assignment too, which was nice to see. No one takes themselves too seriously, and if they had, it would take one completely out of the fantasy.
Despite it being glaringly clear where it will end up right from the introduction of McDreamy Patrick Dempsey, it seems almost as if that’s the entire point. It’s obvious why this one is getting a sequel and I don’t regret giving it 4 Qs one bit: simply joyous entertainment from start to finish.
Enchanted is available to stream on Disney+ in the UK.
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