Enchanted: 2007

Giselle 2D (top) and 3D (bottom), both comparatively bubbly and lovable.

“Enchanted” could’ve easily been one of the most annoying movies to date, and I am thoroughly pleased to say it is far from such. Far, far from it.

The premise: Giselle, a young maiden from the kingdom Andalasia, (literally) falls head over heels for the handsome Prince Edward, much to the chagrin of Edward’s jealous stepmother Queen Narissa. As Giselle happily bounces to her wedding day, a disguised Narissa tricks and sends the hapless bride-to-be into a dimension where “there are no happy endings” – a.k.a. real New York City, circa 2007.

The movie unfolds into Giselle’s journey to return to Andalasia, all with the help of bubbly 6-year-old Morgan (Rachel Covey) and her jaded (lawyer) father Robert (Patrick Dempsey) much to the chagrin of Robert’s fiance-to-be Nancy (Idina Menzel). Of course, Prince Edward (James Marsden), in an act of royal chivalry, rushes in after Giselle while Queen Narissa’s devoted admirer Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) accompanies with less noble intentions.

The movie works well because it’s smart, period. Giselle is ungodly naive, and it is with sheer luck that she runs into the better fold of New York’s inhabitants. Far from a gritty and grimy depiction of the modern metropolitan, “Enchanted” does not shy from subtly adult indications, which are especially explicit with how Robert and others deal with Giselle’s antics with first-hand skepticism.

A lesser actress would’ve drowned the story into mediocrity and the audience into disgruntlement, but Amy Adams does wonders as the plucky and upbeat Giselle. She is so enthusiastic, so well-meaning and so good-natured that it is near impossible to not smile whenever she graces the screen. To watch Ms. Adams is to watch a Disney princess come to life, and I’m unabashed to say that it the magic was overcoming, nostalgic, and enjoyable.

“Enchanted” is, of course, a self-parody and satire of (in)famous Disney archetypes. The most obvious reference is to the famous “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” design and characterization, most especially true with Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) and her three poisoned apples. However, the self-parody is not so much in self-deprecation or spite, but a gentle tap-slap reminder from the “real” world: total naivety won’t last a second in a bustling society, but that doesn’t mean we should shell into jadedness and fatalism.

To be honest, I was disappointed when only the first few minutes were traditionally animated. It’s been so long that Disney has put forth a fully 2D movie that when I first saw Giselle live, I was initially – yes, I’ll say it – disenchanted. But reader, trust me when I say that the initial disappointment dissipated quite quickly, and on the given mood I’d gladly sit down again to watch this movie again. Alan Menken and Stephen Sschartz’s songs, though pale in comparison to Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s collaboration for “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast,” are nonetheless upbeat and fanciful, and the real-life Disneyesque musical numbers is far from gaudy and overdone. And most importantly, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film that I recommend with a zest and smile from the confines of my childish heart.

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