Ryan Chartrand“Enchanted” is a movie that would be doomed if it had any self-doubt. Luckily, it’s an all-out, ridiculously cute ode to princess fairy tales.
Amy Adams and James Marsden are fully committed to their roles of would-be princess and prince. As in any Disney movie, the characters burst into song unannounced and a woodland creature is the sidekick – in this case it’s a chipmunk named Pip.
It’s a combination of classic princess stories with a modern twist. It mostly draws from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” but there are also elements from “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
The prince finds his “true love” Giselle in the cartoon world only to have her sent away by his wicked stepmother, who naturally wants to keep the throne to herself. Fairy-tale prince and almost-princess find themselves in the cruel world of New York City, where Giselle is befriended by Patrick Dempsey’s character and the prince wanders aimlessly trying to find her. It helps that she bursts into song occasionally.
The preview is a good indicator of the premise and overall tone of the film: musical and sweet although rather ridiculous. The ridiculousness is the best part, though. If they didn’t have huge musical numbers in the park, a dragon at the top of a skyscraper or an army of vermin cleaning up a New York apartment, the movie would lose a lot of heart. If only people burst into song and exuberant dance on any given day at the park.
After watching this movie, everyone will be convinced Adams is a princess. As Giselle, she never lets go of her innocence or optimism, and her whole-hearted commitment to the role makes this movie special. Her less-than-cheerful introduction into the live-action world (cars honking and a homeless man stealing her tiara) doesn’t dampen her faith that her prince will come.
Her 2-D naivete walks the perfect line between endearing and hilarious. She has a very bipolar moment when she finds out that she’s feeling anger for the first time, and she’s so excited about it that she can’t keep a mad face on for more than two seconds.
Dempsey, a.k.a. McDreamy, is in the movie to be the voice of cynical America as a divorce lawyer who had given up on the possibility of true love until Giselle comes along. He doesn’t sing, and it’s probably a good thing. He’s a little more melancholy than his sexy “Grey’s Anatomy” character, but he’s still nice to look at.
The most disappointing part of the movie came in the form of Dempsey’s on-screen girlfriend Nancy, played by musical star Idina Menzel (Maureen from “Rent” and the original Elphaba from “Wicked”). She also didn’t sing. Why would she even bother being in this movie if she doesn’t sing? Obviously she would upstage everyone else, but is it too much to ask for a little duet near the end? Message to Disney: there better be a Menzel-Marsden duet on the DVD as an extra, or we shall all consider this a waste of her time.
The movie is appropriate for all ages and tastes, provided no one takes it seriously. It has talking animals and pretty dresses for the young (OK, we all love the dresses), hidden innuendos for the older, and, of course, the chance to see Susan Sarandon as a witch.
It leaves the audience with smiles all around, and if the “How does she know?” song isn’t in your head for the rest of the day, I salute you.