I am not going to pretend I am the biggest Disney fan in the world, but from the first time I saw a trailer for this I just knew I had to see it. The fractured fairy tale has become its own genre as of late, thanks in part to those overrated trash filled Shrek debacles, but this one looked charming, almost sweet in its treatment of all those princess fairy tales Disney has made famous. Amy Adams won my heart in Junebug and James Marsden proved he could be campy and fun this summer in Hairspray and Patrick Dempsey, well Patrick Dempsey, with those eyes, is made for fairy tale love movies. So with great hope I set out to the theater hoping to not be disappointed.
Set in the animated kingdom of Andalasia, Giselle(Adams) is trying to put together a model of the man of her dreams. She sings about true love's kiss and has a bunch of animals helping her try and find the right lips. In the middle of her song we cut to Prince Edward(Marsden) who is a troll hunting Prince. The Troll he captures has some familiar qualities, of say a famous ogre we have all come to know as Shrek. It is a nice one time dig at the movie who made its money throwing cheap shots at Disney. Edward is also looking for true love and he hears Giselle singing and he set off to find her. The Troll gets free, chases Giselle and Edward rescues her; they will be married the next day. However, Edward's stepmother(Susan Sarandon) doesn't want to relinquish her crown so she finds a way to ruin the wedding; she tosses Giselle down a well. On the other side of the well is New York City and Giselle finds herself alone and lost, looking for a castle. After losing her Tiara to a homeless man and getting rained on she meets Robert Patrick(Dempsey) and his daughter Morgan(the beyond adorable Rachel Covey) and while Robert is skeptical of her story about being a near princess and looking for her prince, he agrees to help her by getting her a cab from his place. Well it doesn't happen and after sleeping on the couch, Giselle wakes up to a messy place and calls on the animals to help her clean it. Edward also goes down the well to try and find Giselle and he is met by the stepmother's minion, Nathaniel(Timothy Spell) and a chipmunk named Pip. Giselle spends the movie trying to convince Robert to believe in true love and Robert tries to explain to Giselle that fairy tale love does not make sense. People need to date first and try and find out if they are compatible. Robert is dating Nancy(Idina Menzel, who doesn't sing at all, bummer) and they have been dating for four years but it doesn't feel like they are really in love. A love story that I didn't see coming happens in the movie and alls well that ends well, right?
Aside from being an infinitely charming story, this movie is plenty funny, as well. The movie pokes fun at Disney movies, but not in a heavy or ironic way, really. It is more an homage, or a throwback to those Princess fairy tales. The movie believes in the power of true love's kiss but it also believes in falling in love the right way. The movie only has 3 or 4 songs in it but each musical number is a fun and vibrant lift, especially the big number in the middle of the movie, "That's how she knows." It is a catchy and fun song and it gives Patrick Dempsey a chance to be funny. It gives the movie its only sense of irony and it gives all of us musical theater people hope that it is possible to bust into a random song and have people catch on right away. The 2D animation at the beginning of the movie really made me realize how much I miss movies being animated in that way and it gives me hope that in the future Disney will go back to creating these fun and magical movies. Don't get me wrong I love the Pixar stuff, but there is just something special about the classic animation movies and Enchanted is the perfect way to bridge that gap and remind people how great Disney Princess movies can be. The movie has laughs, thrills, great physical stuff for the children (The chipmunk stuff didn't do it for me, but the kids were dying) and of course, true love. It even has a dragon!
Amy Adams owns this movie. Really she does. Her star quality should shoot through the roof here. Forget Reese Witherspoon, Adams is the spunkiest and mot adorable actress out there. Her voice is perfectly suited for the songs and she gives the right attitude for the role of Giselle. She is never ironic because what makes a parody or satire funny is that the characters believe whole heartedly in what they are doing. Adams believes fully that she is a princess in a lost world and her smile, winning charm and unbelievable honesty really take this movie to new Heights. Marsden looks incredibly ecstatic to be smiling recently after years of playing the tormented Cyclops. He is winning, charming and funny and while a little dumb, he isn't stupid. He believes in love and honor and he will go to any great lengths to find it. Dempsey is perfect here. Yes, I do have a man crush on Patrick Dempsey and I am perfectly okay with it. His eyes, those swoon worthy rays of sunshine, are perfect for a fairy tale love. He is built for true love's kiss and he plays Robert with the right amount of cynicism as a single father who is also a divorce attorney. But he is not above getting wrapped up in Giselle's story either. He is a man who believes in logic, yes, but he is also a man who wants to believe in something more. Sarandon doesn't really appear in the movie much, except as an animated witch but she is having all kinds of fun hamming it up as a evil queen.
The movie does get a bit bogged down towards the end as it tries out too many CGI effects for this kind of movie, but it never takes away from the fun the movie has. It is impossible not to get wrapped up in the story because everyone on screen is having an enormously fun time. This is the kind of movie that you just leave with a big smile on your face. Movies like this are the reasons little girls wear Princess dresses and dream of being swept off their feet. I know that for hardcore Disney fans there are all kinds of homages to older movies. Homages in character names, copied shots and even some of the actors in the movie provided voice over work in some of the animated movies, but those of us who aren't crazy can still enjoy the movie for what it is- a fairy tale that exists in fantasy but grounded in the reality that true love can exist. And I was buying entirely what they were selling.
2 comments:
Ah yes...who of us - who like to create this kind of genre - hasn't wanted everyone in Cenral Park to join right in when we start singing and dancing? I basically agreed with everything you said. I, too, was bummed when Idina didn't sing. I thought she was, there at the end, when she and Marsden are sharing that moment at the ball and the movie's theme song begins. Then they cut to a shot of her facing toward the camera and she's just sitting there smiling. I still thought it might have been her (maybe it was wishful thinking, but I thought it sure SOUNDED like her). I had to sit all the way through the credits to find out it was....Carrie Underwood? Oh....uh, okay.
I. Can't. Wait. To. See. This. Movie.
:) :) :)
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