1 Hour 47 Minutes

Directed By: Kevin Lima

Written By: Bill Kelly

Staring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon, Julie Andrews, Timothy Spall, Rachel Covy, and Idina Menzel

She has no driver’s license, no passports, and no records and I’ve called every travel agency and none of them have ever heard of this place: “Andalusia”. -Sam

Review

What a delightful surprise Enchanted was! I would have never imagined to enjoy this movie as much as I did, nor found it to have as much depth and intelligence as it had.  It is not a simple love story focused on cheap laughs taking refuge in typical cliches.  It was a film all of it’s own, embracing the fantastical Disney fairytales before it, while also taking pokes of fun at the ridiculousness they exude in today’s day and age.

In a lovely, magical world of animation lives a beautiful girl named Giselle who incidentally falls into the lap of a Prince.  He claims she is his duet to his song and the two fall madly in love. A wedding is planned for the next day!  Excited beyond all reason and propelled by her innocence and trust in her magic kingdom, Giselle easily falls prey to the evil workings of a sorceress Queen named Narissa.  She is Prince Edwards mother and sends Giselle to the unhappy world of Manhattan where no one lives happily ever after.  The Queen retains her thrown, but at a cost.  Her son jumps into the magical well in search of his one true love and also enters the live action world of Manhattan.  The two bumble threw the cynical city in search of each other, while the Queen has sent her faithful servant, Nathaniel, to poison Giselle and end the madness at last!

The film takes something I think nowadays generations have lost.  In today’s fairy tales and the way girls are raised they are taught they don’t need to be saved by a man, that we are supposed to be our own empowering hero’s.  When Robert suggests to his daughter that princesses aren’t real his point is fair but a little distressing.  There is nothing wrong with some of the ideals of fairy tales past, if that’s what you want.  Today woman have the choice to do exactly what a man does or fall into the pattern of housewife and mother and caretaker.  We can be either or, but it does seem like the supportive wife and mother role is being lost, and it’s a shame.  What Enchanted suggests is you can do both.  The power hungry career woman can be a romantic and whisked away by love, and the naive maternal girl can take charge and be an equal in a relationship.  It’s okay to be saved and it’s okay to do the saving.  It’s a beautiful message to all little girls, and a wonderful message to the jaded, cynical women who’ve forgotten about dressing up as a Princess and waiting for prince charming to save them or simply finding true love.

Another fantastic aspect of the film was it’s own mockery of itself.  It truly doesn’t take itself too seriously.  It simultaneously embraces fairytale lover fantasies while also showing how awkward they fit into today’s society.  It’s an ingenious contrast that works in a very entertaining way.  How the character’s translated from the world of animation to the world of live action provided for excellent comedy and made the story itself that much more interesting.

Amy Adams quite simply has star quality.  She was past compelling and fell right into the category of infectious.  Not only is she likable, but she’s extraordinarily talented.  This girl is stunning, can sing, dance, act, and she can make you laugh.  I am truly excited to see what her acting future holds for her.  Her counterparts played by Patrick Dempsey and James Mardsen both had an excellent chemistry with her, but also tapped into pitch perfect comic timing while remaining straight faced.  With Susan Sarandon as the antagonist queen, this cast was full of strong actors that played their roles out juuuuuuuust right.

Enchanted was a brilliant movie that had some very important underlying messages while all the while still remaining a story about love and adventure.  It’s PG rating may be due to some mild innuendo, but I find it acceptable for a child of any age.  I never expected to have this kind of reaction.  In fact I had prepared myself to hate the movie, and I was 100% wrong.  Disney really pulled out all the stops on this one.

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