Reviewed by Screenjabber
Stars Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon,
James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Rachel Covey, Julie Andrews
(as narrator), Samantha Ivers, Idina Menzel
Written by Bill Kelly
UK certification PG | UK RRP £19.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 103 minutes
Directed by Kevin Lima
Every other animation studio out there has, at one time or another, taken the piss out of Disney. So it was about time that the Mouse House stuck its tongue firmly in its cheek and gave its fairytale back catalogue a good seeing to. And Enchanted delivers, with good-natured digs at, and nods to, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and even The Little Mermaid.
Animated fairytale Princess Giselle (voiced by Adams) is looking for her true love and finds it in the form of Prince Edward (Marsden), but things look bad when Edward’s mother, the evil Queen Narissa (Sarandon), pushes Giselle down a well because she fears that her son getting married will mean that she will lose her throne. But this is no ordinary well, and Giselle climbs out not into the animated fairytale land of Andalasia but into the real Times Square, New York City. Oh, and she's turned into the real-life, flesh-and-blood (and gorgeous) Adams. This is where the fun really begins as she meets a divorce lawyer (Dempsey) and his daughter (Covey) who agree to help her on her quest to return to her true love.
Adams gives a fantastic performance as Giselle, creating the right balance of fish out of water and princess in waiting without being annoying, even with her extreme levels of happiness and unerring belief that Edward will come and save her. And the fact that she's as cute as a button doesn't hurt, either. Dempsey brings the charm and good looks that has won him legions of adoring fans on TV's Grey's Anatomy, but he shows here that he has comic timing aplenty and is certainly leading man material. The direction is sound as is the quick-witted script that crackles with one liners and cute Disney in-jokes which will keep the adults as well the kids amused. They even manage a sly little nod to Dreamworks' animated fairytale efforts with an ugly green troll. Sarandon makes a fine villainess, all evil stares and strops, as she has to finally come into the real world herself, wreaking havoc on all around her. But come the final act — which has an amazing song and dance involving all in Central Park and the realisation that Giselle’s true love might not be Edward, but venture slighty into cliche territory with the evil Queen turning into a dragon — the film comes to a satisfying conclusion that will warm the cockles of any cynic’s heart. A magical little gem that works extremely well and will — dare we say it — enchant audiences old and young.
EXTRAS *** Disney never skimp on the bonus material, and once again they deliver. There's a blooper reel (and we'd love to see the adult verson with the swearing in it), half dozen deleted scenes introduced by director Lima, three making-of featurettes (Happy Working Song, That's How You Know and A Blast As The Ball) collected under the title Fantasy Comes To Life, Pip's Predicament: a Pop-up Adventure (a short starring that pesky chipmunk) and an easter egg: a music video of Carrie Underwood (who?) performing Ever Ever After. What's missing is a commentary track; it would have been nice to hear the director and the cast chat about the making of the film. But we're being greedy — we just want more of the delightful Amy.
• Reviewed by Mark Cappuccio & Stuart O'Connor
