Enchanted Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)December 8th, 2007
¡°Enchanted¡± ¨C Suprisingly So
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
Like a boxed Christmas gift from your grandparent
that starts off looking like a cardigan sweater
on the outside but is actually a Wii game console
inside the box, the lesson here is true. You
can¡¯t tell a book by its cover. And the Disney
story-telling machine churns out another nice
little fairy tale that everyone will like.
¡°Enchanted¡± treads very familiar grounds,
especially if you have seen (and adored) great
animated films like ¡°Beauty and the Beast¡± or
¡°The Little Mermaid.¡± In this fairy tale
world, we meet the beautiful Giselle (Amy Adams)
who cheerily sings (as all animated belles do)
about the Prince she has yet to meet and True
Love¡¯s Kiss. That Prince is named Edward (James
Marsden in the best supporting role of his
supporting role life) who is certainly dashing
but also carries with him an inflated sense of
vanity. Nonetheless, when they do finally meet,
it¡¯s love at first sight. However, their union
upsets the wicked queen/Edward¡¯s stepmom (Susan
Sarandon). Their marriage would bring an end to
her reign. So, she banishes her to a land so far
away that it leaves the world of animation
altogether. That, of course, would be Times
Square. It¡¯s groaningly weird for the first 15
minutes as the film transitions from classic
Disney-esque animation to live-action. And,
it¡¯s even weirder watching Giselle cluelessly
ask New Yorkers for directions back to the
castle. It¡¯s a fish-out-of-water story to the
extreme.
Yet, the film wins you over rather quickly for
several reasons. Amy Adams is completely
lovable. Her infectious effervescence warms over
the most cynical of cynics, including a divorce
lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who is a single Dad and
is in need of a little unbridled happiness. The
film is pure Disney, but has shifted its setting
to the harshness of Gotham. Whether it¡¯s
Giselle singing a happy-work-song while tidying
up the apartment or melodically expressing
herself as she prances in Central Park, it¡¯s all
absurd and yet delightful all at the same time.
Also funny were the sidekicks, which is a staple
of any Disney film. For Giselle, it¡¯s a
chipmunk named Pip that speaks English in
animation-land, but can only squeak in the live
world. His only chance of communicating is
through body language. The CGI-enhanced motions
that he displays are endlessly funny. The evil
Queen has in her employ a manservant named
Nathaniel (Timothy Spall). He is exactly how you
might imagine the manservant of an evil Disney
Queen.
So, the movie is about Giselle bringing laughter
into the life of a pessimist, the pessimist
teaching Giselle something about relationships,
Edward rushing forward to New York himself to
find Giselle, the Evil Queen trying to prevent a
happy ending, and the sidekicks providing a whole
lot of comic relief. I giggled and found the
whole experience charming. You¡¯d have to be a
curmudgeon not to feel some sense of happiness.
Sure, the joviality is unreal. But it¡¯s welcome
nonetheless. The film is unexpectedly good, and
will broadly appeal to people of all ages. Why
do I say that? Well, when the film was over, I
looked around the theatre to see the audience
reactions. And, there were 16 year-olds and 66
year-olds whom all had a big smile on their
faces. Disney really knows how to create a
little magic.
Grade: B
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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