Enchanted

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Enchanted I am not going to lie. I am a huge Disney fan. In fact, having me write a review of Disney's new movie, Enchanted, is so biased that it's like having Bush write a State of the Union address on the Iraq war. Well, except I use nouns, verbs and adjectives in my writing. That being said, you now know where I am coming from when I say that this is the best live action Disney movie since Mary Poppins. That sound you hear is thousands of Old Yeller fans yelling at their monitors. The dog died, you cried (making you question your own manhood) so you had to convince yourself that it was the most amazing movie ever. Watch it again. It's not. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella…none of these classic Disney titles are too sacred to poke a little fun at in this modern-day romance that mixes animation with live-action. Enchanted begins in animated form and tells the story of Giselle (the adorable Amy Adams) who, for no apparent reason, lives in a forest with wooded animals waiting for "True Love's Kiss" from her prince charming. As fate, an every animated Disney movie ever made, would have it, she doesn't have to wait long until Prince Edward (James Marsden) takes a break from hunting trolls long enough to hunt down Giselle once he hears her singing in the forest to her furry, rodent friends. The two sing a duet and are immediately in love and destined to be married…the very next day. I have no idea how many times Amy Adams had to listen to The Little Mermaid soundtrack to get her voice so perfect, but it is spot on. For those of you that haven't seen Junebug or Cruel Intentions 2 I suggest you rent one of those to see what an amazing talent she is. I'll let you choose which one to rent, but as a rule the number 2 is usually after a title for a reason. Fearing that Giselle only wants to marry Prince Edward to take over the throne, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) throws her into a well that casts her out of her perfect animated world into a horrible, cold and evil world where people actually have to date before falling in love and marrying…a place called Manhattan. It is here in modern-day New York that Giselle meets the most McDreamy divorce lawyer ever, Robert (played by the recently reliable Patrick Dempsey) when she is climbing a casino billboard in the rain because it has a picture of a castle on it and she is desperate to go home. Robert is a discouraging realist (when it comes to happily ever afters) that is raising a little girl on his own and is about to become engaged to his girlfriend. Now the formula of a bitter, divorce lawyer who is about to become engaged is as trite as the "I have one day until retirement" cop we've all seen a hundred times before, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Being a prince, Edward throws himself into the same well in order to rescue Giselle and bring her back home. He runs all over New York to find his princess, but this is the real world so he never really stands a chance going up against McDreamy. I don't want to give any more of this charming movie away so I'll just say that it will hands down win an Oscar…for original songs. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz have done it again and, if you see this movie, I dare you to try not humming either "That's How you Know" or "True Love's Kiss" after leaving the theater. Enchanted is a rare movie experience and one that I can't wait to experience again.