ENCHANTED

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Rated:

Most of the girls I know have grown up on Disney Princesses, from Snow White to Belle. When the idea for this film was originally pitched, it was a raunchy R-rated comedy about a fairy tale princess that stumbles into a modern world. Disney executives got a hold of it, realized its potential, and transformed it into a magical live-action story tale that pokes some gentle fun at myths but ultimately has a good (and charming) heart behind it.

In a world where woodland creatures are the dearest friends of beautiful maidens and princes are forever chasing down trolls so that they might win the heart of fair princesses, Giselle (Amy Adams) wants nothing more than to have True Love's First Kiss and live happily ever after. Rescued in the nick of time from falling to her death out of a tree by Prince Edward (James Marsen), she is all set to get married and become the new queen, usurping Edward's evil stepmother Narissa (Susan Sarandon) from the throne. Not about to stand by and allow this to happen, the old witch tricks Giselle into looking into a magic well, which transports her through time and space into modern day New York. Confused by all the flashing signs and bright lights, not to mention the cars, Giselle wanders into the company o a highly paid lawyer attempting to raise his six year old daughter on his own. 

When he offered to help out this "confused redhead," Robert (Patrick Dempsey) never expected that she would turn his life upside-down, but within hours she has mice cleaning for her and is cutting up his drapes to make princess gowns. Queen Narissa wants to make certain Giselle is never found, so she sends her crony Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) to see to it that she never leaves New York. Matters are only further complicated when Robert's girlfriend (Idina Menzel) takes offense at Giselle's presence in the house, and Edward leaps through the fountain to rescue his fair maiden.

To be honest, the previews for this film were so sickeningly cutesy that I never intended to see it. Fortunately, rave reviews from all of my friends convinced me otherwise, because Enchanted is enchanting from beginning to end. True, the opening sequence will make your eyes roll, because it is intentionally over the top and full of the same damsel in distress, heroic prince stuck on himself antics that were laced through most of the chauvinistic childhood stories. But from the moment Giselle stumbles into our world, everything becomes fantastic. It has some great humor in it, as well as the usual "comic relief" characters, but by the end you will be surprised at the outcome. Well, maybe not so much surprised as satisfied, because everything turns out well. It is a musical but the songs are cute and infrequent enough that you never feel overwhelmed by them. There are also cameos by the women who voiced Belle, Ariel, and Pocahontas. 

Children may be frightened by some of the dark thematic elements, but there is nothing worse than you would find in the old Disney version of Snow White. Multiple attempts are made to persuade Giselle to eat poisoned apples (candy apple, apple martini, and finally, the real thing). Her chipmunk friend undergoes a lot of cartoonish violence. Luckily, the scene in which we think he has been thrown into a furnace rapidly reveals that he has escaped, so children won't be too upset by it. Narissa transforms into a dragon, and speaks to her minions through reflective surfaces. There is no profanity, but there are two mild hints at homosexuality, played as a joke. (Nathaniel says he has come to New York in search of a prince, not realizing the connotations; in knocking on doors looking for his lost love, Edward encounters a muscular biker dude who gives him an approving look.)

On the up side, there are a lot of little messages woven throughout. Giselle manages to bring a couple in the process of a nasty divorce back together by encouraging them to focus on one another's better qualities. She is truly distressed by the idea of two people falling out of love. Robert encourages her not to be so hasty in her marriage, telling her that she should get to know a guy before she follows him to the alter. She also comforts his daughter in the reassurance that stepmothers are not all evil; in fact, most of them are very nice. Her innocent view of the world is refreshing, and that is what truly makes this film memorable. So grab your mom, your little sister, or your niece, and take her to see this. If she's anything like the rest of us, she'll be Enchanted.