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Enchanted; Disney gives good princess
Topic Started: Dec 10 2007, 05:57 AM (147 Views)
Grampy
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I took 3 year old Laney to see Enchanted yesterday and we were both impressed.

This latest Disney flick starts out as the typical animated princess story. The fair young Giselle (Amy Adams) is in her woodland cottage making images of imaginary princes with her forest pals. When she breaks into spontaneous song about her imaginary lover's need for lips, she's heard by young Prince Edward (James Marsden) who naturally knows the words for her original song. Rescuing her from a troll, they vow to marry the very next day.
But Edward's mother, the evil Narissa (Susan Sarandon in a multiple role as Narissa, Narissa as a witch and Narissa as a dragon) refuses to give up the throne, so in her evil hag guise, she pushes Giselle into a magic well. Giselle's fall carries her to a manhole in the middle of Times Square.
She wanders New York until she sees a castle in a sign which she tries to enter. At this point, Giselle is found by Robert (Patrick Dempsey) & his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) who decide to give the lost maiden overnight shelter. Waking up in their home the next morning, Giselle decides to clean the apartment with the aid of her animal friends. THrowing open a window, she warbles a few notes and the critters respond. Except in New York, the only animals available are roaches, rats, pigeons & flies-all of whom cheerfully head for Robert's place to get their musical instructions from Giselle.
Meanwhile, Prince Edward has discovered the well with the help of Pip the chipmunk and headed out to find his love, soon followed by his boon companion and secret evil-doer Neville. As Neville fails to kill Giselle, the evil queen decides to put in a personal appearance in the real world.

I think I enjoyed this movie every bit as much as Laney. Disney subverts and plays with the conventions of a genre they practically invented. While Giselle and Edward live by the rules of the animated world, they have trouble understanding reality. Even in a New York park, Giselle can still start a song and have everyone in the vicinity immediately know the words and music so they can sing, play & dance along. But she doesn't understand how Robert's wife could have left him or how he could be dating his fiancee for 5 years without marrying---Giselle has no conception of what dating is. Pip still has his brains but, as a realworld chipmunk, finds he can't speak a word. And in the climax, poison apples, the stroke of midnight, a lovely girl's lost slipper & a true love's kiss all come into play.

All in all, an enjoyable movie. There's enough in here to entertain kids on one level and adults on another.

From what I saw at the Disney Store this weekend, Giselle has already joined the pantheon of princesses, although she'll probably fill the lower ranks with Ariel & Belle rather than join Cinderella, Snow White & Sleeping Beauty in the elite category.

And I became an Amy Adams fan after just one movie-YUM!

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marlin lee
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I agree entirely.
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Grampy
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The Wikipedia entry for Enchanted has a long list of Disney references in the film. I gotta go back just to verify the giant troll wears a loin cloth made up of the dresses of previous princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, etc.

Amy Adams got a Golden Globe nomination for her part and the big production number "That's How You Know" got a nod in the song category. Laney sat straight up and smiled through the whole production number sequence. She loves her musicals.
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