Movie Review – ‘Enchanted’

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

I’d like to share some thoughts on a movie I’ve seen recently on Disney+. This is ‘Enchanted’, a 2007 film which I saw on the big screen when it came out in November/December of that year. My parents saw the film for the first time on Disney+ and they greatly enjoyed it. I’m very glad they did.

‘Enchanted’ is a combination of live action and animation and it’s a musical fantasy romantic comedy. The film focuses on an archetypal Disney princess who is forced from her traditional animated world into the live-action world of New York City. This is a concept I found very enjoyable.

Having reviewed Disney classics like ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, ‘Cinderella’ (both films), ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Bambi’, I enjoyed how the film parodied the Disney princess that’s been done often in films and makes light of how simplistic the Disney princesses’ love stories can be.

This is especially when the main Disney princess character falls in love with the Disney prince before ending up in New York and realising that there’s more to love than falling in love on first sight. The film also makes light of how the prince and princess are quickly engaged upon their first meeting. 😀

The film’s cast is very good throughout the film. There’s Amy Adams as Giselle, the Disney princess character. This was before Amy Adams appeared in ‘The Muppets’ 2011 film and before she played Lois Lane in the DC films ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Batman v Superman’ (both) and ‘Justice League’ (both). 😀

There’s also Patrick Dempsey (who would later appear in ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’) as Robert Phillip, a cynical Manhattan divorce attorney who ends up falling in love with Giselle. There’s also James Marsden (Cyclops from the ‘X-Men’ films) as Prince Edward, the Disney prince in the film.

It was amusing to see the Big Ms of McDonalds in New York City as well as Friday’s. Those product placements must be great indicators of how much money was spent in making this film. And yes, James Marsden! We know you were in ‘Superman Returns’ with that poster behind you in the film. 😀

There’s also Timothy Spall as Nathaniel, a servant of the evil Queen Narissa. I’ve seen Timothy Spall in 1998’s ‘Our Mutual Friend’ with Paul McGann and Keeley Hawes. And there’s Susan Sarandon as Queen Narissa, the film’s villain, who’s like the Queen from ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. 😐

In the film, there’s a chipmunk called Pip, who’s voiced by Jeff Bennett in the animated world and voiced by the film’s director Kevin Lima in the real world. Incidentally, I like the transition between the animated world and the live-action world when Giselle journeys from one world into the next. 🙂

There’s also Rachel Govey as Morgan Philip, Robert’s daughter; and Idina Menzel as Nancy Tremaine, Robert’s girlfriend in the film. And wait a minute! Julie Andrews was the narrator of this film?! And Jodi Benson who voiced Ariel in ‘The Little Mermaid’ films (including ‘Return to the Sea’) was Robert’s secretary in this?!

I should have realised! The film’s music is provided by songwriter/composer Alan Menken and composer Stephen Schwartz. I’ve come across Alan Menken before since he did ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (both films) and he and Stephen Schwartz worked together before on films like ‘Pocahontas’.

The songs featured in the film include ‘True Love’s Kiss’ sung by Amy Adams and James Marsden, as well as ‘Happy Working Song’ and ‘That’s How You Know’ sung by Amy Adams. There’s also ‘So Close’ sung by Jon McLaughlin as a ballroom singer and ‘Ever Ever After’ sung by Carrie Underwood.

‘Ever Ever After’ is sung during the film’s end credits. There’s also ‘That’s Amore’ sung by James Marsden. The film ‘Enchanted’ has been a delight to watch recently on Disney+. The performances of the cast are very well done and the transition from animation to live-action is very well-handled. 🙂

The film’s music is also pretty good too. Apparently there is a sequel on its way to Disney+ called ‘Disenchanted’. It will feature Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel back in their roles. I’m really looking forward to seeing that when it comes out on Disney+ in late 2022. 😀

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim. 🙂

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