KEY POINTS:
Herald Rating: * * * *
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, Amy Adams, James Marsden
Director: Kevin Lima
Running time: 107 mins
Rating: G
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts, Berkeley
Verdict: A successful combination of an old fashioned fairytale and modern day romantic comedy.
The first thing that struck me about this classic, old fashioned Disney family film, is it stars Oscar nominated actress Amy Adams, the quirky scene-stealer from the indie film Junebug. With such critical success behind her, taking on a tween flick seems like a strange choice, but Adams knows what she's doing, and her convincing performance is largely responsible for Enchanted being such a charming, sharp-witted romantic comedy.
As Giselle, Adams is a perfect fairytale princess with her sweet, high-pitched girlie voice and her innocent, yet expressive, face. While the temptation for most actresses in this Disney cliche-ridden role would be to infuse it with a little street cred, Adams is aware that to pull this character off she has to utterly convince us that she really is a singing, twirling, perky fairytale character come to life.
The film starts off in 2D animation with Disney gently mocking itself by cramming every traditional Disney animated fairytale characteristic into the first 10 minutes.
We meet Giselle, a gorgeous maiden living in her picturesque tree house, who regularly busts into song along with her friends, and a collection of cute and cuddly talking animals from the woods. Chased by an ogre, Giselle is rescued by a handsome charming Prince (James Marsden) who whisks her away to his castle where they are to marry and live happily ever after.
Before they can tie to the knot, the Prince's evil step mother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) puts a stop to the wedding by pushing Giselle down a well. It's a busy first 10 minutes.
As Giselle falls through the well she miraculously leaves the animation world behind, going through a transformation that sees her pop out of a manhole in Times Square, New York as a young woman dressed in a ridiculous meringue wedding gown. Treated by the locals like any other nutcase on the street of New York, Giselle is finally rescued by a cynical divorce lawyer, Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey), and his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey).
The film is a collection of fairytale references, and the gentle digs and in-jokes continue once Giselle is in the real world. Robert reluctantly agrees to help Giselle find her way home to Andalasia, but not before the two of them have managed to put a dent in each other's views on true love. Little does Giselle know that her charmingly stupid Prince Edward, her squirrel friend Pip, and one of the evil Queen's henchmen, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), have followed her down the well, and are causing their own chaos throughout New York.
Enchanted isn't perfect. It's let down by an unconvincing action ending which seems out of sorts with the comedic nature of the rest of the film, but overall Disney has managed to create a delightful film by subtly poking fun at the kind of films for which they are so well known. Enchanted has enough humour to appeal to both parents and their tween daughters, so if you are looking for some wholesome and fun family entertainment these holidays, it doesn't get much better than this.
