Enchanted (2007) starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, Susan Sarandon, Julie Andrews directed by Kevin Lima Movie Review

Enchanted (2007)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Amy Adams in Enchanted (2007)

You Will be Enchanted

"Enchanted" starts in terrific Walt Disney style with an animated opening where we meet the beautiful, kind and loveable Giselle who is loved by all her animal friends who sing along with her. But when Giselle meets the handsome Prince Edward it riles Queen Narissa who banishes Giselle to a far away kingdom, modern day Manhattan which to Giselle's shock is not like the happy kingdom she has come from. Also heading to Manhattan is Prince Edward and his man in waiting Nathaniel but whilst in Manhattan Giselle meets the handsome Robert Philip who is a single father bringing up a daughter who instantly takes a shine to Giselle.

What I didn't mention in that synopsis is that when the evil Queen Narissa banishes Giselle to Manhattan "Enchanted" turns from an animation into a real life movie with Amy Adams as the loveable Giselle stuck in Manhattan. And that leads me to the USP as whilst fairytale romances is not something new this is really a fairytale romance as we have the humour and style of an animation used in the real world. And the good news is that it works because it makes "Enchanted" a lot of fun. To try and explain how this works is not that simple but lets just say after Giselle finds herself in the real world and being caught up in the bustle of a busy street she goes to speak to a homeless old man and asks for just a friendly hello in a typical sweet animated tone only to have her tiara stolen.

Patrick Dempsey in Enchanted (2007)

The good news is that this use of animated humour in the real world is so strong that it makes what is not that original of a story entertaining. I say not original because I can think of several movies which feature a mythical character, i.e. Santa's daughter, sent to a city where she falls for the handsome single father with an adorable daughter. And as such there is a predictable side to "Enchanted" including the handsome Robert already having a girlfriend who takes a dislike to the sweet Giselle. But as I said the humour of a naive and very sweet Giselle makes this work as does the added element of Prince Edward heading in to the real world to rescue her.

Now going along with the predictable side of things we have Patrick Dempsey playing the handsome single father and whilst Dempsey is good in the role I can't but help think wouldn't it have been fun to think out of the box a bit. At the same time James Marsden is solid and just as well cast as the handsome Prince Edward with Timothy Spall a good comedy sidekick as Nathaniel. But "Enchanted" belongs to Amy Adams who in her Disney Cartoon naivety is simply adorable, wide eyed, kind, loving and basically practically perfect in every way. Plus Amy Adams with the aid of some decent CGI pulls off the musical scenes such as one where she calls the animals of the city to help her clean Robert's apartment or the impromptu musical number in the park.

What this all boils down to is that "Enchanted" is a pleasant surprise bringing a Walt Disney fairytale to life in spectacular fashion. This is definitely not just a fun movie for children as it is wicked fun for grown ups as well.


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