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Any kid growing up watches Disney's classic movies. Snow White, Cinderella, 101 Dalmations, The Rescuers... classics one and all, and they're practically required by law at this point. They are so firmly ingrained into Americana that it's hard to imagine anyone being able to poke fun at them without coming across as mean-spirited. Enchanted, however, pulls that off in a very cheery, very clever way. The first 10 minutes of the movie are animated, in a refreshingly cel-shaded manner that effectively evokes the feel of the classic movies, and almost seems designed to reference as many of them as possible. Princess Giselle of Andalasia, after a song, is set to marry Prince Edward. Prince Edward's mother, however, takes umbrage to this, and decides to send Giselle to a place where dreams don't come true... New York. The rest of the movie, with minor exceptions, is told in live-action, but the only difference is the visuals. The story, for better or worse, plays out as a very standard fairy tale. However, while the overall ACTION of the story has been done before, New York provides its very own backdrop, allowing the movie to poke fun at convention by watching what happens when you stick it somewhere it doesn't belong. The most obvious example, and the overall funniest part of the movie , is when Giselle wakes up and decides that Robert (played by Patrick Dempsey, who is deliberately flat, playing the straightman pretty well)'s apartment is too cluttered. She decides to lean out the upper story window, do a little yodel, and summon animals to clean up, to the tune of "Happy Working Song". Expecting random bunny rabbits to show up? No, this is New York, we get rats, pigeons, and cockroaches cleaning up the apartment in a sequence that at once references, tributes, and gamely laughs at similar sequences in other movies. It's a very inspired sequence. The other that deserves mention is "That's How You Know", a song that starts out as a cliche Disney piece, but is adapted to the multiculturality of New York and turns into a magical musical sequence that could've been ripped out of any of Disney's classic live-action movies. You've probably heard already, but Amy Adams steals this movie. Amy Adams IS this movie. Her portrayal of an unbelievably peppy and charming Giselle is what allows the movie to shine the way it does. Her complete and utter conviction that fairy tales can come true even in the farthest place from one is what lets the movie contrast between her version of what should happen, and what does. While her transformation is abrupt and rather consumerist, she does prove that she can be a 3-dimensional character near the end of the movie. Between her musical talent and great acting, I think it's perfectly reasonable to compare her turn in this movie to Julie Andrews' in Mary Poppins. The other actors (Prince Edward, the evil Queen's assitant, and the Queen herself) are all rather standard characters, but all three (especially James Marsden as Edward, who has brilliant physical comedic timing) ham it up exactly as much as they should, making them all charming to watch, if a bit one-dimensional. Susan Sarandon clearly had a BLAST playing the evil Queen, she gets to say all the really ridiculous stuff. Also of note is the CGI squirrel who, for ONCE in a live-action movie, isn't placed in every single scene in an effort to inject humor into everything. The squirrel is funny when he's around, and isn't around so much that you start to hate him, which shows some great restraint by the filmmakers. Before I sound like I'm about to say this is the best movie ever, it isn't. The plot is predictable. While that plays into the whole "Make fun of ourselves" mantra of the movie, the fact is that 20 minutes before the movie ends, you should be able to tell what's going to happen. Which leads me to my biggest complaint, that the final sequence (a not-so-well-done King Kong-style chase scene) is completely unnecessary. I'm unsure what made them put that in there, short of "Oh crap, boys have nothing to be interested in. Transformers was a hit, let's do that!" It really kind of sticks out, even when you consider even IT is a Disney reference. Patrick Dempsey probably could've been a little less dour at parts, and his daughter and girlfriend (whom I've not mentioned to this point) serve completely secondary roles and serve as a surrogate for 10-year-olds and their mothers, respectively. The movie is at its best whenever Giselle is onscreen, and shines when it's not trying to be way too serious. Overall, I'd give Enchanted a 4/5. It's not perfect, it's not artful cinema in any respect, but it's good old-fashioned fun that can appeal to everyone without pandering to anyone (well, maybe boys, but since when do boys watch princess movies anyway?). Anyone who, like me, grew up watching Disney movies non-stop should get at least some enjoyment out of this.
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Mar 22, 2008 03:15
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 11:06 |
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Mo0 posted:Anyone who, like me, grew up watching Disney movies non-stop should get at least some enjoyment out of this. Still a good watch, though, and I'll give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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Mar 25, 2008 06:03
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