Disney film gets 'Enchanted'- by Grace

Image comparing a scene from Enchanted to a scene from Snow White, taken from http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3832976896/tt0461770.

Over many, many years, Disney has charmed the world with many films that have, by now, become classics- like Cinderella (the girl who left her shoe behind), Sleeping Beauty (the girl who just refused to wake up until her Prince Charming arrived) and Snow White (ditto Sleeping Beauty, except replace the enchantment with a rotten apple).

Some time ago, Disney released yet another film set to charm us: however, unlike its predecessors, ‘Enchanted’ is a modern spin-off of classics, containing bits from various tales, such as the ones listed above. The film also cleverly finds a way to turn its slightly clichéd 2D animated characters –you name them, you have them; the evil power-hungry queen, the charming handsome prince and the princess in distress- into 3D, real-life people.

The evil power-hungry queen comes in the form of Susan Sarandon, whose greediness has caused her to hide her son Edward (James Marsden) away from all women whom he might fall in love with (which, following their marriage, would cause her to lose her throne). To the voice of narrator Julie Andres, the tale opens up with Edward on a troll-hunting trip.

He comes across Giselle (Amy Adams), a pretty young woman who sings of her desire for a ‘true love’s kiss’. Despite knowing each other for only a day, (as is typical Disney fashion) they decide to get hitched the very next day. However, on the day of their marriage, the queen tricks Giselle into visiting a so-called magic well which would make all her dreams come true. Once Giselle’s eyes are closed, she is pushed violently from behind- and thrust into the crazy, un-fairy-tale-like world that is New York City.

She makes friends with a pessimistic, lawyer named Robert (Patrick Dempsey) whose wife died, and his cute, innocent daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey). The tale goes rather obviously from there- Edward appears in pursuit of his damsel in distress, with the aid of a chipmunk named Pip (who is unsuccessfully silenced by the queen’s follower Nathaniel), finds Giselle eventually- and discovers that she’s actually reluctant to leave NYC.

They have a ball, where the queen appears –furious that Edward has found Giselle, unknowing that Giselle’s trip to NYC has turned their destiny upside down- and poisons Giselle with –yes you guessed it- a poisoned apple. I shan’t disclose the ending, but I can tell you it involves the tip of a very tall tower, a dragon, a princess wielding a sword, and some wet people.

The only problem with this film is that it’s rather predictable, a la Disney happy endings. However, it’s also a very cheery and cute film with catchy songs, so if you like modern romantic comedies, you might want to catch ‘Enchanted’.