'Enchanted': new Disney classic

By Dan Moore

Published Nov. 27, 2007

Just be glad DreamWorks wasn't involved. "Enchanted"'s central conceit, a cartoon princess lost in the modern world, is begging for the sneering "Shrek" treatment. Thankfully, this is a Disney movie; not only does it value escapism, it knows that a "Matrix" reference will ruin the spell. And rather than wink and say, "Hey, I bet your kid didn't get that sexual innuendo," "Enchanted" earns its all-ages appeal the old-fashioned way by saying, "Remember when you enjoyed this? You're still allowed to enjoy it now." For all its metafiction and self-awareness, "Enchanted" is a Disney movie — not just any, but the best Disney movie since, well, since that became an anachronism.

The premise, in fact, plays off the Disney movie's anachronistic nature. Amy Adams stars as Giselle, a Disney princess, but not the kind that is based on some shadowy historical figure and calculated to provide the maximum go-girlness when the doll comes out. In the animated world, she has just met (and is engaged to) a handsome prince. Of course, when the evil queen finds out, Giselle is banished to a place where "there is no happily-ever-after": New York. There, she's rescued by Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a single father who's planned his real-world engagement for years.

Expect no biting satire here — the scenery changes but the movie remains a prototypical Disney romantic comedy, and "Enchanted"'s New York is only a half step removed from its fantasy world. At one point Giselle begins singing a song (because that is what Disney princesses do) and rather than get cut off for laughs, it quickly becomes apparent — to Robert's confusion — that everyone else in Central Park suddenly knows how to sing and dance a spectacular Busby Berkeleyan musical number to it. As Giselle and Robert fall for each other — and could there be any other way for this movie to play out? — the same tenor remains: not sarcasm, but rather a sort of bemused earnestness, the kind of screwball mentality seen mainly in black-and-white comedies.

This is a movie that could not have succeeded with a single false note in it, which makes its success all the more amazing. Most of the praise is reserved for Adams, who plays her role not just as an innocent but also as someone who believes fully in the strange rules of her own world and has to constantly test their applicability in someplace where her physics do not apply. And she doesn't just act — she sings so well that I was convinced she'd been dubbed.

But we can't appreciate the star without appreciating the star maker. Disney has brought its full charm to bear on this movie, and production value positively bleeds out of it. Disney has done the impossible here, taking a dangerously "Shrek"-like premise and an outmoded film style and turning it into something that feels both classic and brand new. If you're like me, the only trouble with this movie will be the look on the clerk's face when you say, "One adult for 'Enchanted.'"