I'd been jonesin' to see Enchanted the moment I first heard about it. The high concept--a romantic comedy involving a typical Disney princess thrown out of her animated world into modern-day New York--was so brilliant that I was surprised it hadn't already been done. And happily, they didn't screw it up.
Enchanted reminded me most of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, even though there's very little mixing of animation and live-action. However, Amy Adams' character Giselle is like Roger Rabbit in that she continues to operate by her own cartoon rules within a real-life setting, including the traditional Disney princess' ability to gather the local wildlife to help with the chores. Giselle's initially one-dimensional personality could've become very annoying, but Adams makes her endearing, with perhaps her best moment the giddy delight she expresses after becoming angry for the very first time.
Enchanted avoids other obvious missteps. With several scenes set in the Times Square theatre district, it's amazing that it avoided the banal corporate synergy opportunity of sending the characters to one of Disney's Broadway shows. I also appreciated that the losing members of the plot's romantic quadrangle weren't spiteful obstacles to be overcome, but likable characters who, despite their good qualities, simply weren't "the ones."
My only complaint is that there wasn't enough of Susan Sarandon, who steals the show's final act as the villainous Queen Narissa. I would've enjoyed seeing more of her adventures in the modern world. Still, I suppose it's another sign of restraint on the part of the filmmakers that they didn't pad out the flick with extraneous scenes of Sarandon's wickedness. (Indeed, the highest praise that could be given Enchanted is that not once did my wife declare "This film needs a good editor!" She felt that, unlike most movies these days, it ended precisely when it should've. I agree.)
Ratings Guide |
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| Zero | What the hell were they thinking? Even Ed Wood was more entertaining. |
| 1/2 |
Dear God in Heaven. Probable involvement of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. |
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Seriously shit. Based upon a Saturday Night Live skit. |
| 1/2 |
Mildly crap. Eddie Murphy made another family comedy. |
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It's not good. It's not bad. It's just there. |
| 1/2 |
Has its moments. A bonus half star for a particularly cool robot or perky breast. |
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Solid entertainment. Exploding robots and/or multiple bare breasts. |
| 1/2 |
As good as most movies can hope to achieve. May include full-frontal nudity. |
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Like Mary Poppins herself, practically perfect in every way. |
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