Enchanted is like a grand, live-wire musical symphony of all the Disney fairy tales we all grew up loving. We know all the ingredients: the beautiful singing princess in the tall tower, the prince in shining armor, the evil stepmother or queen who were probably one and the same to begin with anyway, the comically adorable animal sidekick, and perhaps a little kissing to seal true love. And with its ingenious premise, Disney has found the most ideal place to create its own genre-bending musical comedy — New York City.
The movie opens with a brief bit of animation to introduce our heroine, Giselle (Amy Adams) in a musical interlude that walks the tightrope between being the most earnest musical number Disney never made and a hilarious parody exposing the old classics for all the frothy sugar that cynics throw stones at. From her tall castle in the land of Andalasia, she not only beckons one animal helper with her singing voice but calls an entire kingdom full of chipmunks, parrots, doves, owls, etc. And she meets her handsome Prince Edward (James Marsden) because, fate of all fates, they literally start singing the same song as a duet and instantly know they are meant to be.
Of course, there is Edward’s evil stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) who fears that she will lose her crown. So right before the wedding day, she pushes Giselle into the real world where she ends up in, of all places, Times Square. This is where writer Bill Kelly and director Kevin Lima correctly reject the route of placing animated characters in the real world and instead rely on the absolutely enchanting (yes, enchanting, with not a hint of pun intended) performance by Amy Adams.
She no doubt has to be because her character possesses the infectious energy of all her animated Disney precursors in a bottle. It is all hers to make an initial cynic like a divorce lawyer she meets, Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey), and all of us captivated by her utter naivete and sincerity so far as to wipe out thoughts of bringing her back to our own sense of grim cynicism. Indeed, enchanting is the best word to describe her performance, although I would also add delightful, radiant, magical, and, yes, brilliant. And these are all adjectives that everyone beyond the fortunate few who already saw her in previous works like Junebug can finally ascribe her to now.
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