Enchanted (2007)

Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon
Director: Kevin Lima
Brought to you by Disney (of course)

Disney has a habit of trying to one up itself. Well aware that the traditional disney cartoon has been replaced by digital animation, Disney had to play with the question "why did the wonderful world of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc. no longer the please the crowd?". Enchanted seems to be the result, with the uncanny answer that people in today's western society could just no longer swallow that kind of lovey dovey, idealistic, happily ever after (dare I say) crap.

Exibit 'a': Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a 30 something divorce lawyer, divorced himself, who's ideal present for his eight year old daughter is not a collection of fairy stories, but a collection of mini-biographies of the world's greatest women because he doesn't want to give his daughter high hopes. Robert comes in contact with Giselle (Amy Adams), a beautiful girl in the largest, puffiest white princess dress known to New York, after she was hurled from her fairy tale land by the evil step mother and sorceress (Susan Sarandon) of her one true love Prince Edward (James Marsden). Giselle comes across as completely deranged, and Robert is at first very reluctant to help this damsel back to her fairy tale world of Andalasia. But, of course, slowly, the idealistic beauty, bent on being rescued by her one true love, is taken in and introduced to New York. The result is, she finds out that perhaps her ideal happily ever after hasn't been thought through properly, and Robert is reintroduced to the idea that perhaps dreams can come true.

It is a beautifully entertaining movie with a cleverly crafted script that debates the idea of how much reality and how much fiction is too much for the younger, and indeed the elder, generations. This is of course a constant concern in parenting circles, every parent wanting their child to have hope, but not to have unrealistic expectations of the world around them. Disney may have been a little too clever however. The musical scenes and very fairy tale aspects are sure to entertain the younger audience, but there are definitely large aspects of the movie that children may not be able to grasp, or will get bored with. While Shrek, for example, had both parents and children happy, I think the parents will end up enjoying this one more than the children. For me, the endless romantic, however, the movie was gorgeous. Amy Adams is fantastic and a comic delight, and though Patrick Dempsey's character doesn't have to stretch the acting skills too far from McDreamy, he is perfect in the part. James Marsden and Susan Sarandon are perfect for their parts, but are completely outshone by Amy Adams.

I recommend this movie for a time when you just need to know that sometimes there is a reason for fairy stories.