Enchanted

Movie, 2007, PG

Premise - An animated fairy-tale princess is thrown into the harsh world of reality by her evil, soon-to-be stepmother. Now in a three-dimensional, live action New York, where happily-ever-afters are only a fantasy, she must reunite with her prince Edward and find her way back to storybook bliss.

Review - After watching this I really want to go on a classic Disney binge. Enchanted is an amalgamation of all classic fairy tales. Even though it essentially parodies those stories, you still leave the film wanting nothing more than a happily ever-after. Giselle gets the best of both worlds, savoring what is most valuable both in reality and in fairy tales.

What we see wrong with the fairy tale world is how immensely shallow and (literally) two-dimensional everyone's understanding of the world is. Giselle can wait around in her little forest cottage, doing nothing, and one day her prince will sweep her off her feet and rescue her. Falling in love only takes one second, and then she lives happily ever after. In this world, there is no true anger or sadness. Evil exists, but it does not prevail. While incredibly convenient and romantic, she is doomed to an incredibly limited, surface-level form of love. On the other hand, the fairy-tale land of Andelasia is still attractive. There is no suffering, only happiness. On the flip side, what we see wrong with reality is self-explanatory. People don't live happily ever after, and divorce rates are approaching 50%. New York is grimy and dirty, and people rarely have the best of intentions. Of course, this is a PG film, so we don't get a true exploration of reality's harshness, but even PG-real-world is a sharp contrast from G-fantasy-world. Yet in the real world, what we gain is true, deep love, for who people are as different, nuanced human beings. We get the full range of emotions. We cannot take love for granted. Giselle is able to reconcile her two worlds. She teaches people in New York to be optimistic and believe in true love. However, she is able to experience a real, true love with a real live person, instead of her cartoon prince.

It's a classic film that will always be hilarious to me. I remember how amused I was when I saw the trailer for the first time as a kid. The film highlights everything ridiculous in the fairy-tale world that are impossible to replicate in reality. When Prince Edward bursts out into a musical number in the middle of the road and then gets run over by bikers, I die laughing every time. It got me as a kid, and still does now. I think what's funniest about fairy tales is the immense sense of entitlement and even more potent ignorance from the hero/heroine figures. I don't think the film really dives deeply into the gender roles of these characters, but both the hyperbolic male prince and female princess were equally ridiculous. They prance and dance around not caring about getting in anyone else's way, Prince Edward with his sword included.

The one thing that stands out to me as an adult is how weird it is that our male lead keeps Giselle around instead of, I don't know, calling the police?? She could have very easily been schizophrenic, or on some very heavy drugs, but he lets her sleep in his house because she looks beautiful and peaceful. Like someone that fair and dainty couldn't possibly be harmful to his daughter. I was able to reconcile this with the fact that if he was a caring man, then hospitalization or incarceration actually would be the least ideal option. A truly good person would find a way to help the needy without institutionalization, so good on him for helping Giselle stay at home with him. I just don't think he would have done the same if Giselle wasn't so attractive, so that's depressing. Nevertheless, this is supposed to be an uplifting children's film that shows that reality isn't so depressing after all. (94/100)

Quote - "I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss
And a prince I'm hoping comes with this
That's what brings ever-after so happy
And that's the reason we need lips so much
For lips are the only things that touch
So to spend a life of endless bliss
Just find who you love through true love's kiss"

What to watch for - Amy Adams in all her adorable princess beauty and the dresses that she makes out of curtains and rugs. Also all the musical numbers. That ballroom dance to "So Close" is still one of the best romantic movie scenes.

If you liked this movie, I recommend Ella Enchanted!

Directed by Kevin Lima
Distributed by Disney