Today’s post features a fractal called Renaissance Magic 11. The number isn’t important (other than to let you know this image comes from a larger series.) I picked the image because it seemed apropos for a review of the movie Enchanted. (The word “Magic” in the title was a good start and the swirly design and pink-peach-and-gold color palette worked well I thought.) ANYway--on with the review!-
QUESTION: what do you get when a fairy tale princess is exiled from her animated kingdom into real world New York City? ANSWER: the latest Disney Studios release Enchanted--and a pretty darn good movie it is too!
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The basic story but it goes something like this: sweet maiden Giselle lives in a cute little house in a forest where surrounded by her animal friends: she meets and “instantly” falls in love with handsome Prince Edward. Edward’s wicked stepmother Queen Nerissa is determined to keep her crown (since it seems Edward can’t take the throne until he takes a wife) so she exiles Giselle to “real world” Manhattan ("where there ARE no happy endings!") Lost and alone, Giselle finally meets Robert--a sad sack lawyer and single father who ha given up on romance. Edward follows Giselle to Manhattan find his “true love” and is pursued by Nathaniel who repeatedly tries to poison Giselle or at least keep the two lovers apart. In the end the wicked Queen gets her comeuppance and everyone else (even the chipmunk!) gets their “happily ever after.”
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Amy Addams (the best reason to see this movie) plays Giselle sweetly without the slightest trace of irony or smarminess and makes you believe in her magic. James Marseden (fresh from his supporting role in Hairspray) continues his seemingly inexorable slide toward complete and utter “pussy”-dom as Prince Edward--who’s as dumb as he is good looking. Susan Sarandon chews the scenery with great abandon as Edward’s wicked stepmother Queen Nerissa: she’s the perfect embodiment of a Disney villainess. British character actor Timothy Spall plays Nathaniel in full “villainous buffoon” mode. Patrick Dempsey departs from his “Dr. McDreamy” personae to play Robert--and has all the charm of a wet blanket. Rachel Covey is cute-as-a-button as Robert’s daughter Morgan and Idina Menzel (who made such a huge splash as the original “Elphaba“ in Wicked on Broadway) plays Nancy, Robert’s long-suffering girlfriend who has a secret bit of romance in her soul.
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True, you can almost here the clockworks turning as the plot cranks along without a single surprise twist anywhere and a cynical viewer might wonder why none of the characters wonder too much about Giselle’s character. (It’s a fairy tale so the viewer is going to need a healthy dose of “willingness suspension of disbelief” to enjoy the movie.) The animated scenes are lushly and elegantly drawn. The few songs by Alan Mencken (who scored so many of the recent “Disney“ cartoons) and Stephen Schwartz (best known for Wicked) are appropriate and clever if none-too-memorable. The live-action scenes are prettily shot and the direction never gets in the way of the actors or the story. This is a fun movie with broad inter-generational appeal suitable for the whole family. (Only a die-hard “Macho Man” or a very young child would NOT enjoy this movie!) I don’t know whether Enchanted will become an enduring “classic” but it is the best family movie out right now.
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FINAL GRADE: A-
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