Enchanted Reviews

I loved Enchanted, by all means it isn't perfect, but it is a sweet, fun and charming film, that to me was a huge surprise. The animated sequences were lovely, with bright colourful backgrounds, and the live action ones are beautifully shot. The music, by surprise surprise Alan Menken was surprisingly good, taking inspiration from Disney classics like Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I particularly loved the production number in the park. The script is fresh and funny, and the actors look as though they are having fun, making the film refreshingly irreverent, if perhaps a little silly. I also thought the performances were excellent, Amy Adams was beautiful and perfectly charming as Princess Giselle,(sounds like something out of a ballet), and James Marsden was actually tolerable here as Edward. Sure, he mayn't be the most likable of all the princes ever, but he was funny at times. Patrick Dempsey was also good as Robert, who Giselle meets in New York, and in some way he falls in love with her. Timothy Spall has his moments as Nathanial, and while I personally wouldn't associate Susan Sarandon with villainous roles, she was great as the villainous Narissa, who banishes Giselle to New York. Though, my favourite character has to be Pip the chipmunk, he was not only sweet but absolutely hilarious. The scene when he tries to tell Edward of Nathanial(and impersonating him), culminating in him swaying about singing the love theme, had my whole family in hysterics. I loved Enchanted with its quirky performances, fast pace and engaging dialogue, though I will say the film in't without a flaw. (yes almost every single film I've seen has at least one)The film's only flaw is that the CGI Dragon finale was slightly overblown. Other than that, a simply delightful film, that kids and adults will enjoy. 9/10 Bethany Cox.

In a fairly surprising move, Disney has come forward and shown it has an actual sense of humor about its patented brand of cheesy, clichéd, and relentless peppiness. Previously, self-reference has been limited to cross marketing between one Disney film and the next; but in Enchanted the message seems to be: Yeah, we know we've got our share of hokey archetypes, but it works for us. It's a refreshing attitude.

Giselle lives in the conflation of every single Disney trope ever, in an animated, magical fairy-tale kingdom full of songs of her one true love. The evil queen (who is also a wicked stepmother) can't have some upstart marry the prince and move in on her territory, so she banishes Giselle from animation to reality: New York, to be precise.

Now, Giselle is Amy Adams, and her hoop skirt wedding gown and sunshine disposition are purely preposterous in the real world. Giselle is pretty useless, but she still gets her prince: a dour divorce attorney named Robert who's obsessed with the practical (and who is played by Patrick Dempsey, not really stretching past his persona to play a modern-day Prince Charming). Robert is hapless when it comes to dealing with Giselle's wide-eyed naiveté, which generally plays like dementia in this context; even more befuddled are the other fairy tale creatures who follow Giselle through the rabbit hole. There's Prince Edward (James Marsden), come to save his princess; Nathanial (Timothy Spall), the queen's henchman; and a furry chipmunk sidekick.

As concepts go, Enchanted is pretty high up there, with its fairy-tale-princess-meets-modern-world, but in the end it's all Disney adventure, for better or worse. It may mock the overused story, but at the same time, Enchanted is no more realistic, or less moralistic, than the average fairy tale. But we also get the fun side of a Disney flick, with the sharp musical numbers (written by the tried and true duo of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz) that have the added hoot of being performed live in Central Park, or by New York's own mythical woodland creatures, namely rats and roaches. The animation side is also expectedly well done, and all of the drawn characters are dead ringers for the actors who portray them. It's a clever little idea that is lots of fun, even if the execution doesn't always live up to it.

Enchanted drags a bit when it begins to suffer from an identity crisis -- is it a live-action fairy tale for the kids who love Disney, or is it a gentle satire for the parents who are a little sick of the toons? It's somewhere in between, and unfortunately the cheesiness we accept in cartoons does not always play with real people, even if it comes with a cheeky attitude. The joke may start out cute, how ill-suited fairy princesses are for real life, but the gag feels a bit too real as Giselle's simpering simply does not end.

Fortunately, there's a lot to make Enchanted generally more fun than it is awkward. Dempsey mostly just has to look stern and pretty, but everyone else is clearly having fun. Adams does well with doe eyes and unflagging cheer; as the evil witch come to life, Susan Sarandon is gleefully evil, even if her costume looks part Party America clearance rack, part stripper wear. But surprisingly, it's Marsden who steals the show. His Prince Edward is simply preposterous, but he never breaks from or lessens the arrogant buffoonery, and his facial expressions and line delivery are stellar.

While it won't make many lists for movie of the year, Enchanted has two very important things going for it: It's got a great, clever concept, and it's family fun, released the day before Thanksgiving. Those two things combined pretty much assure it to be a hit, even if kids find real life dull compared to the fairy tale, and parents were hoping for a bit more satire.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I kept hearing good things about it, I thought I should check it out. It has been years since Disney had mixed animation with live action and, I must say, the end-result was pretty good. Indeed, the whole thing works on many level. It is an entertaining fairytale, it is an interesting homage to the genre and it is also a funny parody. Even though I'm not a big fan of Amy Adams (in my opinion, she always plays hysterical and obnoxious chicks) but she was very well cast and delivered a pretty good performance. The rest cast was just as good (Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Susan Sarandon, Julie Andrews), especially Susan Sarandon who remains one of the best actresses around and was just great playing the evil queen. However, it is obviously a rather standard and predictable story but since it is a fairytale, it was rather expected. To conclude, it is a well made and entertaining fairy tale, it really belongs to the Disney culture, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you have young kids who will definitely love it.

I was actually really surprised by how amazing this film turned out to be. Yes, it is a film for kids but that doesn't stop me from loving it. It is a really smart story based on characters from Disneys past. Some people say it makes fun or spoofs them in which it does do but that flows with the story in a very unique way. There will be some people who won't appreciate Enchanted for being a bright hearted kids film and like Disney making fun of Disney so to speak. Enchanted is enchanted. It is also magnificently filmed, incredible, beautiful, charming and really funny. I have to call Enchanted one of the smartest films I have ever seen. Enchanted is one of those films that has become such a blockbuster and has become very popular for families. Others like Harry Potter, Twilight, High School Musical, Shrek, Pirates Of The Caribbean and PIXAR films. Enchanted is a story that begins animated like watching a Disney Classic but has a bit of a twist but one that you were expecting where it goes live-action is Manhattan, New York. Enchanted is a film that you can use your imagination for. It is a film that is mixed between fairy tales and reality. That is where there is humour for little kids regarding animals but there is quite a few adult mature jokes involved too but obviously not that crude.


Amy Adams was absolutely fabulous as Giselle. I figured that Adams is the only actress in Hollywood who would have been able to portray Giselle absolutely perfectly in which she did. Just by watching her as Giselle really made Adams look a lot younger for her age. She looks in her early 20s in the film but she is in her mid 30s in real life which gave me great shock when I saw. Amy Adams thankfully doesn't ruin any of the Disney Princesses personalities especially Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella because her personality and the whole film in general was a mixture between three of those Disney Classics. Amy Adams brings together one of the most delightful, beautiful and most enjoyable characters that I have ever seen on-screen before. So far, Enchanted is Amy Adams best film and probably her most famous one too. Patrick Dempsey surprised me as well. He turned out to be a great surprice with another great performance. No, he isn't one of the best film heroes ever but he was heroic in a more emotional way. Watching Dempsey portray Robert was a charming performance because he truly did look like Giselle's knight in shining armour. James Marsden was really funny as Prince Edward because he really was a nice guy but was a bit of a self-absorbed sort of person but he was a bit of an idiot as well. Timothy Spall is always good at portraying those slimy, scheming and sinister sorts of characters and also, he is good at playing a complete idiot which is basically why he was a perfect choice for Nathaniel. Susan Sarandon was probably the biggest hit star in it because she's obviously an Oscar winning actress. In Enchanted, her performance was good but she wasn't really in it that much. It was her voice more than her actual body being involved. She was a good villain but there have been some villains in Disney Classics that have been really scary and have freaked me out in the past when I was a kid such as Maleficent. I think her character is based on Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and also the Queen in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in Enchanted but Sarandon didn't quite bring that fearful side to Queen Narissa. But the make-up and the costumes looked really great on her.


The director proved me and probably a lot of people wrong about Enchanted. Not only did Kevin Lima make it magical and imaginitive for kids but he also did for teenagers and adults as well. I hope there won't be a sequel or remake of this film because this film is amazing enough on its own without another film ruining it. The script is very original. I think it is mixed between Disney Classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in Cinderella. Thankfully, the mixed script just made the story make sense and made it seem really clever to watch. Also because it's a musical and a really new Disney film I was predicting it to be a really bad film and I was dead wrong.


Enchanted is without a doubt one of the smartest films ever in my opinion. It is one of the best films of 2007 and that is definitely the best year in cinema of the decade. It is Amy Adams' best performance and probably always will be in my opinion. She was awesome in Doubt as well but was a totally different character. To me, Amy Adams in Enchanted in 2007 was like Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky in 2008. Enchanted is one of the rare recent musicals that turned out really good. Others include Sweeney Todd, Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge! and Chicago. Enchanted is a film that I could definitely watch again and again because of its pure beauty and its amazing mixture between fairy tales and reality.

''I seek a beautiful girl. My life partner, my one coquette, the answer to my love's duet.''

A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day New York City in a story about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer. Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

Amy Adams: Giselle

I was following Enchanted for a while appreciating the very original concept and design at it's heart. Disney succeeds and then some.
Enchanted was a refreshing taste of comedy and the happily ever after formula. It did not follow the usual sappy result fortunately.
However, I won't reveal what happened because you need to find out.
Personally very much enjoyed this turn of events, to the typical plot contrivances for this genre. The comedy seemed like it could appeal to all age ranges.

The makers packed in many jokes perfectly into the plot. Not once did the comedy seem crass or even bizarre, almost every joke was funny. Very many parts of the old fairy tales were used in some parts of the plot, such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. However they were used in such a stylistic manner that it all seemed to seamlessly blend together with the rest of the story. The villains were very despicable, and the good guys were very lovable. Overall the plot was very solid and very well written. It carried all the magic and the entertainment factor of all the classics before it.

''Remember, when you go out not to put too much makeup otherwise the boys will get the wrong idea and you know how they are...''

The sound mix was surprisingly good considering the film's Genre. Once again, another engrossing quality of the film. Skywalker Sound really does a good job with every film the do the sound mixing for. There were many ambient effects from all around the theater perfectly placed, which added a sense of depth to what was on screen.

The Visual effects were very well done. There was one sequence that involved a massive dragon roosting at the tip of what I think was the Chrysler Building. The dragon seemed very believable, and the digital rain and lightning in the scene reflected very well off of the dragon's scales. I have no nitpicks here.

''Everybody has problems. Everybody has bad times. Do we sacrifice all the good times because of them?''

Performances are top notch. We get to see some amazing characters.
Amy Adams as Giselle is lovely, charismatic and really uses her voice to blast her character into new levels of masterful likability.
Patrick Dempsey as Robert Philip, Man Of Honor star, Grey's Anatomy heart throb gives us a likable, ordinary every day New York man hero.
James Marsden as Prince Edward, X-Men & Superman Returns star, surprises us with an over the top prince intent on getting his bride to be.
Timothy Spall as Nathaniel, Spall seems to have a penchant for these kind of movies, whether it be Sweeney Todd or Harry Potter, he is a fascinating actor who breathes life into his respective characters.
Susan Sarandon as the Queen Narissa, presents us with a very good nemesis yet I do find she was under used in the movie apart from the use of her voice. But she was a menacing presence.

Along the way of telling this remarkable story, we get to see a very challenging film production featuring two distinct worlds and their accompanying designs, and the interweaving these two worlds. It's occasionally heavy on visual effects and animated sequences as stated before, but the effects are always story-driven and never overly gratuitous.
A surprising enough thing nowadays that it's worth taking note of. Strong film-making skills, with an old-school sensibility, are in play making this a must see for adults and children alike.

''You look... beautiful.''

Giselle (Amy Adams) finds herself in Manhattan and is befriended by Robert (P. Dempsey) and his daughter Morgan. Meanwhile, Edward's mother (S. Sarandon) will stop at nothing to keep Gisell from ending up with her son. So... will Edward (J. Marsden), Giselle's true love, find her? And is Edward truly Giselle's true love?

A very entertaining romantic fairy tale, with splendid acting from all, especially Amy Adams. She clearly has a lot of talent, in acting and singing. Susan Sarandon is especially vicious as the stepmother. Marsden and Dempsey are fantastic too.
Nice directing. Good photography.
The transition between animation and "reality" was interesting and well done.
The songs are rather kitsch, it is a movie for children mostly, so what else is to be expected?

Enjoyable for all.

When walking into the theater, you can't but expect this movie to be corny. And it is. The mere fact that the Prince decides to marry Giselle after just learning her name provides proof enough. It was strange to view transitions between animation and reality, but it did it well. The prince was quite a character himself, and added alot to the movie. The squirrel, named "Pip", is a sidekick with a very annoying accent (which fortunately leaves when he travels to the real world ;]) but really doesn't add as much comedy as you might think a talking chipmunk might add.

Anyway, Patrick Dempsey does a wonderful job playing Robert, as does Amy Adams to Giselle. Me being a guy, there was quite a bit too much singing going on, but it still retained its comical theme. The best part of the movie, IMHO, would be after a song when a pigeon leans over and eats a cockroach. The Jamaican band following them around is also quite funny, and the fact that everyone, including the construction workers, joined in and danced was a very funny sight.

It was a pleasant surprise also to find that Nancy, Robert's girlfriend, was not evil, as first portrayed, and also got a happily ever after. It's also funny how Nathaniel -played wonderfully by Timothy Spall- picks up on all of the nuances of the real world, including selling candied apples, pizza, etc, when the prince and Giselle are clueless to everything. The bike scene that others thought was hilarious, I found to be annoying at best, probably because of stupid Disney 411. (CURSE YOU, SURFERS!) I did like, however, the scene with the bus, and probably my favorite line from the movie was "Nobody stabs my bus!"
The CGI for Pip is ok, but for the dragon is quite laughable. The queen made more lame jokes in the last 10 minutes of the film that anyone else made the entire movie. The ending is a corny, fairy tale ending, to be expected.

All in all, it's still a wonderful movie....for kids and hopeless romantics. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the comedy in this film, and it still retains its family friendliness. I give it a good 4/10.

~Dok

I actually really liked this movie. At first I wanted to watch it with my friends mostly as a joke, but I ended up watching it alone, and lucky was that because I really enjoyed it. The opening with the classic disney cartoon was just fantastic. Then they can to NYC, and Amy Adams came to life. She is just really heartwarming and funny as the soon to be princess. Patrick Dempsey seem a bit out of place but he gets the job done. The chipmunk is funny but it feels like almost every animated movie have a funny little cute animal sidekick these days. The prince is funny aswell. The musical numbers are great. The evil queen is ok. My only real problem with the movie is the ending. First the final boss fight ends really abruptly, and then they all live happily ever after. A better ending would have earned it a 9/10 from me.

Enchanted puts its own spin on the classic Disney princess story with great charm and humor.

The characters were all well cast with Amy Adams being the standout - being likable and innocent without being cloying.

And the musical numbers that you would expect from any Disney movie are a treat. I dare you not to sign along when Giselle starts singing "That's How You Know".