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Amy Adams is naturally charming as Giselle |
Disney finds its magic again
ENCHANTED
Directed by Kevin Lima
Certificate PG
THE holiday season is in full swing, with one Christmas family treat following another into our cinemas. This one keeps the pot bubbling and is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face in a feel-good factor of 10 out of 10. I kid you not.
The Disney factory has excelled itself. In the first 10 minutes we find a cartoon princess, Giselle (Amy Adams), talking to the forest animals, before falling out of a tree and ending up on a horse ridden by the Prince Charming of her dreams, dashing Prince Edward (James Marsden), who immediately proclaims: “We shall be married tomorrow!”
Not so fast, Edward. In the wings lurks his evil stepmother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), who lures Giselle away on her wedding day and catapults her into the real world of New York – “a place where there are no happily ever afters,” she cackles vindictively.
Giselle emerges through a manhole cover into the streets in human form (clever twist) as an innocent abroad in the Big Bad Apple.
Luckily she is rescued by divorce lawyer and single father Robert (Patrick Dempsey) who takes her under his wing and educates her in the finer points of survival in a city that has no time for fairy tales.
Like everyone who meets her, he is captivated by her sunny disposition and delightful naivety. This is a fair maiden who brings out the best in people.
Predictably, the more Giselle becomes part of the human tide the closer she feels to Robert, gradually coming to realise that life and relationships are a lot more complicated than they are in fairyland.
This bodes badly for Prince Edward, a lusty but absent-minded swain who pops up through the same manhole in hot pursuit of his beloved, along with a chipmunk from the cartoon jungle for comic relief. Adding to the chaos is Timothy Spall as the Queen’s evil henchman, while Narissa herself is lurking in the shadows disguised as a toothless old hag.
This could so easily have deteriorated into a yucky piece of airhead nonsense. But thanks to some wonderfully imaginative ideas the film becomes a breath of fresh air that blows any critical cobwebs away.
Such as? How about Giselle calling on her animal friends with the best intentions to clean up Robert’s apartment – except that they all turn out to be cockroaches, rodents and houseflies!
Meanwhile a solo song she begins in Central Park swells into a massive number which might have come straight out of a Busby Berkeley musical.
As for Amy Adams, here is a shining young star to watch out for in the future, with a natural unfettered appeal.
Walt would be proud of you, girl. |
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