It’s been 15 years since Enchanted created a strong and dedicated fanbase for itself. The story of a cartoon fairytale princess who crosses into the real world and ends up finding her Happily Ever After. The movie sparks debate on the princess status of Giselle in Disney cannon, and since it didn’t receive a huge audience at the time of its release, is often one of those enjoyed by fans and left for new fans to stumble upon over the years.
For Disney to make a sequel to this film this long after the original may seem like an odd choice for some people, but as soon as fans saw the trailer for Disenchanted – they were all in. The movie takes place several years after the original film but doesn’t quite follow a real timeline. Due to the time that has actually passed, Morgan was recast to a younger actress that fits the storyline since the original actor would be too old to resume her role. But does that change the effectiveness of the story at all? No, and it’s probably something that is rather minimal when it comes to the overall movie.
The magic of the Big Apple has started to wear thin on Giselle and Robert as their family has started to expand, so they’ve decided to move out to the suburbs. Morgan, a sarcastic teen, is obviously not happy with the move. Trying to make the world happy for everyone again, Giselle wishes life was like a fairytale, forgetting that for every happily ever after there’s evil in the story as well. Their new town is transformed into a fairytale village including having its own Evil Queen she has to deal with. But there’s something worse happening too – Giselle is transforming into an Evil Stepmother, no matter how hard she fights it.
The movie is filled with sweeping songs, beautiful gowns, and animal companions. Of course, there’s the first blush of love and the bad guys with the cronies too. It has all of the elements of any princess or fairytale story that audiences have grown up with, just with a bit of a new twist on the story. Add in embarrassing parents, highschool and a move making the family the odd ones out – it’s just enough drama to keep you engaged. It is a movie that is made for pure entertainment, and really shouldn’t be looked at much deeper than that.
Disenchanted, simply put – is everything fans are hoping and expecting. The original actors all reprise their roles to perfection, there’s singing, magic, and talking animals – but most of all, a continuation of a story that we all have loved through the years. Giselle truly is a Disney Princess (even if she is not considered in the official count), and this movie brings a bit of magic to a new generation to love and enjoy.
Disenchanted is now streaming on Disney+, and while you can enjoy the movie on its own, you should definitely enjoy Enchanted which is also on the streaming service now.
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About Disenchanted:
An all-new live-action musical comedy, “Disenchanted” is a sequel to Disney’s box office hit “Enchanted” featuring the original cast from the heart-warming story of the lovable maiden from the fairy tale world of Andalasia who finally found her Prince Charming in the kingdom of New York City. It has been 15 years since Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever. Frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, she turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy. Now, Giselle is in a race against time to reverse the spell and determine what happily ever after truly means to her and her family.
“Disenchanted stars Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Maya Rudolph, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jayma Mays, Gabriella Baldacchino, with Idina Menzel and James Marsden. Directed by Adam Shankman from a teleplay by Brigitte Hales and a story by Bill Kelly and J. David Stem & David N. Weiss, “Disenchanted” is produced by Barry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld, and Amy Adams, with Jo Burn, Sunil Perkash, and Adam Shankman serving as executive producers. The movie features music by 8-time Oscar®-winning composer Alan Menken and new songs with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by three-time Oscar-winning lyricist Stephen Schwartz, whose work on “Enchanted” garnered three Academy Award® nominations.
Disney’s “Disenchanted” begins streaming November 18, 2022, only on Disney+.