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As I mentioned in my first post, I grew up loving Disney. I've spent hours of my life analyzing the movies and their characters, and my brother and I wrote several stories combining Disney characters from different films in alternate universes. So when I found out that they were making a film that was basically a conglomeration of all the Disney princess films as if they took place in the real world, I was a little disappointed because I'd hoped to make that movie myself someday. But I'm no filmmaker, and my film wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful as this.
This movie is like a big reunion for Disney movie characters and plot points. A wicked royal stepmother, a handsome prince, a beautiful not-quite-princess, animals to help with the chores, a poisoned apple, a villain who turns into a dragon, true love's kiss...the list goes on and on. I also love how many people that were involved in previous Disney films are in this. My brother was quick to spot Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, as Patrick Dempsey's secretary. I noticed Paige O'Hara (the voice of Belle)'s name in the credits, but it took me a really long time to find her (she's in the soap opera Nathaniel watches in the motel room). I thought it was quite fitting when I heard the unmistakable voice of Julie Andrews as the narrator. I learned from the special features of the DVD that she wasn't the only Mary Poppins cast member to put in an appearance: one of the chimney sweeps is in the "That's How You Know" number, which is probably my all-time favorite on-screen musical number ever. It's also one of the most-played songs on my ipod, which brings me to Alan Menken, the man who, as my sister pointed out the other day, "kind of saved Disney," and who quite appropriately composed this film's incredible songs and score. I think it's his contribution more than anything else (with the possible exception of Amy Adams, who makes a fabulously convincing real-life Disney princess) that brings such an enchanting, Disney-esque feel to this film.
While this movie borrows a lot from other Disney films, it's still very much its own. It took a story I thought I knew backwards and forwards and turned it upside down. The beautiful not-quite-princess is transported from her fairy tale land of Andalasia into a dreadful place known as Reality. At first she looks quite ridiculous, having no idea how to behave in the real world, but it doesn't take her long to figure out that she's a lot better suited for it than she could ever have imagined. Enchanted came out when I was a senior in high school, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was terrified to grow up and face the world of adulthood, but if Giselle could make it in New York City, then maybe, just maybe, I could make it as an adult.
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