page 4
The Fourth Wall
Movie Review:
By By AtilcyRowe Rowe
Layout Editor
Welcome back, Disney. We
have missed you. With a film
industry that is obsessed with
creating the next “Shrek”-like
masterpiece, we moviegoers have
felt a lack of creativity from the
filmmakers. The Disney movies of
years past have been dull
representations of the artistic
capability that the studio has to
offer. Last years’ “Meet the
Robinsons” and “Underdog”
cannot stand up to the cinematic
genius that is “Enchanted”.
Luckily, for those of us who have
been missing this awesome force
of filmmaking, Disney finally got it
right.
The opening of the film is
reminiscent of the Disney of yester
year, bringing back memories of
“Sleeping Beauty” and
“Cinderella.” Older audience
members will be delighted at this
deliberate attempt to evoke a
feeling of familiarity. In true Disney
style, the film’s first ten minutes
are shown completely in
animation. “Enchanted” begins in
the tiny village of Andalasia,
where the beautiful Princess
Giselle (Amy Adams) is searching
for her true love. Of course, her
true love is none other than Prince
Edward, (James Marsden) the
typical gallant hero, complete with
a white steed and impeccable hair.
decide to be married the next day.
Of course, Edward’s evil Step-
mother Narissa (Susan Sarandon)
wants nothing of this marriage,
worse, sent to the strange land of
New York City.
A little magic goes a long way.
Once Giselle is sent into New York
City, she is transformed into a
human. Though Adams is
delightful as an animated
character, her performance as
human Giselle, for a lack of better
words, is “enchanting.” She
brings to the character a sense of
naivety that is endearing. Thought
Giselle is a princess, she does
experience a few complications
along the way. She befriends an
attorney named Robert (Patrick
Dempsey) and his daughter,
Morgan (Rachel Covey), who let
Giselle stay in their home until she
can find her way back to
Andalasia. Both Robert and Giselle
teach each other the value of true
love, even sparking mutual
feelings of their own.
However, while this film is, on
the surface, a Disney film, it has
an underlying quality of parodying
its own genre. Robert encourages
Giselle to get to know her true love,
instead of marrying him the next
day, which seems typical in
traditional fairy tales. Many
references to other Disney works
are made throughout this film.
It’s refreshing to watch a film
that hits all of its marks. One might
say that the film is cheesy, but
perhaps that is why it is such a
remarkable piece of work.
The musical numbers are
absolutely fantastic. The dynamic
duos of Alan Menken and Stephen
Schwartz have brought us a
handful of new, delightful songs to
sing-along with. In a musical
number entitled “That’s How You
Know,” Giselle parades around
New York City, gathering a choir of
citizens to help Robert understand
the ways a woman knows that her
true love is true.
“Enchanted” is a delightful film
that will leave audiences feel good
about taking the whole family to
Disney delights audiences of all ages
with their newly released animated-
real life feature film, “Enchanted.”
see. There is something to entertain
everyone, from side-splitting
laughter, feel-good musical
numbers, and sweet, ‘sensitive
moments. The box office has had
no immunity from this charming
piece of fluff. “Enchanted” was the
top film at the box office two weeks
in a row, grossing over 51 million
dollars since it debuted.
Disney is not recreating; it is
simply evolving. Hopefully the
success of this film will bring a new
era of Disney classics. Enchanted
is now playing at a theater near you.