On DVD: Enchanted

Directed By: Kevin Lima

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Rachel Covey

Another “happily ever after” fairy tale from Disney. You know the story, girl meets boy, who happens to be the Prince, and instantly falls in love. The evil step-mother, who happens to be the Queen, fearing the loss of her throne uses her magic to enchant the heroine and thwart the couple's marriage. The enchantment though is not your standard, sleep spell or transfiguration. This time the Queen pulls out all the stops and sends the Princess to be to New York City.

The Movie

Giselle, Amy Adams, the “girl” in the story is has one hell of a day. She wakes up dreaming of the boy she knows is her one true love. In a sweet, almost but not quite saccharine, scene she and all of here forest friends sing a song and build a look-alike dummy of her dream boy before the memory leaves her. Meanwhile in the forest Prince Edward, James Marsden, is running down another troll. Once the troll is taken care off he remarks to his companion Nathaniel, Timothy Spall, that all this troll hunting is fine but he's ready for something else. About this time he hears Giselle singing in the background. Of course it's instant love and they are off to the castle to get married. Meanwhile Nathaniel knows that the Queen, Susan Sarandon, will not be happy about this and let's her know that the Price Edward is on the way home with his wife to be. The Queen fearing losing her crown disguises herself as an old crone and tricks Giselle into leaning over a well. One little push and Giselle is transported from Andalusia to New York City.

As you can imagine, or have seen in previews or commercials, life in the forest of Andalusia does not equip someone to deal with New York City. After a horrible day Giselle meets Robert Phillip, Patrick Dempsey, and his daughter Morgan, Rachel Covey. Morgan's a little girl with a little girl's obsession with princesses and fairy tales. Of course she recognizes Giselle as what she is while Patrick just sees her as a young woman, possibly deranged, who needs some help. Meanwhile Price Edward finds out what has happened to Giselle and has followed her to New York City and sets off trying to find her.

Disney has quite a catalog of classics and this movie fits right in. Amy Adam's Giselle is perfect, a storybook princess and a real, feeling, thinking person at the same time. James Marsden's, not so bright, slightly egoistical but well meaning Prince Edward is spot on as well. Everyone is great but those two walked the tightrope between ridiculous and believable with ease. I loved how the story unfolded, about two thirds of the way in I was afraid they were going to take the easy way out, that would have really upset me after I had gotten to know and care for all of these characters, but they managed to let the story come out exactly as it should while everyone stayed true to there selves.

9/10

The Video

The video is presented in widescreen format. It looks great, the animated sequence is crisp and warm, and the live action stuff looks just as good. In fact they've managed to make New York look like a theme park. The CGI stuff blends perfectly with the live action. I never noticed any blooming or jaggies or any other artifacts.

8/10

The Audio

The audio is presented in 5.1 DTS Digital Surround Sound or 5.1 Dolby Digital. There are audio tracks for English, Spanish and French and subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The mix is great, the dialog, the songs and the score all blend well. The surround sound is immersive without being overwhelming.

8/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The DVD comes on a standard DVD case with a slip case. The artwork is up to Disney standards, very nice. The bonus features include, deleted scenes, bloopers, a making of featurette and a charming little animated short. I would have liked a commentary track but you can't have everything.

7/10

Kevin Lima managed to walk a fine line. Sweet but not too sweet, paying homage to all of the Disney fairy tales without turning into camp and telling a beautiful love story that ends “happily ever after” for everyone without any cop-outs. I've got a soft spot for fairy tales anyway, but this one really hit the spot. 

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Review

The Movie 9/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 8/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 7/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

-Mike Young