Enchanted
2007 · Directed by Kevin Lima
Original language: English
- comedy
- family
- fantasy
- romance
The story
The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
What it’s like
Bright, saturated and deliberately storybook in its first act, then sliding into the grey-blue daylight and sodium glow of real Manhattan, with the film's two worlds set against each other in colour. The hand-drawn fairy-tale sequences, with their rolling meadows, pastel castles and cheerful forest animals, give way to live-action streets full of taxis, rain-slick pavements and cramped apartments lit by warm lamps, and the transitions carry a playful, slightly wry energy. Sound moves between big orchestral numbers and bouncy Alan Menken songs and quieter, plain city ambience. The mood is bubbly and sweet-natured, a comedy of gentle mishaps and sunny optimism, with a light musical rhythm that keeps things moving. Its emotional register is warm and affectionate, following a fairy-tale heroine learning that real love takes more than a happy-ever-after script. Intensity is low: mild peril, a few slapstick falls, a poisoned apple and a sinister queen in cartoon style, with no real gore or sexual content. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a family movie night or a comfort watch for anyone who wants something cheerful, funny and gently romantic, especially fans of musicals and fairy-tale satire.
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