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Movie Review: Enchanted

by Theresa Carpine12/18/2007 2:59:01 PM

Capitalizing on the success of their own Disney Princess brand, a line of clothing, toys and other products featuring heroines of the company’s cartoon features, Disney brings “Enchanted” to theatres for the holiday season. The target demographic for this fairy tale is certainly girls under the age of thirteen, but its tongue-in-cheek attitude will keep parents entertained too.

The story begins in typical Disney cartoon fashion: Giselle, a beautiful damsel-in-distress with a melodic voice, is rescued by her prince charming, but his wicked step-mother threatens their “happily ever after” by sending Giselle to an alternative universe, our universe, specifically New York City. As Prince Edward attempts to rescue his princess (again) and the evil Queen Narissa interferes (again), Giselle befriends a divorce attorney, Robert. His jaded realism makes her question that Edward is her one true love, but her friendly optimism helps Robert to see that true love might really exist, even in the harsh realities of our world.

“Enchanted” does a pretty good job of balancing two divergent philosophies: that girls should be pretty and perky and need to be rescued by a prince, and that girls are fully capable of rescuing themselves. Giselle, played by the charismatic Amy Adams, has a profound character arc from complete dependence on others to being able to rescue the man she loves. The fairy tale formula doesn’t exactly get turned on its head, but at least it gets a twist.

Half the fun of “Enchanted” is that the plot pays tribute to the iconic images of Disney cartoons, but pokes fun at them as well. Like Snow White, Giselle beckons woodland creatures to her aid with a song, but in New York, the only creatures that respond are pigeons and sewer rats. The film’s plot could hardly be considered original, but "Enchanted” delivers what’s expected of a Disney fairy tale: singing, dancing, talking animals, blundering henchmen and true love’s kiss. The climactic ending might be too frightening for small children (think Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty”) and some mild innuendo is hinted at throughout the film, but there’s nothing explicit seen or said.

If your young daughter is a faithful adherent to the Disney Princess ideology, she’s undoubtedly begging you to take her to this movie. But if you’re concerned that letting her watch these and other Disney cartoons might teach her anti-feminist sentiments, take the time to have a conversation about what Giselle learns and emphasize how her choices make her a different kind of Disney Princess. She might be bubbly and beautiful, but she’s also kind, creative and stands up for herself and what she believes in, one of the essential traits of a feminist. Even if she does it in a tiara and a ball gown.

“Enchanted”
Released theatrically November 21, 2007
Rated PG for some scary images and mild innuendo
107 minutes

A Note About the Author: Theresa Carpine

Theresa Carpine is an online journalist for Neighborhood-Kids.com. When she’s not writing, she enjoys knitting, listening to music, and babysitting some really cute kids. Her favorite Bellingham activity is getting coffee at La Vie en Rose and used book browsing at Michael’s Books.