Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Dec 11, 2007 0:56:50 GMT -5
Thanks Shenzi.
The more and more I think about it, the more and more I find myself absolutely loving this movie. I think the last time I had so much fun at an animated film was The Incredibles. Right from the beginning, this movie is a loving (and gently tongue in cheek tribute) to the Disney classics that I've watched so often.
And this starts at the very beginning, with the narrator and the storybook opening up to tell the start of the story. The way the music kicks off the story reminds me a lot of the opening for Sleeping Beauty with the pages of the book leading right into the story and the grand musical introduction.
It is also such a thrill to see classic Disney style animation on the big screen again. Although Disney did not animate the 2-D scenes in the film, James Baxter, a former Disney animator, did a beautiful job on these scenes.
I thought Amy Adams was sensational as Giselle. She did a masterful job portraying the sweet, innocent, and eternally hopeful Disney Princess thrust into an oftentimes cruel world. And that is where the movie shines. It's tremendous fun to see Disney poke fun at itself with characters breaking out into random song in our world. As much as Disney takes criticism for saying that happily ever after doesn't exist, Enchanted is Disney's response to that criticism.
What can I say about the music. I haven't been this mesmerized by a Disney soundtrack since Beauty and the Beast. Menken and Schwarz deserve a tremendous amount of credit for giving this movie the feel of both the Walt era fairy tales and the new generation of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. In my opinion, the Walt era films were less Broadway musical style than the later films, and the music for Enchanted does a great job of blending both styles. I loved how the music was both classic and modern Disney. And the way Disney ribbed itself was priceless.
I loved all the references, both subtle and not so subtle to beloved Disney classics. They added a lot of fun to the movie, and they were many that I'll to both look and listen for in future viewings, of which there will be many.
I really liked the plot of the movie. It is literally a modern day fairy tale, but Disney did a nice job of not grounding the movie in 2007(even if you recgonzie the movies advertised in Times Sqaure). Enchanted follows the standard Disney fairy tale line, with a few twists and turns here, but even then, in some ways, the film follows the love story formula of Beauty and the Beast.
Where the film takes an interesting turn is in the characters. I think Giselle is the next big Disney Princess. She has the princess ability to communicate with forest creatures through her voice alone(see Aurora), and has the sweet, romantic innocence that has made the Disney Princesses endearing to millions all over the world. I'll be curious to see the crowds to meet Giselle if she's appearing at Disneyland when I go next week.
Prince Edward is well done. He has the confidence and bravado of the standard Disney prince, but it's also clear that he is kind and cares deeply for others.
Narissa seems to be the least developed central character to the plot, and I actually really like that. While villians are important, it's nice to see a villian that isn't stealing the screen all the time. Narissa is a whole lot of The Wicken Queen from Snow White and Maleficent, right down to her costume design and transormations.
Pip continues the grand Disney tradition of important sidekick to our heroes. He's cute and cuddly, and I loved how Disney made so much fun of themselves with Pip. It was great. And as a side note,
I thought the ball was a nice touch, especially as Giselle's dress actually looked very similar to the one she wore at the beginning of the film when she was dreaming of true love's first kiss. I think Disney did a great job on so many little details in this film.
In recent years, I've feared that Disney simply forgot how to make good movies. I even had some concerns about this one going in. While I really wanted to see it, I feared that the movie could end up being a huge disappointment. I'm happy that it did not disappoint me, but even happier that it restored my faith in Disney's ability to tell a good story. Even though it is set in the real world, Enchanted is at it's very core, a classic Disney fairy tale.
The more and more I think about it, the more and more I find myself absolutely loving this movie. I think the last time I had so much fun at an animated film was The Incredibles. Right from the beginning, this movie is a loving (and gently tongue in cheek tribute) to the Disney classics that I've watched so often.
And this starts at the very beginning, with the narrator and the storybook opening up to tell the start of the story. The way the music kicks off the story reminds me a lot of the opening for Sleeping Beauty with the pages of the book leading right into the story and the grand musical introduction.
It is also such a thrill to see classic Disney style animation on the big screen again. Although Disney did not animate the 2-D scenes in the film, James Baxter, a former Disney animator, did a beautiful job on these scenes.
I thought Amy Adams was sensational as Giselle. She did a masterful job portraying the sweet, innocent, and eternally hopeful Disney Princess thrust into an oftentimes cruel world. And that is where the movie shines. It's tremendous fun to see Disney poke fun at itself with characters breaking out into random song in our world. As much as Disney takes criticism for saying that happily ever after doesn't exist, Enchanted is Disney's response to that criticism.
What can I say about the music. I haven't been this mesmerized by a Disney soundtrack since Beauty and the Beast. Menken and Schwarz deserve a tremendous amount of credit for giving this movie the feel of both the Walt era fairy tales and the new generation of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. In my opinion, the Walt era films were less Broadway musical style than the later films, and the music for Enchanted does a great job of blending both styles. I loved how the music was both classic and modern Disney. And the way Disney ribbed itself was priceless.
I loved all the references, both subtle and not so subtle to beloved Disney classics. They added a lot of fun to the movie, and they were many that I'll to both look and listen for in future viewings, of which there will be many.
I really liked the plot of the movie. It is literally a modern day fairy tale, but Disney did a nice job of not grounding the movie in 2007(even if you recgonzie the movies advertised in Times Sqaure). Enchanted follows the standard Disney fairy tale line, with a few twists and turns here, but even then, in some ways, the film follows the love story formula of Beauty and the Beast.
Where the film takes an interesting turn is in the characters. I think Giselle is the next big Disney Princess. She has the princess ability to communicate with forest creatures through her voice alone(see Aurora), and has the sweet, romantic innocence that has made the Disney Princesses endearing to millions all over the world. I'll be curious to see the crowds to meet Giselle if she's appearing at Disneyland when I go next week.
Prince Edward is well done. He has the confidence and bravado of the standard Disney prince, but it's also clear that he is kind and cares deeply for others.
Narissa seems to be the least developed central character to the plot, and I actually really like that. While villians are important, it's nice to see a villian that isn't stealing the screen all the time. Narissa is a whole lot of The Wicken Queen from Snow White and Maleficent, right down to her costume design and transormations.
Pip continues the grand Disney tradition of important sidekick to our heroes. He's cute and cuddly, and I loved how Disney made so much fun of themselves with Pip. It was great. And as a side note,
my favorite twist was how Pip was the one who actually killed the dragon. Giselle tried to save Robert, but couldn't do a whole lot. It really was Pip who ended up as the big hero. Having him write a book was a very funny touch.
I thought the ball was a nice touch, especially as Giselle's dress actually looked very similar to the one she wore at the beginning of the film when she was dreaming of true love's first kiss. I think Disney did a great job on so many little details in this film.
In recent years, I've feared that Disney simply forgot how to make good movies. I even had some concerns about this one going in. While I really wanted to see it, I feared that the movie could end up being a huge disappointment. I'm happy that it did not disappoint me, but even happier that it restored my faith in Disney's ability to tell a good story. Even though it is set in the real world, Enchanted is at it's very core, a classic Disney fairy tale.