'Tis the season of Christmas releases and streaming services are promising more festive content than ever before. Disney especially, long established as the go-to for winter whimsy, announced a cheese-board full of nostalgic treats to play in the background as you make your way through mince pie number five.
One of the most unexpected additions to this winter line-up is Disenchanted, a fifteen-years-late sequel to Enchanted, which at the time was a box office smash. The original film about a ditsy Disney princess, thrust into the real world by a wicked queen was praised at the time for its wit, humour, songs and 2D animated sequences.
Enchanted holds a very special place in my heart. I remember my grandparents taking me and my sibling to see it one rainy afternoon. My sibling got so scared of the dragon at the end we had to leave early. I didn't get to find out how the film actually ended until about five years later! Revisiting the original film for this review has honestly been a treat. This is Disney poking fun at itself in the best possible way. The film looks great, it's effortlessly funny with some great ideas and a ridiculous yet utterly charming plot that makes ideal Christmas comfort viewing.
I wish I could say the same for the sequel...
1. Plot
Disenchanted sees Amy Adams return as Giselle who's happily ever after isn't as happy as she'd hoped. With a new baby and Morgan now a moody teen, Giselle longs for the magical life she grew up with. When a wishing wand is gifted to her by Prince Edward and Princess Nancy, visiting from the animated realm, Giselle wishes for a fairytale life. However, instead of the beautiful princess she once was, she finds herself turning into the evil stepmother.
The core concept of the princess becoming the evil stepmother is indisputably fun. There are actually a lot of fun ideas in the film such as the town council women becoming evil queens, Robert looking for purpose as a swashbuckling hero and more animated antics. It's a crying shame that the execution doesn't do these little nuggets any justice, letting them be drowned out in a sea of meh.
2. Music and Production Design
Apparently the film took so long to make (It was originally forecast for 2011) because of disagreements about the script and songs. In terms of music, Disenchanted is a huge disappointment. Enchanted was able to play with its music giving us catchy diddy's like "How Does She Know?" and "True Love's Kiss" while also poking fun at the Disney princess back catalogue, especially the old fashioned wailing of Snow White and Cinderella.
Unfortunately, the tunes of Disenchanted are utterly forgettable. The best I'd say is a duet between Giselle and Maya Rudolph's delicious evil queen Malvina but even this lacks the hook that makes other villain songs so iconic.
Another strange quirk of the film is that I've never seen a Disney film that looks so expensive yet so cheap. The practical sets and the costumes are magnificent. The wigs, props and anything shot outdoors look more like a Disneyland stage show than a film. Malvina especially was done dirty with the hair. We've seen better wigs on early seasons of Drag Race.
3. Tone and Visuals
One of the major differences between the two is a wider problem I seem to be having with Disney at the moment. The lighting and the cinematography are really, really, really, really... dull. Everything looks very flat and uninspired. The best way I would describe it is that it feels more Disney Channel than Disney film. Super smooth and warm in a way that makes the subjects blend into the background. It gives this sense of soullessness and lack of passion which is kind of heartbreaking as the run up to a film which was visually entertaining.
I'm not saying Enchanted was a cinematic masterpiece but there seemed to be so much more thought and care put into how the gags were filmed, the slightly wide angle they used on Giselle's face to show how crazy she was, the call backs to old animated Disney. Enchanted wanted to sell its ideas to you rather than just present them.
Also something the sequel wants you to forget is that Enchanted could be kind of gross and adult! Some of the jokes definitely went over my head as a child and who can forget the cleaning sequence where Giselle calls on all the horrible critters of New York to help her scrub a bathroom?! Timothy Spall as the Princes' aid added an extra level of skeeze to the mix and the Prince was hilariously self-centred to an obnoxious level. Robert was also a necessary straight man, acting as the audience's eyes to all the madness. In Disenchanted everyone is in on the crazy, making it hard to see the funny side.
4. Conclusion
Disenchanted, like so much current Disney content these days, is way too palatable. It's taken what was fun and unique about the original and put it back through the machine to reveal something flat, uninspired and majorly disappointing. Considering the time gap I'm surprised they didn't go more adult with the story. I doubt many children will have been brought up on the first film. For Disney it's a bit of a cult hit, their response to The Princess Bride and I wish they'd pushed that more.
Is it a decent watch for lounging around during the christmas period? Sure, but I'd argue there's better stuff out there, including revisiting the original!
3/10