Enchanted
*is a film for all ages. It is partly animated, but the major portion of the film has live-action. The real world and the animated fairy-tale world collide, as the story unfolds, and the fairy-tale Princess, named Giselle, meets a real-life Prince Charming. I found the story truly enchanting.
Once upon a time in the kingdom of Andalasia, a beautiful young maiden named Giselle lived in a cottage, in the forest. But before she could marry the dashing Prince Edward, she is sent tumbling down a magical well by Edward’s wicked stepmother who wants the threat to her crown removed. Giselle finds herself in the non-animated, extremely disenchanted world of modern-day New York City. There, she befriends a cynical divorce lawyer, Robert, who lives with his six-year-old daughter, Morgan. Giselle’s spontaneous singing and effortless sweetness enchant everyone around her, and she waits for her Prince Charming. However, Giselle and Robert soon fall in love. In the climax, an incident with a poisoned apple becomes the turning point, and after being saved by true love’s kiss, Giselle kills the queen-turned-dragon, in order to save Robert from impending doom. Edward returns to the animated world with Nancy, who was initially supposed to marry Robert, while Giselle stays in New York with Robert and Morgan, and they all live happily ever after.
Apart from the sweet storyline and the interesting characters, I loved the wonderful songs that are picturised beautifully in the film. Amy Adams as Giselle, Susan Sarandon as the wicked Queen Narissa, and Rachel Covey as Morgan were fun to watch. James Marsden, as Prince Edward, and Patrick Dempsey, as Robert, were also likeable. But the funniest of all were Timothy Spall as the Queen’s servant, Nathaniel, and the computer generated chipmunk Pip, a friend of Giselle.
*Enchanted** , directed by Kevin Lima, has music by Alan Menken. I saw it at Kolkata’s Fame multplex, this year. But it was released in America last year and had become hugely successful there. I would like to recommend it to all my friends, who can surely watch it on home video if they failed to see it in the cinema-hall.