Enchanted

What’s the Story?

Narrated by the inimitable Julie Andrews, ENCHANTED starts out as a formulaic animated flick about Giselle (Amy Adams), a damsel in fair Andalasia who's waiting for her one and only to sweep her off her feet. But it quickly turns into an unconventional fish-out-of-water romantic comedy with infectious musical numbers. Giselle's true love, Prince Edward (James Marsden), has a stereotypical witch of a stepmother (Susan Sarandon) who'd rather dispatch Giselle to a land where no one is happy for too long (aka New York City) than deal with her usurping the throne. But what Giselle discovers in Manhattan is that there's a little magic everywhere, mostly in the form of Robert (Patrick Dempsey), the single-father divorce attorney who takes Giselle in to please his 6-year-old daughter (Rachel Covey). Naturally, Edward finds his way to Giselle -- partially thanks to the "magic mirror" of a motel television -- but by that point no one in the audience will be rooting for them to hook up back in Andalasia.

Is It Any Good?

ENCHANTED is a spectacularly sweet film that proves even dashing princes aren't a match for damaged single fathers. Amy Adams is charming and lovely and obviously destined to be a leading lady. As she beckons rats, pigeons, and bugs to clean Robert's Upper West Side pad, it's clear she has the sparkle to make her guileless character enchanting instead of annoying.

It's refreshing to see Disney poke a little fun at its classic fairy tales with scenes like that one; even kids who can't recognize all of the movie's various princess archetypes and tongue-in-cheek jokes will fall for this winning love story -- as will their parents.