Enchanted

One of these days I will blog about movies for grown-ups, but for some reason, all I've seen lately are kid movies.

On Monday, Macy and I saw this:

I went into it not sure what to expect. The previews actually had some parts that made me laugh out loud, but it also looked like it could just as easily go the way of cheese. I was happily surprised to find that it was what the previews made it look to be: a hilarious satire of the classic fairytale.

You probably all at least know the premise: It begins like every other Disney Princess movie, a cartoon princess singing in her cottage with her animal friends. But the twist here is that soon each animated character falls down a magic well...into the land of the real people (NYC). I found it interesting to see how each cartoon character looked like the actor who voiced them, and vice versa. In fact, I have to brag a little bit here. There was only one character I didn't already know was in the movie, and judging by his cartoon look and voice, I totally guessed who played him! (And he's not well-known. How good am I?) Anyway, the jokes came right away, as Giselle (Amy Adams) stumbles around New York, lost and confused, trying to find "the castle." Hilarity ensues.

Amy Adams was....wait for it....enchanting. Seriously, I can't think of a better word to describe her. She played the part so perfectly. She managed to portray the typical animated princess, with the over-dramatic hand gestures and sing-songy voice perfectly. I could have watched two hours of only her.

And who knew James Marsden (as the flamboyant prince searching for his princess who would complete his duet) had such comedic skills? He never failed to make me laugh.

Patrick Dempsey, well, let's just say the role didn't stretch his acting muscles all that much. It was like watching McDreamy follow a pretty redhead around New York with a six year old daughter in tow. That's not to say he wasn't charming, of course. And he did supply a few of the laughs.

The music was fun, especially because it was such blatant spoofing. (Giselle sings "Happy Working Song" that parodies Snow White's "Whistle While You Work" as she cleans up McDreamy's apartment with, not her usual woodland creature friends, but with the help of rats, cockroaches, and pigeons.) And when Giselle starts in on one of her spontaneous songs in the middle of Central Park, only to be joined by a nearby reggae band, McDreamy (I honestly can't even remember what his character's name was) looks around, totally baffled, and says, "I've never even heard this song!" Hilarious.

So that's a look at it from a grown-up's view. My six year old daughter seemed to be loving it until about three quarters of the way through when she leaned over and said, "I don't like this movie very much." Shocked, I asked why and she said, "Cause there's lots of bad parts in it." I asked for an example and she said, "Like the scary witch." Okay, I'd give her that one. The witch was scary. She's been asking for the movie on DVD ever since, though, so, overall I think it was a hit.

Fun cameos:
~McDreamy's secretary was the lady who did the voice of Ariel in the Little Mermaid.
~The lady who was the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast played a soap opera actress
~The singing voice of Pocahontas played a pregnant woman with lots of kids who lives in McDreamy's apartment building

See if you recognize the narrator of the movie, as well. Oh, and Carrie Underwood sings the ending song, Ever Ever After. It's pretty good. Also, Jon McLaughlin performs a song at the ball. That might mean something to you, but I've never heard of him.

So grab a little girl and go see this flick. Or, if you're more secure in your adulthood than I am, go alone or with your spouse.

And they all lived happily ever after....