Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)

Location: Home » music » Feature Films » Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)

Similar Items:

•	Bee Movie (Widescreen Edition)
•	Alvin and the Chipmunks
•	The Water Horse - Legend of the Deep (Two-Disc Special Edition)
•	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Full Screen Edition)
•	The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 12/26/2008 Run time: 107 minutes Rating: Pg

Amazon.com
Life is idyllic in the fairytale world where conflict is minimal and breaking into song solves every problem, but what happens when a princess from the fairy world gets magically transported into the real world? Enchanted begins in the animated fairytale world of Andalasia where Princess Giselle (Amy Adams) is destined to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden) and live happily ever after. Problem is, Edward's step-mother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) doesn't want to give up the throne and will do anything to get Giselle out of Edward's life. Queen Narissa's solution is to push Giselle into a well that magically lands Giselle smack in the middle of the real world--the center of Time Square in New York City, to be exact. This launches the live-action portion of the film where Giselle immediately realizes that things are frighteningly different in this new world and that she is ill-prepared for the callous ways of the people who inhabit it. Giselle finds herself alone on a stormy night in the wrong end of town, but a chance encounter with Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his princess-loving daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) leads to a warm, safe place to spend the night and the beginnings of a complicated, yet compelling relationship. As Giselle begins to question the fairy-tale truths she's always inherently believed, Robert's outlook on life and love also begins to change significantly. Parallels to the classic Disney fairytales, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty abound in the form of a King's and Queen's ball, small animals and rodents who clean house when called, the threat of poisoned apples, characters impulsively breaking into song, and the power of the kiss of true love and the absurd juxtaposition of fairytale idealism and stark reality is hilariously funny. Features music by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame fame, Wicked's Broadway Elpheba Idina Menzel as Nancy, and even a brief appearance by former Princess voice talent Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas). Enchanted is one of the best, most entertaining Disney films of the year. (Ages 6 and older with parental guidance due to some scary images and mild innuendo) --Tami Horiuchi

Beyond Enchanted

Disney Princesses on DVD

Paperback

Soundtrack

Stills from Enchanted (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews: Read 323 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

If a McDreamy is a wish your heart makes December 2, 2007
87 out of 96 found this review helpful

Some day my prince will come
Some day we'll meet again
And away to his castle we'll go
To be happy forever I know

(Lyrics from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Some Day my Prince Will Come)

"Enchanted" begins in an animated land named Andalasia, with a young girl named Giselle (Amy Adams) meeting the prince of her dreams, Prince Edward (James Marsden) and preparing to live happily ever after. Andalasia, and large parts of the movie are based on a combination of the Disney worlds of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, so of course you can count on the appearance of an evil stepmother-wicked witch (Susan Sarandon) to put an end to all the wretched happiness.

As soon as Giselle comes within striking distance of the castle on her wedding day, the witch (disguised as an old hag) zaps her into another world where "happily ever afters" and true love apparently haven't existed for years - present day Manhattan.

Switching to live action, Giselle tries to understand the New York state of mind, and falls into the arms of a McDreamy guy named Robert (I don't have to tell you who the actor is, now do I?) While Giselle begins getting acclimatized and introduces herself to the local wildlife, a rescue party from Andalasia also uses the Manhattan transfer, and soon the streets of New York are stormed by a CGI chipmunk, a prince in search of his missing damsel, and a henchman with a funny accent (Timothy Spall).

If you're a fan of fairy tales, and in particular Disney tales, you'll love the little touches like poisoned apples in the Big Apple, Beauty & the Beast ballroom dancing and glass slippers, but this updated magical, musical, funny fairy tale will be a treat for the whole family.

A definite "YES" for family entertainment, and one you probably should buy when it comes out on DVD. Rated: 4.5 stars

Amanda Richards, December 2, 2007

4 out of 5 stars

The Fairy Tale Gets a Reality Check November 22, 2007
47 out of 50 found this review helpful

What would happen when an animated fairy tale princess found herself in our physical world? This question is the basis of "Enchanted," a Disney film addressing the fairy tale cliches so effectively that it's practically a parody. The film begins in the animated world of Andalasia with the opening of a storybook; a voiceover narration says the obligatory, "Once upon a time ..." before we're introduced to Giselle (voiced by Amy Adams), a peasant girl who, of course, lives in a quaint little cottage in the middle of the woods. As you might expect, she thinks of nothing but finding her one true love, going so far as to make a princely mannequin while singing brightly. To top that off, she's friendly with practically every creature inhabiting the forest, and they all pay her a visit as she sings. When she's almost eaten by a troll, the dashing Prince Edward (voiced by James Marsden) rescues her, and the two immediately decide to get married.

But Edward's evil stepmother--Queen Narissa (voiced by Susan Sarandon)--refuses to give up the throne and vows to stop the wedding. Disguised as an old hag, she lures Giselle to a magical well and pushes her in. The well is actually a kind of inter-dimensional portal between Andalasia and our world, and according to Narissa, it's a place, "where there are no happily ever afters." Giselle emerges from a manhole in the middle of New York City. Amidst the confusing, frightening hustle and bustle of everyday living--in which people are rude, conniving, and fast-paced--a now-live action Giselle bumps into divorce attorney Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey) and his six-year-old daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey). They take her in, although Robert is more than a little anxious about the situation; from his point of view, a delusional woman in a fluffy white princess dress is roaming the streets of Manhattan. Morgan, on the other hand, is thrilled, believing that a real princess has entered her life.

As she prances around with all the grace and joy of the perpetually perky, Giselle gradually learns a few important things: (1) people in the real world don't break out into song for no apparent reason; (2) people don't like it when their curtains are used to make a dress; (3) it isn't appropriate to call forth birds, rats, and roaches to help tidy up; and (4) love is not as simple as meeting one day and marrying the next. Or is it? She and Robert share interesting conversations on the nature of relationships, his stance being that they're incredibly complicated, her stance being that they don't have to be. Considering his failed marriage and his new relationship with a woman named Nancy (Idina Menzel), it's easy to see where he's coming from. Real life is nowhere near as simple as life in Andalasia, a place where Giselle is allowed to be naive and trusting.

As far as Prince Edward is concerned, he follows Giselle into Manhattan and begins his heroic search. He's just as naive about our world--he mistakes a television for a magic mirror and a bus is a foul metal beast, and he believes he can unsheathe his sword at will. He also speaks in typical Prince Charming lingo, his words boastful and one-tracked. And much like Giselle, he, too, will break into song for no apparent reason. He's accompanied by a Pip, a chipmunk who has lost his Andalasian ability to speak English. Pip constantly tries to warn Edward about Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), Queen Narissa's sniveling weasel of a henchman. Under the guise of being helpful, he does whatever he can to steer Edward in the wrong direction, and most of the time, he succeeds. Will Edward find Giselle? Will they share True Love's Kiss and live happily ever after? Or is her relationship with Robert is more complex than she would like it to be?

As you can probably tell, this film has fun toying with the classic formula of the Disney fairy tale, the most prominent being "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." So many of its plot devices are spoofed in "Enchanted," from the love struck young maiden to the wicked queen to the brave prince. Yes, even the poisoned apple is reused, and I think it's obvious which characters are involved in that regard. But there are other elements of parody at work here, not the least of which is music composed by Alan Menken. Menken is known for scoring a number of Disney's films during its late twentieth century renaissance: "The Little Mermaid"; "Beauty and the Beast"; "Aladdin"; "Pocahontas"; "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"; "Hercules." Given this track record, I can't think of anyone better suited for the job.

And then there's the final fifteen minutes, which features an impressive computer-animated dragon; a story like this always ends with a climactic fight between the hero and the enemy, and the hero is always supposed to rescue the enemy's captive. But just who is the hero in "Enchanted"? Who is the enemy's captive? The answers aren't all that surprising, but they still make for something entertaining. That's pretty much the way the entire film works--"Enchanted" is a film that's perfectly aware of what it wants to accomplish, and it pokes fun at itself while simultaneously paying homage to the formulas Disney films have followed. Thank goodness it has a sense of humor; this kind of storytelling could only work for so long before starting to get silly.

4 out of 5 stars

Snow White Gets a Taste of the Big Apple November 25, 2007
39 out of 45 found this review helpful

In `Enchanted' two worlds collide: The real world and the animated world. This has been done before. We've seen Tom and Jerry tap dance along with Gene Kelly, and we certainly experienced this fusion in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' and later with 'Space Jam'. This time the two worlds are separate, but they meet into one another. As if pop-up books spring characters from children's fantasy stories and brought them live to the modern day world. How would we react? Just the way they do in the movie. People in New York City would wince at Shakespearean actors on the loose and in their way during a busy work day. Much like they did in the movie `Elf' Elf (Infinifilm Edition) with Will Ferrell and James Caan, only better. And as it is with that recent Christmas classic, the meeting is meant to make the world we know a better place. That's why the enchantment works so well.

If you want to bring wide-eyed innocence to the screen, I know of few better ways than to have Amy Adams (`Junebug') play Giselle, a Snow White or Cinderella figure who escapes the evil witch, Narissa (here wonderfully performed by Susan Sarandon in a role we're used to seeing Glen Close or Tilda Swinton play) from the magic kingdom, Andalasia. She's betrothed to Prince Edward (bka "Charming" or James Marsden of `Hairspray` fame) and on the run through a starry expanse that reminded me very closely of a portal used in one of the later `Myst` games. ("Destiny" is his horse, which is to say there isn't too much subtlety here.) And, as each character goes through the symbolically significant portal, a man-hole cover, one easily forgets that this trajectory is a close reading of the focal point of 'Being John Malkovich'. Nevermind all this, however, for no matter how familiar certain elements may feel, the thrust of this film is certainly fresh and inviting.

The witch wants to dissolve their nuptials and has the portly Nathaniel to chase her down. On the allies' side is a chipmunk messenger who has good intentions, but a poor success rate with only charades as his communication method. Running into Giselle is Robert (Patrick Dempsey) a jaded single father who is a prosperous, but floundering attorney. She needs him to shelter her from the rude awakening of a rainstorm on a bad side of town, and he needs her to give him a new outlook in life. He's about to give his hand to Nancy, much to the chagrin of daughter, Morgan.

One of the great merits of this movie is how they suspend our disbelief to the events that occur. Marsden, Adams, and Sarandon bring the otherworld with them in ways that preclude any notions that over acting prima donnas are spilling their way into Central Park and beyond. Particularly Adams' wide-eyed innocence sets up that her displacement can bring real joy and revitalization from the past without seeming facile or saccharine. (Or when it is shown to be wildly unreal, there's plenty of good humor to poke fun of it all when they break into song.)

Once Narissa catches up with them, we begin to see that there really is decency we can draw upon in our own world and a menace that exists in their world that is worse than our own. Innoculated with chivalry and romance, all the dirt and grime of city life are given a face lift along with our spirits. Just like 'Across the Universe' Across the Universe before it, 'Enchanted' is an experience of love and music transcending the dingy mean-spiritedness that is all too often identified as reality.

3 out of 5 stars

A 'Different' Disney Film : May or May Not Work for Some February 26, 2008
14 out of 23 found this review helpful

Watching "Enchanted" reminded me of all the wonderful Disney movies I watched growing up - but there was this cloying, nagging feeling that something didn't quite work in this one. I think the problem was the last twenty minutes. The entire ballroom scene was way too 'staged' and no one seemed in the least bit 'dramatic' - which is weird because they spent the whole film being way too dramatic and hamming their lines every other minute. The last bits played out so weakly that any strengths of the film were automatically undermined, and it became a 3-Star movie in the process.

The first hour though, is superb. The opening animation is 'new and improved' Disney, while retaining an old-world charm. Of course, the lead actress is beautiful (but not too beautiful) and she has a squirelly-bug-eyed charm that is both goofy and infectious. Patrick Dempsey is of course as superb as ever, and James Marsden plays his Prince act with his trademark deadpan expressions (which actually work here). The songs however, didn't quite stand out. No wonder all three song nominations lost out at the Oscars. "How Will I Know", which they sing at the park stuck out as being out of tune and extremely irritating.

The standout scene is when Gisele looks out her NYC apartment window and sings out for the 'animals' to help her out. Rodents, cockroaches, bugs soon fill the house - and they actually help her do some work! The audience I saw this with giggled like little girls throughout this extended segment.

"Enchanted" might go down as a future Disney classic, and it certainly is innovative, but it lacked a certain something for me to give it four or five stars. At the end, and especially after the horrendously boring climax of the dragon-slaying (which ends very suddenly and tepidly), one is left with a sense of 'it could have been so much better'. Disney really pulled out the stops for this one, but it doesn't quite come together.

Three Stars.

1 out of 5 stars

Dime-Store Misogyny At Its Very Best April 19, 2008
14 out of 50 found this review helpful

First, let me say that I am not a man-hater or necessarily a feminist. I'm all for equality, though. I'm not a troll, either. I'm not trying to be inflammatory. And no, I am not a hippy all stinky with patchouli and wet wool, and I am NOT voting for Hillary Clinton.

I just finished watching the movie "Enchanted," which is one of Disney's new, modern, feel-good romances, starring Amy Adams and that guy who was cute in the 80s, then got plastic surgery and is now on Grey's Anatomy.

The movie started great. The princess, a total moron, falls for a prince, who is also a total moron, simply because they heard each other singing in the forest. It was a great setup. Then they all become "real," and are suddenly in Manhattan.

The Grey's Anatomy Yutz (let's just call him G.A.Y.), of course, falls instantly for the vacuous princess, and his fiance, who is an intelligent woman with (GASP) a career, sort of figures it out, but is okay with the whole thing.

Career women don't mind being tossed aside, and in the name of Disney-brand "true love," she ends up falling for the stupid, effeminate prince. Because surely, she must secretly want to be "the man" in the relationship.

In the finale, the queen, played by Susan Sarandon, turns into a dragon and is portrayed as an evil uber-bitch as she wants to keep her crown rather than leave it to her Forrest-Gumpy stepson, the effeminate prince. So she gets killed (to great cheers from the imagined audience), G.A.Y. of course ends up with the moron Amy Adams princess, and the effeminate prince gets the "smart," but oddly emotionless former G.A.Y. fiance by default. Everybody's happy, and the credits roll.

Am I the only one who was actually REALLY upset by this ending? I am actually still in a messy, slobbery rage over yet another misogynist-disguised-as-moralistic movie in which being a woman completely dependent on some man swooping in to SAVE her is the best thing to be?

That "true-love's kiss" is the most powerful thing in the world?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

It's 2008, and yet everyone in the world (even outside Taliban-controlled areas of the world) seems to think it's the middle ages as far as women are concerned.

According to Disney, these are the rules:
-If we women are meek, stupid, frail and pretty, we are in GREAT shape. We will get a man, who will make our lives complete.
-If we have brains in our heads, have a job, and rational perspectives on things, it's perfectly okay to just toss us aside in favor of someone who needs to be saved.

Just because I don't know how to make my own clothes, and I know how to form a thought in my brain, and actually, gods forbid EXPRESS my thoughts and opinions, I may as well be a dragon to be pushed off the top of a freaking building.

Susan Sarandon, who has always chosen her roles well in the past, should be ashamed of herself. Same with Amy Adams, who was BRILLIANT in "Junebug." Same with every single person who does anything for Disney. And shame on me for watching this film.

If you are a woman or know a woman who is even SLIGHTLY above average intelligence, don't bother putting yourself in the path of this movie.

This movie makes me feel completely worthless. If this is an expression of what the world is like, I don't want to live in it. I am ashamed to be a human. I wish there was some sort of magic laser that could transform me into some other creature than human. I wish I had an ice pick. If I did, I swear to all that is holy that I would lobotomize this demoralizing movie out of my head. If it failed and I died, it would still be worth it.

If anyone mentions "Disney" to me in anything other than a derogatory manor, I will smack them across their face.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic

T-shirts, Posters

Pentagram T-shirts, bags, etc...

Gothic Posters