What Is the Story About?
Disenchanted is a continuation of Enchanted that takes place ten years after the events of the first film. Giselle, Robert and Morgan Philip are living happily together and they welcome a new baby girl :Sofia. A boring lackluster life in Manhattan bores Giselle and she decides to move the family to a suburban locality. Sofia recieves a magic wand from King Edward and Queen Nancy. Giselle decides to use it to make things better, only for things to turn upside down for everyone in Andalasia and Monroeville. What happens next? How will Giselle fix things?
Performances?
Amy Adams clearly had a great time getting back to Giselle’s shoes again. She is cheery, sweet, funny and all things magnetic as Giselle again. However, there’s an interesting spin to her character this time. Switching between an evil step-mother and a doting mother, Amy swings Giselle to perfection. Maya Rudolph as Malvina Monroe is terrific. Although her screen-time is not that much, she effortlessly chews up every scene she’s in with her sarcastic dialogue delivery and swag. Gabriella Baldacchino as Morgan Philip gets a typical Cinderella track to play out and she is very charming.
Analysis?
Directed by Adam Shankman and written by Brigitte Hales, based on a story by Richard LaGravenese and the writing team of J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, Disenchanted takes the baton from the tail-end of Enchanted, that enchanted the world 15 years ago. The musical fantasy takes on what happened to Giselle and her family after her ‘happily ever after’.
10 years later, Giselle finds life in Manhattan monotonous. She plans to relocate to a suburbian town named Monroeville yearning for a fairy-tale life for herself and her family. Things don’t turn out as smooth as she expected them to be. Daily commutation begins to bore Robert, Morgan feels like an outcast at school, and the consistent need for house-renovation strains Giselle’s relationship with Morgan. This is when King Edward and Queen Nancy visit from Andalasia and present Giselle’s younger daughter Sofia with a wish-granting wand.
Morgan and Robert’s distress increases and begins to bother Giselle. A guilt-ridden Giselle decides to use the wand to make things easier and better for all. To her disappointment, things get complicated both in Monroeville and Andalasia. The fairy-tale life Giselle wished for her family gives her a terrible time besides draining Andalasia of all its magic.
Simply put, the story and message Disenchanted tries to tell is interesting but equal parts predictable from the word go. While it’s so much fun to see Amy Adams flexing her acting muscles by flipping between a doting Mother and an evil step-mother, it’s also saddening to see how there’s nothing much going on in this un-necessary sequel that fails to live up to its magical original. For a fantasy musical, neither are the songs catchy nor worth remembering. Almost every Disney live-action musical had atleast one musical number to take back, but Disenchanted has none.
The comedy punch-lines and dialogues in Disenchanted are irredeemably bland. Even a modest run-time of 118 minutes seems too much for a story Richard LaGravenese tries to tell. It’s understandable for the second act to stretch itself, but Disenchanted exhausts itself even in the climax that gets dragged for no reason. Despite a lot of overbearing flaws, Disenchanted could have still been better onscreen with a more crisper editing.
One of the major strengths of Disenchanted is its ‘Sequel’ label and nostalgia. The second position would obviously go to Amy Adams and the rest of the main-cast. Adams effortlessly rocks and elevates most of the blandest dialogues and scenes with her comic timing and voice modulation. Her combination scenes with the terrific Maya Rudolf’s Malvina are some of the major highlights of Disenchanted. That said, an important thing Disenchanted achieves in comparison to its predecessor is in the representation front. The VFX work is also understandably better than the 15 year old predecessor.
In short, Disenchanted doesn’t have the magic, originality and honesty of Enchanted. Ardent fans of the Prequel might forgive this un-necessary sequel for the sake of their love for Giselle aka Amy Adams. Disenchanted has some of Disney’s most loved characters coming back. Nostalgia merchants might hence dig it. But as a film, it fails to make a mark. Neither as a fantasy musical nor as a fantasy comedy.
Other Artists?
Patrick Dempsey doesn’t have enough moments, but his charm as Robert is still intact. His scenes with Amy Adams still makes our hearts flutter like before. James Marsden as King Edward and Idina Menzel as Queen Nancy are funny and charming as usual. Griffin Newman’s voice for pip is also fun. The very talented Yvette Nicole Brown as Rosaleen makes an impact even in minimal scenes.
Music and Other Departments?
Alan Menken’s music for Disenchanted is disappointing. Unlike Enchanted, none of the songs register enough for a position in your playlist. This is quite unexpected from someone who gave magical numbers in Tangled, Enchanted, Aladdin etc. The VFX is fine. Simon Duggan’s camera work and lighting stands neck to neck with Enchanted. Chris Lebenzon’s editing on the other hand, pulls the film down by notches.
Highlights?
Performances
VFX work
Drawbacks?
Lousy Screenplay
Slumber editing
Duration
Music
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes. in parts.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. But with huge reservations. Fans of Amy Adams as Giselle could have a ball.
Disenchanted Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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