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| Enchanted * * * * |
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| Written by Ivan Radford |
| Friday, 14 December 2007 00:00 |
 Director: Kevin LimaCool Runnings aside, Disney’s forays into the realm of reality haven’t always been brilliant. Then again, neither have their animated features of late. And that’s ignoring the horde of DVD sequels - the bastardised offspring of our childhood memories. Enchanted, then, is a hybrid of the two mediums; a pastiche of Disney past, it comes across as the company’s official retort to Shrek. The pleasant surprise is that it easily rivals the high standard set by the first in the Dreamworks series. Beginning in old-school 2D, the young Giselle (Adams) dreams of her one true love. Quick as a flash, up pops the dashing, gormless Prince Edward (Marsden). A short duet later and they’re set to be married in the morning. But Edward’s evil step-mother, Queen Narissa (Sarandon) is none too happy with the match. And so she pushes Giselle into a fountain-cum-vortex, sending her to a far off place where there are no happy endings: no, not Essex, New York. There Giselle bumps into divorcee Robert (Dempsey). While he introduces her to the concepts of dating and single-parents, Edward follows Giselle to the Big Apple, accompanied by CGI chipmunk Pip and Narissa’s pathetic manservant Nathaniel (Spall). Spanning the leap from animation to live-action, the cast are as charismatic as characters of old. Leading the bunch is the non-saccharine starlet, Amy Adams; believably innocent and endearingly cute, her princess-to-be falls for the dreamy Dempsey with heartfelt honesty. Resolutely refusing to accompany her incessant singing, Dempsey’s Robert is charming to the last – clearly the better of Edward’s dumb rival. Marsden seems destined to be forever defined by his role as X-Men’s Cyclops. Living up to Wolverine’s “you’re a dick”, he swans about in tights, sending up Disney’s two-dimensional royal archetype with goofy gaiety. Credit to him for that. Spall, meanwhile, offers a nice contrast to Nathaniel's confident suitor, switching disguises and accents in a hilariously sleazy manner. It's no wonder, then, that Pip's squeaky impersonations of him almost steal the show on several occasions. On paper, this film should not work: live-action antics, computer-generated animals, witty self-parody – you expect it all to fall flat within minutes. Somehow, though, Disney find that magic formula beneath the commercial sheen, mocking their own values yet upholding them for a new generation. Blossoming into a romantic tale of ridiculous proportions, this eclipses the recent spate of cartoon rubbish with style. Proceedings are peppered with delightful musical numbers, from Happy Working Song - subverting Mary Poppins' work ethic with cockroaches and rats - to the show-stopping That’s How She Knows. The latter sees the entire population of Central Park unite in spontaneous song; you’ll be hard pressed not to join in. VERDICT Intelligent, hilarious and downright daft, this post-modern Disney flick deftly hits the mark. Laugh, sing and swoon along with what is by far the family film of the season. Read my red carpet interviews from the premiere of Enchanted at the LFF here. |
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