29th August, 2008 Login • Register
Search This Site
Enchanted (2007) DVD Review
Enchanted (2007) DVD Credits:
Enchanted (2007) Directed by:
Kevin Lima
Enchanted (2007) Written by:
Bill Kelly
Enchanted (2007) Cast:
Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Susan Sarandon
Enchanted (2007) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Enchanted (2007) DVD Release Date:
17th March 2008
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD
Enchanted (2007) Synopsis:

The film is about a wannabe-princess who's banished from the animated world of Andalasia to a place where there is no true love: real-life New York. There she has to rescue herself and find her true love.

Enchanted (2007) DVD Review:

Enchanted is a successful film. That being said, many will tear their eyes out rather than watch it, and after the drawn out performances from the Academy Awards, I imagine even more would gladly lose their hearing as well. These people are likely to be annoyed beyond belief with the antics of Enchanted for one of two reasons; they are either watching it without having any previous knowledge about the film, or are watching it completely against their will for the benefit of an ecstatic child or an exuberant significant other. Those who know what the film is about and what the purpose of it is will not be surprised by sugary sweet qualities that make it a successful film, and a little knowledge about the filmmaker goes a long way in proving what the intention of the film is.

Director Kevin Lima got his start as an animator, working with Disney for most of the 1980s, but by the time he had reached the level where he was creating stories (Lima has story credit for Aladdin and Oliver and Company) for Disney and had reached enough prestige to direct a major feature (Tarzan), the golden age of Disney had passed. With Enchanted Disney is trying to do something new and innovative with animation for the first time since anyone at the proud company would be likely to admit. While other animated films have mixed animation with live-action before, Enchanted makes a conscious choice of creating animated characters who become live-action in the real world, while still maintaining the animated sensibilities that all Disney characters seemed to have. Enchanted is a film that relies heavily upon the golden age of Disney, while inventively creating a pastiche animated world, allowing for the live-action counter-parts to be large and over-the-top.

Leading the entire film with her energetic personality, Amy Adams plays Princess Giselle, who is pushed from the animated world of Andalasia into the real world of Manhattan. I had a friend who used to work at Disneyland in the parades, and that is what much of Enchanted feels like. The one thing that seems to elevate the film is the performances and casting. Adams is a perfect choice, even carrying herself in such a way that you can almost believe her to be animated as her live-action self. The casting of James Marsden as the prince who inevitably comes into the real world to save her is also dead-on. Marsden has always been the perfect Baxter in films, mostly because of how attractive he is. Audiences seem to always enjoy watching this typically attractive man get left behind for less typical Hollywood hunks. This is a perfect casting choice for an animated prince brought to life, and Marsden proves up to the task.

Unfortunately this is where the praises cease. Patrick Dempsey is appropriately amusing as the Manhattan divorce lawyer and single father who stumbles into the situation of helping Giselle, and Susan Sarandon is frightening enough for me to imagine as a Disney villain, but everything about the story is so dreadfully predictable that anyone over five will know each turn before it comes. Even worse, I was able to predict gags, and although this can prove an entertaining parlor trick, it hardly makes for good viewing. I will likely watch this film with my young sisters, and one day I may have daughters of my own I will watch it with, but I will be hard pressed to ever watch this film again without a child in the room.

The DVD has plenty of special features, but most of them are best suited for the same audience as the film. There is a behind-the-scenes featurette about the special effects, but the bloopers are the best bet for entertaining everyone. There are also deleted scenes and a silly Pip feature for kids.

Our Rating: Extras Rating: User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

Enchanted (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

Content Management System provided by P J Thomson - Freelance Web Design - PHP/MySQL Development