Enchanted – DVD Review

Film, Reviews, Top Story

Enchanted DVD cover
Available at Amazon.com

Every Disney Princess movie is essentially the same, right? Princess-to-be lives in poverty, meets a prince, the next day they get married and live happily ever after. Enchanted begins like a typical Disney Princess movie, only there’s a hurdle to jump over to get to the “married” and the “happily ever after”. The Princess-to-be, Giselle, is hated by the Princely-Hubby-to-be’s wicked stepmother, and as she is tra-la-ing to her wedding, she is pushed down a wishing well and lands in New York City where she is no longer a cartoon and nothing is “happily ever after”.

There have been many attempts at a fractured fairy tale. Some have been hits, The Princess Bride, and some have been misses, Happily N’Ever After and Hoodwinked. Enchanted is a hit out of the ballpark. The satire is pitch perfect, never dry or dated. The jokes are laugh out loud funny, not roll your eyes babyish. It makes fun of every Disney movie out there while still being the type of movie it makes fun of. It’s hysterical! My favorite cliché they make fun of is the woodland animals that help the Princess-to-be a la Snow White and Cinderella. In Enchanted, woodland creatures come to help Giselle whenever she calls for them by singing out the window. Only when she makes it to New York, other kinds of…well, city animals…come to help her clean.

Amy Adams received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Giselle, and the nomination was well-deserved. She’s adorable as the wide-eyed, happy-go-lucky, spontaneous-song-singing Giselle. There is no doubt that she is a princess and she’s just lost. She’s a joy to watch. Other notable cast members include James Marsden as the goofy yet charming Prince, Susan Sarandon as the wicked stepmother, Patrick Dempsey aka McDreamy as the single father who tries to help Giselle get back to wherever she’s from, Julie Andrews as the Narrator, and, my favorite, Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent) as Patrick Dempsey’s girlfriend Nancy. What a cast! Everyone is on top of their game here and looking like they’re having the time of their lives in these roles.

The music is also excellent. For you musical lovers, there’s a great scene in which Giselle bursts into song in the middle of Central Park and gets everyone involved in a huge song and dance number. This song, “That’s How You Know” was one of three songs from the Enchanted soundtrack that were nominated for Academy Awards this past year. The soundtrack is a must have for every Disney fan.

If you’ve not seen Enchanted yet, this DVD release is the perfect time to do so. The extras are spectacular, but a little sparse for a Disney DVD release and the movie is the pure embodiment of everything I love about movies.

The DVD is presented with the option of either 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround or DTS. The picture is in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Let me tell you, this film is absolutely flawless. For a movie that takes place in so many different environments and has so many different sounds involved from a forest setting to a city setting to big musical numbers to a rainy night scene, everything is fluid and without imperfection.

It also comes with subtitles in English for the hearing impaired, Spanish, and French.

A series of featurettes under the title Fantasy Comes to Life:

Happy Working Song – A fantastic behind the scenes look at how the talented Disney animators made this scene work. There are some really cool before and after shots in this.

That’s How You Know – A behind the scenes look at the choreography sessions for this song and some of the inspiration behind the songwriting process.

A Blast at the Ball – This was really cool as well. It showed the behind the scenes process of the big transformation scene at the end of the movie.

Deleted Scenes are included, each with an introduction by the director Kevin Lima. There is an alternate beginning and a twist on the ending, but mostly they are forgettable. They were deleted for a reason. I thought the introductions were a nice touch though.

A Blooper reel is included as well, as is a music video for the song “Ever Ever After” by Carrie Underwood. The song is available on the Enchanted soundtrack.

Pip’s Predicament – A Pop Up Adventure is the one extra geared towards the younger audience. Disney releases always have a game of some sort for the kids and this one is a bit of a disappointment. There is no interactivity whatsoever and the story isn’t all that great. This is the only weak spot of the DVD.

Enchanted is a must see for everyone of all ages. It’s already become a Disney classic. However, there will inevitably be a second DVD release in awhile with a second disc so if you can wait to buy it, do so. If not, be prepared to upgrade. To me, the movie is worth the double dip.

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Walt Disney Video presents Enchanted. Directed by Kevin Lima. Starring Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey. Written by Bill Kelly. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated PG. Released on DVD: March 18, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.

Jenny is proud to be the First Lady of Inside Pulse Movies. She gives female and mommy perspective, and has two kids who help with rating family movies. (If they don't like 'em, what's the point?) She prefers horror movies to chick flicks, and she can easily hang with the guys as long as there are several frou-frou girlie drinks to be had.