Day 47.1: Enchanted

Though not an official part of the Disney animated canon, Enchanted  (which is partly animated) is such a loving spoof of older Disney movies told through a really cute, enjoyable film.  I decided to do a post on it as well, mostly because I've not mentioned any of the previous partly animated films, so this seemed like an ideal one.

Enchanted (2007)

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Bennett, Kevin Lima, Jon McLaughlin, Fred Tatasciore, Paige O'Hara, Jodie Benson, Judy Kuhn, Julie Andrews

Songs: "True Love's Kiss," "Happy Working Song," "That's How You Know," "So Close," "Ever Ever After"

Enchanted is a 2007 film in the tradition of Mary Poppins and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? -- a blend of traditional 2D animation and live action.  It tells the story of Giselle, a young woman from the fairytale land of Andalasia who gets transported to the real world (New York City) by her evil, jealous mother-in-law to be.  She finds shelter with a divorce lawyer and his young daughter.

The idea for this movie came in the form of a script bought by Touchstone Pictures in 1997.  The direction the story took at the time was felt to be too mature, so the project was abandoned for a few years and development resumed in 2002, with production beginning in 2005.  The animation in this film took longer to complete than the live action portion.  Visual reference footage and costume designs had to be done before animation could begin so that the look of the characters, as well as their mannerisms and they way they moved, would be consistent.  To make the movie even sound like some older Disney films, Alan Menken did the music.  

This movie is a lot of fun, and really lovely.  The animated opening is really beautiful and skillfully done, and it's all very charming.  The whole film, not just the opening (though especially the opening) looks and sounds beautiful.  A totally enjoyable movie.

What I Liked: The many, many references to older Disney movies, especially the fairytales.  Also, Giselle totally saves Robert.  My kind of love story.

What I Disliked: That poor bus driver was just doing her job.

Should You Watch This Movie: Absolutely.