Enchanted was one of those Disney movies that I enjoyed watching back when it first came out in cinemas. Having a story where a fairy tale/animated character transitions to the real world (and vice versa) was cute. It was exciting to hear that it was going to have a sequel so when we finally had Disney+ here in the Philippines, my family and I sat down together to watch this (warning: spoilers ahead!).
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| Image Credit: Disney+ |
In this movie, they said that in the real world, the story does not end with happily ever after. In the case of the family of Robert, Giselle, and Morgan, it meant more things can happen after the couple ended up together. Real life happens. Morgan grows up and becomes a teenager with an awkward relationship with Giselle (who is still as insanely optimistic, naïve, and bubbly as ever) and there is also a new addition to the family, a baby girl named Sofia. The now larger family moves to suburbia, to the town of Monroeville, where the growing gap between mother and daughter gets worse.
Hoping to solve the problem she is having with Morgan; Giselle makes a wish on a wishing wand from Andalasia, which was a gift for Sofia. She wishes that they lived a fairy tale life and overnight, that is exactly what happens. The whole town transforms into a fairy tale world, with everyone having their roles in it as they usually do in fairy tales. Unfortunately, Giselle, being a stepmother, is slowly transforming into a wicked stepmother with Morgan becoming a character remarkably like Cinderella.
Giselle realizes that she is changing and discovers that they have until midnight to wish everything back to the way it was, or everything will be permanent. She sends Morgan to Andalasia to get help before it is too late. Long story short, everything works out in the end and the movie ends on a happily-ever-after note.
I thought that the movie had its moments, but I am not sure if it is as good or better as the first one. There were a bit more singing moments and it felt a bit of an overkill for me. There were not only more than I had expected, but they were long too. Giselle was a bit annoying for me in this movie, but I must commend Amy Adams for how she portrayed her when she was shifting between Giselle and evil stepmother in a matter of seconds. You could see the difference in her character every time.
A bit of a peeve for me was the fact that there was little exposure for other characters like Robert, Nancy, and Prince Edward. It was more of a mother-daughter-themed movie, so it mostly focused on Giselle and Morgan (played by a different actor in this movie although the original Morgan appeared in a cameo in the town square when Monroeville was in fairy tale mode). I would also have loved a bit more of James Marsden in this movie. He looks like he has not aged since the last one and he is still hilarious as Prince Edward. Idina Menzel had longer screen time (and a song number, of course) than he did.
As a Disney fan, I loved all the Easter eggs from old films. Giselle’s portrayal of the stepmother reminded me of the one from Cinderella. At one point her outfit also was a nod to that character. Maya Rudolph’s character in the fairy tale version was the stepmother from Snow White. The hair, the magic mirror, and even the crown at the ball reminded me of the character from the original movie. Even having Giselle’s squirrel friend Pip transform into an evil cat (looking suspiciously like Lucifer in Cinderella) because wicked stepmothers had cats was a nice touch.
If you want to find out what happened to Giselle and Robert after the first movie, Disenchanted is highly recommended. If you have not seen the first movie, I suggest watching it first before going into this one. Fair warning though, this can be very cheesy and might come off as annoying to others. If you do not take it seriously and just have fun with it, it is entertaining to watch, especially if you are a fan of Disney movies.
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