Plot Summary:

It has been more than 10 years since Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever. Frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, she turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy. Now, Giselle is in a race against time to reverse the spell and determine what happily ever after truly means to her and her family.

Movie Dissection:

The director, Adam Shankman, does not reinvent the wheel when it comes to revisiting Giselle and Robert. The film very much sticks to the formula of its predecessor which is expected when it comes to this fairytale story style. It was visually beautiful with vibrant colors and spectacular CGI, however Shankman falls short when trying to recapture the magic that “Enchanted” had.

Despite the obvious message of “be careful what you wish for” that has been done so many times, there is a very realistic and powerful message being told of a daughter struggling with having a step-mother that progresses to a daughter-mother bond.

The songs in “Disenchanted” did not have the musical whimsy that the first had. I find it odd that Adams did not have the title song in this movie, but that went to Idina Menzel’s character, Nancy, who sang “Love Power.” While “Love Power” is an amazing song, however no song in the sequel compares to the original songs such as “That’s How You Know.” 

Adams was phenomenal in this film. She does an excellent job at portraying this split personality swap from Giselle to the evil stepmother which sometimes happens on a dime. The chemistry between Adams and Dempsey feels like it’s as connected as it was in “Enchanted” which helps the audience connect with the movie. Medina and James Marsden (Edward) were both shining stars of the film.

Final Thoughts:

Overall I felt this movie was a step down from the first. There are a lot of Disney princess references in the film including some to Ariel, Belle, Snow White and more. I felt that it kept me disconnected from Giselle’s story because it was filled with other princess references that made it feel like it wasn’t its own unique movie. I liked the message of the daughter-mother bond, but I did not enjoy the “be careful what you wish for” message because it has been done so many times. I enjoyed the film and would probably watch it again, but it does not hold a light to “Enchanted” earning it a 3 out of 5 film reels.