Directed by: Kevin Lima
Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon, Timothy Spall
Rating: PG

James Marsden, Amy Adams, and Patrick Dempsey in Enchanted. (Courtesy photo)

Over the past 15 years of reviews, I have had few kind words to say about the Walt Disney Corporation. But there was a time I felt the same joy and thrill as most kids when experiencing “The Wonderful World of Disney,” or a trip to Disney World, or even a Chip and Dale cartoon before a drive-in movie. The good folks at Disney had to work diligently to suck my affection away, and they pretty much succeeded. Yet Enchanted, about an animated princess who falls into real life New York City, is just delightful enough to hearken back to the Disney that I loved. Enchanted is pure Disney in the best and worst sense. It creates a captivating world of make believe, while expanding its massively lucrative princess line. It presents an upbeat young woman who learns to stand up for herself against the most fearsome adversary. But she also takes time to introduce a young girl to the expensive shopping spree. The idea by writer Bill Kelly (Blast From the Past, Premonition) is a very clever one to hand Disney. If they had enforced their rule of never poking fun at themselves, they really could have screwed this up. There is no outright self-parody in Enchanted, but there is a level of playfulness that elevates Enchanted above mercenary merchandizing vehicle. It’s elevated far higher by the performance of star Amy Adams.

Adams plays Giselle, a young maiden from the land of Andulasia who sings and dances with animals while waiting for her prince to come. He does, in the form of dashing, oblivious Prince Edward (James Marsden), and the two decide to wed the next day. But Edward’s evil stepmother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) is determined to keep Edward from ever marrying. Disguised as an old hag, she pushes Giselle into a magical fountain, which spits her out in the middle of Times Square. When Edward and Giselle’s trusty squirrel friend Pip heads after her, Narissa sends smitten servant Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) to kill her. Meanwhile, the overwhelmed Giselle is helped by tightly wound single dad Robert (Patrick Dempsey). As she waits for Edward to arrive and plant “true love’s kiss” on her, Giselle proceeds to sweetly sabotage Robert’s work and relationships.

See where this is going? It doesn’t matter that we know how it will all turn out. We would feel cheated if it didn’t. It doesn’t even matter that the self-referential playfulness is quickly replaced by classic fairytale sappiness. In fact, it’s welcome. Even the commissioned love ballad with lyrics that exactly describe the action on screen can’t spoil the mood. Enchanted comes within throwing distance of being a perennial. For all intents and purposes, it’s the female version of Elf. But director Kevin Lima (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians) falls short where many talented filmmakers before him did: in the finale. We’re all primed to cry for joy, but Lima and Kelly insert an oversized twist that slicks up our emotional grip with empty spectacle and leaves Sarandon high and dry. This should be an easy rule for all filmmakers to follow: if you’ve got Susan Sarandon, don’t waste her.

Back to Amy Adams. I remember seeing her as Leonardo Di Caprio’s baffled love interest in 2002’s Catch Me If You Can, and thinking “Man, she’s great. Too bad she’ll never get the roles she deserves.” I’m very happy to be wrong. In 2005 Adams earned a best supporting actress nod for being so good in the all-but-unseen Junebug. Last year she did a cute stint on The Office, and gave a gung-ho supporting performance in Taladega Nights. How she won this coveted role is a wonderful mystery, but Adams has immediately leapt to the top of the actress pile. She starts out so earnest, you’re not sure you’ll be able to watch 100 minutes of her. But as Giselle gradually gives over to the real world, Adams’ performance subtly grows richer and more grounded. Too bad she didn’t get a more worthy leading man. I know that Dempsey is considered a big-time sex symbol, thanks to his work on Grey’s Anatomy. That’s fine–he’s a good-looking fellow and all, but he plays comedy like a school principal recruited for a pep rally skit. He’s a good sport, but little more. There are missed opportunities in Enchanted to be sure, and none more frustrating than the casting of Dempsey over a more capable counterpart to Adams. In fact, if James Marsden were a more accomplished comic actor, he might have offset the movie’s romantic balance. He nearly does anyway. Free of the shackles of square-jawed supporting roles (X-Men, The Notebook, Superman Returns), Marsden revels as the absurdly self-absorbed Edward. Susan Sarandon does have her moments as Narissa, but spends too much time in forms other than human.

Enchanted boasts a couple of terrific musical numbers written by Disney’s composing team Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, and an overall exuberance that is very welcome. If you found the trailer to be even faintly amusing, you’ll probably enjoy Enchanted. And thanks to the luminous Amy Adams, Giselle will have no trouble holding her own with the Cinderellas and Jasmines of Disney fame. Enchanted is about shear positivity winning out over cynicism. It’s also about Disney magic winning out over Disney hucksterism. Of course, in the case of Disney, that’s a corporate victory too.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California, and works for the Cartoon Network. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.