[Movies] Enchanted

Maybe it's just because I'm gay, campy or a huge sucker for Disney movies, but I really, really enjoyed watching Enchanted. I guess considering how things have been going as of late, it was nice to watch something night and entertaining like this film.

Don't let the Disney mo moniker fool you - it seems they decided to take a page from movies like Shrek by learning to laugh at their own predictable patterns and sometimes ridiculous character tendencies.

Enchanted starts out like any other classic Disney cartoon you've ever watched as a kid - the old storybook opening to interesting popup cutouts depicting the various scenes and images. At the heart of the story is Giselle (Amy Adams), our classic fairytale princess complete with animal companions and a dashing prince (James Marsden) destined to become her one true love.

Of course things take a turn for the worse when the prince's evil stepmother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) banishes her to real-world New York in order to keep her grip on the throne. This is where Giselle meets jaded and practical lawyer Patrick Dempsey) who ends up trying to help her find her prince.

As seemingly simplistic and one-sided many of the characters are (in typical Disney fashion), it's by keeping them black and white and clearly defined that it becomes more and more interesting to see how they all interact and evolve throughout the course of the movie. It makes for a deceptively complex story that's a lot more than the usual tripe and fluff Disney subjects its audiences to.

And don't get me started on the singing and dancing! This movie tries to capture the essence of translating a Disney princess into real-world terms, yet still with her unusual ability to summon animals to her aid and to get large groups of people involved in a musical routine. The happy camper in me would just gush whenever she'd burst into song and even everyday passersby would get involved in the performance.

It's because of this that I really rate this movie highly. It's both simple and complex at the same time, the kind of film that is bound to maker anyone laugh and smile whether you're six or sixty, young in age or young at heart. Given what a bummer life can be at times, this is something you definitely ought to see if only to brighten your mood and give your inner child a field day.