Enchanted is a 2007 American live action/animated musical fantasy comedy film directed by Kevin Lima and written by Bill Kelly. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Josephson Entertainment, and Right Coast Productions, the film stars Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, and Susan Sarandon, with Julie Andrews as the narrator. It focuses on an archetypal Disney princess-to-be named Giselle, who is exiled from her animated world into the live-action world of the New York metropolitan area, where she falls in love with a divorce lawyer.
The live-action animated film is both an homage to and a self-parody of Disney's animated features, making numerous references to past works through the combination of live-action filmmaking, traditional animation, and computer-generated imagery. It also marks the return of traditional animation to a Disney feature film after the company's decision to move entirely to computer animation in 2004. Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who had written songs for previous Disney films, wrote and produced the songs of Enchanted, and Menken also composed the film's score. The animated sequences were produced at James Baxter Animation in Pasadena, while filming of the live-action segments took place around New York City.
Enchanted premiered at the London Film Festival on October 20, 2007, and went into its wide release in the United States on November 21. The film was critically well-received, established Adams as a leading lady, and earned $340.5 million worldwide at the box office. It won three Saturn Awards, Best Fantasy Film, Best Actress for Adams and Best Music for Menken. Enchanted also received two nominations at the 65th Golden Globe Awards and three Best Original Song nominations at the 80th Academy Awards. This is the first Walt Disney Pictures film to be distributed under the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures banner after Disney retired the Buena Vista brand from its distribution division. A sequel, Disenchanted, was released on Disney+ on November 18, 2022.
Plot
In the animated fairy tale kingdom of Andalasia, the corrupt and ruthless Queen Narissa is determined to stay in power; her reign will end if her stepson, Prince Edward, ever gets married. Narissa enlists her loyal servant Nathaniel to help Edward hunt trolls to distract him from searching for his true love. A young woman named Giselle who lives in a forest dreams of meeting a prince and experiencing a "happily ever after." Edward hears Giselle singing and sets off to find her. Nathaniel frees a captured troll to kill Giselle, but Edward rescues her. She and Edward are instantly attracted to each other and plan to be married the following day.
Narissa disguises herself as an old hag, intercepts Giselle on her way to the wedding, and pushes her into a well. Giselle turns into a live-action version of herself and is teleported to New York City's Times Square where she becomes frightened and overwhelmed by the harshness and unfamiliarity of the city. Robert Philip, a divorce lawyer who plans to propose to his girlfriend, Nancy Tremaine, and his six-year-old daughter, Morgan, encounter Giselle while on their way home. Robert reluctantly allows Giselle to stay in his apartment at the insistence of Morgan, who believes that Giselle is a princess.
Edward embarks on a mission to save Giselle, accompanied by Giselle's chipmunk friend Pip; they jump down the well, turn into live-action versions of themselves, and emerge in Times Square. To his dismay, however, Pip discovers that he cannot speak in the real world. Meanwhile, Narissa sends Nathaniel to follow Edward and sabotage his efforts to find Giselle and gives him three poisoned apples to use on Giselle, saying whoever eats them will fall into a deep sleep and die at midnight. Nancy arrives to take Morgan to school and leaves after seeing Giselle, assuming that Robert has been unfaithful to her. Robert is initially angry at Giselle, but he ends up spending the day with her to help familiarize her with the city. Giselle questions Robert about his relationship with Nancy and helps them reconcile by sending her flowers and an invitation to a costume ball at the Woolworth Building. Nathaniel attempts to give Giselle a poisoned apple twice, but his attempts fail.
Edward locates Giselle at Robert's apartment, but although he is eager to take her home to Andalasia and marry her, she suggests they should first go on a date and get to know each other better. Giselle promises to return to Andalasia after the ball that night, which Robert and Nancy also attend. Meanwhile, Nathaniel reports his failure to Narissa, who furiously decides to enter the real world and kill Giselle herself. At the ball, Robert and Giselle dance together while Nancy and Edward look on before seeing each other. Giselle and Edward then prepare to depart, but Giselle begins to feel ashamed for leaving Robert behind. Shortly before midnight, Narissa appears in her old hag form and offers the last poisoned apple to Giselle, promising that it will erase her memories of Robert. Giselle takes a bite and immediately falls into a deep sleep.
Narissa attempts to escape with Giselle's body, but Edward thwarts her. Realizing that Narissa never cared about him or Giselle, Nathaniel reveals her plot and apologizes for his previous actions. A remorseful Robert realizes that true love's kiss is the only force powerful enough to break the curse. Edward's kiss fails to wake Giselle, and he realizes that Robert should kiss Giselle instead. Robert is hesitant to do so until Nancy, despite being heartbroken, gives him her permission, and he kisses Giselle, waking her up. Outraged, Narissa transforms into a dragon and takes Robert hostage, prompting Giselle to take Edward's sword and pursue her to the top of the building to rescue Robert. Pip comes to support Giselle and causes Narissa to fall to her death, with Robert almost falling as well, but Giselle rescues him and they share another kiss.
Edward and Nancy fall in love and get married in Andalasia; Nathaniel, who stays in New York, and Pip, who returns to Andalasia (where he regains his ability to speak), write autobiographies based on their experiences in the real world; and Giselle starts a fashion design business, which becomes very successful, and forms a happy family with Robert and Morgan.
Cast
Amy Adams as Giselle, a princess-to-be who hails from Andalasia and displays similar traits to early Disney Princesses; Lima describes her as "about 80% Snow White, with some traits borrowed from Cinderella and Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty... although her spunkiness comes from Ariel from The Little Mermaid". She is "eternally optimistic and romantic" but is also "very independent and true to her convictions". Patrick Dempsey as Robert Philip: A cynical Manhattan divorce attorney at Churchill, Harline & Smith LLP who does not believe in true love or fairy tales since his wife left him and their daughter. He falls in love with Giselle after her adventure to New York City, and her sense of fun gradually rubs off on him over the course of the film. James Marsden as Prince Edward, a dim-witted but brave, heroic and good-hearted prince in Andalasia and Queen Narissa's stepson. He is "very pure, very simple-minded and naive, but innocently narcissistic". Susan Sarandon as Queen Narissa, Edward's evil stepmother, a sorceress, and a megalomaniac with a hatred for Giselle. Her mannerisms, characteristics, powers, and physical features were inspired by classic Disney villainesses such as the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Timothy Spall as Nathaniel, Queen Narissa's servant who is controlled through his infatuation with her and his own lack of self-esteem, and has a penchant for disguises. Idina Menzel as Nancy Tremaine, a fashion designer and Robert's girlfriend. She is named after Lady Tremaine, the stepmother from Cinderella. Rachel Covey as Morgan Philip, Robert's 6-year-old daughter who, despite her father misunderstanding her and telling her otherwise, believes in fairy tales and magic.
Giselle's chipmunk friend Pip is voiced by Jeff Bennett in Andalasia, where he has no trouble expressing himself through speech, while the film's director Kevin Lima voices Pip in the real world, where he must communicate through squeaks and charades. Much of Pip's personality was based on Disney sidekicks such as Mushu from Mulan and Timon from The Lion King. The Andalasia cast also includes Lima's daughter Emma Rose Lima as the bluebird and the fawn, Teala Dunn as a bunny and Fred Tatasciore as the troll. Julie Andrews provides the film's narration.
Paige O'Hara (who previously voiced Belle in Beauty and the Beast) and Judy Kuhn (who provided the singing voice of Pocahontas in the 1995 animated film of the same name) make cameo appearances as soap opera character Angela and a pregnant woman Edward encounters, respectively. John Rothman and Jodi Benson (who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid) portray, respectively, Robert's boss Carl and secretary Sam, while Tonya Pinkins and Isiah Whitlock Jr. portray Phoebe and Ethan Banks, a couple whose divorce Robert is mediating. Marlon Saunders and Jon McLaughlin appear as vocalists who sing "That's How You Know" and "So Close", respectively.
Production
Development The initial script of Enchanted, written by Bill Kelly, was bought by Disney's Touchstone Pictures and Sonnenfeld/Josephson Productions for a reported sum of $450,000 in September 1997. The script was written for three years, but it was thought to be unsuitable for Walt Disney Pictures because it was "a racier R-rated movie", inspired by the adult-risque comedy movies in the 1980s and 1990s such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Pie. The first draft of the script had Giselle being mistaken for a stripper when she arrives in New York City. To the frustration of Kelly, the screenplay was rewritten several times, first by Rita Hsiao and then by Todd Alcott. The film was initially scheduled to be released in 2002 with Rob Marshall as director but he withdrew due to "creative differences" with the producers. In 2001, director Jon Turteltaub was set to direct the film but he left soon after, later working with Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer on the National Treasure franchise. Adam Shankman became the film's director in 2003, while Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle were hired by Disney to rewrite the script once again. At the time, Disney considered offering the role of Giselle to Kate Hudson or Reese Witherspoon. However, the project did not take off.
On May 25, 2005, Variety reported that Kevin Lima (who previously directed Tarzan and 102 Dalmatians) had been hired as director and Bill Kelly had returned to the project to write a new version of the script. Lima worked with Kelly on the script to combine the main plot of Enchanted with the idea of a "loving homage" to Disney's heritage. He created detailed storyboards for the entire film that took a whole floor of the production building to display. After Lima showed them to Dick Cook, the chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, he received the green light for the project and a budget of $85 million. Lima began designing the world of Andalasia and storyboarding the movie before a cast was chosen to play the characters. After the actors were hired, he was involved in the final design of the movie and made sure the animated characters look like their real-life counterparts.
Casting