Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
Enchanted is a charming meta-fairy tale that blends animation and live action with genuine wit, skewering Disney tropes while celebrating them. Amy Adams delivers a career-making, physically committed performance that elevates the material considerably — her comedic timing and wide-eyed sincerity are genuinely exceptional. The concept is clever and the animated opening sequence is well-executed, but the plot itself follows a fairly predictable fish-out-of-water romantic comedy arc with few real surprises. The cinematography is competent but unremarkable for the live-action New York segments, relying on the production design and Adams to carry the visual interest. The ending unfortunately collapses into a generic CGI action climax that feels tonally inconsistent with the film's lighter, self-aware charm, squandering the smarter satirical setup.