Toon Talk: Some Enchanted Evening

Much has been said about the contemporary “fractured fairy tale” genre that pretty much started with the first Shrek and has continued with not only its two sequels (and counting), but with other such films as Ella Enchanted, Hoodwinked and Happily N’Ever After. The declining quality of most of these projects prove that there may not be much material left to mine from taking familiar fairy tale types and slapping them with a post-ironic sensibility. Disney’s latest feature film, Enchanted, may look on the surface to be just such an enterprise, a last gasp of the genre by the frequent target of the like itself, but that is far from the case.

Instead of merely lampooning the conventions of fairy tales, Enchanted embraces them, transporting them, like its animated heroine, into a modern world without loosing the innocence, the magic inherent in such stories. It is truly a fable for our times, one likely to be embraced by audiences (of all ages) yearning for the type of romantic fantasy that the fair maiden Giselle dreams for, a happily ever after that goes on and on.

The film, a hybrid of animation and live action, romantic comedy and musical fantasy, begins in the animated land of Andalasia ...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Enchanted.

UPDATE: Enchanted is now available on DVD from Amazon.com.