Enchanted

From war to famine to global warming, the world is looking pretty grim. One problem overshadows all of these though: a dearth of good Disney movies in the past decade.

Thankfully, Disney has filled that void with Enchanted, a film that is both a satire of and loving homage to films like Sleeping Beauty that Disney built its name on.

Enchanted opens as a typical, animated Disney movie, following Giselle (Amy Adams) as she falls in love with her Prince Charming, Edward (James Marsden). Although it is refreshing to see Disney return to its standard animation style, the budding relationship between Giselle and Edward is underscored by a pleasantly satirical tone, which characterizes the rest of the film. The writers portray Giselle as a clueless dreamer and Edward an inflated ego, adding witty humor to this fairy tale romance.

Giselle and Edward cannot have their happy ending so soon, however, as the gloriously evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) intervenes, sending Giselle into an un-animated "land with no happy endings:" where else but New York City? In the rat and roach-infested streets of the Big Apple, the na've Giselle is visibly shocked with the rude dwarves and thieving hobos she encounters. While she plays the ditsy princess with a simplistic, fairy tale view of love, Adams shows respect for the character, shining in this role.

After failed attempts at befriending dwarves and haggard hobos, Giselle is ready to give up when along comes her McDreamy ironically in the form of a divorce lawyer/single father named Robert (Patrick Dempsey). Disillusioned by his job, Robert's rationality clashes with Giselle's idealism, but he accepts her into his home at the urging of his daughter (Rachel Covey). Covey adds a cuteness factor to Enchanted, but her on-screen father gives a performance even worse than his hideous quaff.

Giselle and Robert slowly learn to appreciate one another. In the best scene of interaction between the two, Giselle breaks into song in the middle of Central Park. In a Technicolor fantasy, Giselle dances her way past hot dog carts, drawing a back-up band of steel drums and a chorus of public service workers and senior citizens. Robert, looking on disapprovingly, simply wonders how everyone knows this song, reminding audiences how ridiculous this suspension of disbelief is.

All the while, the dim-witted Prince Edward, with the help of a CGI squirrel, seeks Giselle as Narissa's henchman Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) tries to foil their efforts. Marsden's character is a one-dimensional joke, but he embraces the vapid stupidity of the prince in a hilarious performance.

Edward finally finds his princess, but not all is right. The filmmakers cleverly subvert fairy tale conventions, and Giselle, having gained some of Robert's rationality, questions whether a relationship is as simple as "true love's kiss."