Disenchanted

[Disney Duster]

Ok, thanks for explaining D82. I actually was talking about their ball costumes. Those are the Anastasia and Drizella ones.

I see what you mean farerb, though Giselle spitting that fish always bugged me as something weird a Disney princess would never do. But when I watched it again recently I thought it might be because she drank some of the water and accidentally almost swallowed the fish.

Anyway, I watched this this morning. Wow. So, I ended up thinking this was good in the beginning, then just ok around the middle, then good again by the end. I really loved this movie! It was a pretty worthy sequel. It wasn't as good as the first, but I feared the worst from the mixed reviews. The best things for me were Amy and Maya's acting. The relationship between them, and the relationship between Amy and Gabriella were also what made this film so good. However, the songs were not as great or gave the "This is awesome" sing-along feeling as the original's. The animation was probably the worst thing in the movie. But that was another Disney homage -to the early Disney direct-to-video sequels! I thought Robert and his "quest" got lost in the whole film and could have used a bit more attention, but it wasn't really that important to the plot, so whatever. I also thought the tree of memories was an odd thing and didn't fit as any kind of familiar fairy tale trope. And if they had to use that, I would have preferred instead Morgan and Robert tell Giselle their favorite memories of her, and remind her that way, since the memory tree craft Morgan made got ripped up by Giselle..

Anyway, I am actually really glad we got this, we were lucky it was so good, and I even liked a lot of the costumes I thought I was going to hate (including Malvina's first one! Those weren't random lines, they were gold hangings!), even though I still think the first one's were better. This film even made me tear up in the end! So, yeah, we got a good sequel to Enchanted! The only real bad was the animation!

[PatrickvD]

It was very uneven. But the things that worked were excellent. Most notably again Amy Adams.

Love Power would have made more of an impact on me if the animation hadn’t been so subpar. The disrespect to Idina Menzel… my lord.

I stand by my initial thought, Fairytale Life is the highlight. Menken can still crank out worthy Disney tunes.

Gabriella also has some serious pipes. She was doing some Snow White style high notes. It’s
Italian opera genes I guess? Outstanding.

[justcuttinhair]

Just watched!! Things I liked were the 2D animation… the casting… the songs( made me wish for more original musicals from Disney….they do musicals best!) and the aesthetic was fantastic! The overall Disney Easter eggs were a delight. The style of this film was clearly influenced by the Disney tv version of Cinderella. My only gripe truly… was the amount of songs… too many!

[Vlad]

I just saw it, and I must say that I didn't have the highest expectations, especially after Pinocchio and Hocus Pocus 2, but Disenchanted was such a pleasant surprise. The songs were wonderful, the cast was amazing and I loved the 2D animation. The story was very surprising, and I think Amy Adams had a lot of fun with her character. Alan Menken's still got it. The music was superb. And just like they did with the first one, they added so many Easter eggs, and I loved them all. The only problem I would have is that they didn't give James Marsden more screentime.

[Mooky]

Disenchanted was surprisingly wonderful! I've had my doubts about it and it had so much going against it (belated sequel, Disney's decade-long run of terrible live-action movies, director's mostly crappy filmography, AND being relegated to Disney+ instead of being released in theaters -- all red flags), but I had a fun time watching it even though the quality is obviously lower compared to the original. Several moments made me teary-eyed, definitely didn't expect that! Amy Adams was AMAZING -- managing to tune into her original performance after all these years and then also do a polar opposite, sometime in the span of seconds. I liked her cold, cruel and calculating moments, there should have been more of them!

I agree with Duster that the middle part is the least enjoyable as it feels longer than it actually is. I too think Robert's storyline was the weakest and needed more thought put into it. Given what the implications of Giselle's wish are, I feel it should have involved him being in mortal danger as dead parents is another one of fairytale tropes. And poor baby Sofia served no real purpose in the story other than to introduce the magic wand. Then she was just forgetten lol.

I wasn't fan of most of the songs, I think the standout is the dueling villains song (reminded me of something out of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), all the others kind of sound the same-ish to me.

Overall, it was quite good and compliments Enchanted quite well. I'd be happy if this remained a duology.

Oh, and did you guys notice Rachel Covey's (original Morgan) cameo in one of the Monrolasia scenes?

[VanessaFan]

I wasn't fan of most of the songs, I think the standout is the dueling villains song (reminded me of something out of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), all the others kind of sound the same-ish to me.

Really? I didn't really care for the dueling villains song, I thought it sounded like it could be from a Descendants movie I'm sorry to all that liked the song. But I just felt it didn't add much to the story, and I don't think it was that catchy...
My personal favorite song was Morgan's song Perfect. That felt like a classic Menken song At least to me. But I did like the movie, it was funny and I think Amy was perfect once again, as Giselle.

[blackcauldron85]

I just finished watching it, and I, too, absolutely loved it. I think most of the animation was fine and it made me happy to watch. I loved the music; Morgan's song I think was my favorite, or tied with "Even More Enchanted," but I loved them all. I cried near the end, too- it was very moving. It was a pretty perfect movie and I'm so grateful it was made!

[D82]

I'm glad people here are enjoying it in general. I did too. It's true there were pacing issues in the middle, as others have pointed out, and several other things could've been improved too. But, though the original is of course much superior, this was still not bad at all. Especially, compared with other Disney sequels. I'm actually looking forward to watching it again.

I agree with the majority that Amy Adams was the highlight once again. She was amazing as both good and evil Giselle. The rest of the cast did a good job too, but I also think Robert and especially Edward didn't have enough screen time. Interestingly, the main characters this time were all women. I enjoyed the sidekicks too. I found both Pip and the scroll quite funny, and Malvina's minions weren't bad either.

As for the music, initially I was a little disappointed by the songs, but after listening to them several times I think they're all quite good actually. It's just that they're not as instantly catchy as the ones in the original. The first film is superior in this regard, but Menken and Schwartz still did a pretty decent job, in my opinion.

I actually was talking about their ball costumes. Those are the Anastasia and Drizella ones.

OK, I was talking about them in general, but yes, the ball ones are more reminiscent of Anastasia and Drizella's.

The animation was probably the worst thing in the movie. But that was another Disney homage -to the early Disney direct-to-video sequels!

This really made me laugh. You're right it reminded of the DTV sequels. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the animated segments. It's true that the animation itself was quite imperfect, but I think the style of animation, the designs, and the colors or the linework, as Jules pointed out, were quite good. I appreciate when the quality of the animation is good, but personally, if I have to choose between that and the other things I mentioned, I would choose the latter. At least in this case when not the full movie is animated, but just some scenes. Plus, one positive thing is that some characters, like Giselle and Nancy, resembled their live-action counterparts more here (when they weren't too deformed ).

I thought Robert and his "quest" got lost in the whole film and could have used a bit more attention, but it wasn't really that important to the plot, so whatever. I also thought the tree of memories was an odd thing and didn't fit as any kind of familiar fairy tale trope..

I agree about both things, though I didn't have a big issue with any of them either.

Anyway, I am actually really glad we got this, we were lucky it was so good, and I even liked a lot of the costumes I thought I was going to hate (including Malvina's first one! Those weren't random lines, they were gold hangings!), even though I still think the first one's were better. This film even made me tear up in the end!

Yes, the costumes were actually not bad in general. I feel bad I criticized them so much at first. The production design was quite good too. There were a couple of moments where it was obvious they tried to save money (like the dragon they barely showed), but for the most part, it looked like a theatrical movie to me.

It also made me teary-eyed at the end (Giselle telling Morgan she was a true daughter of Andalasia because she was her daughter was so beautiful. I'm sure that moment will especially resonate with stepparents/stepchildren or adopted ones and their parents). Also once earlier, but I don't remember what moment it was now. Next time I watch it I'll probably remember it.

I too think Robert's storyline was the weakest and needed more thought put into it. Given what the implications of Giselle's wish are, I feel it should have involved him being in mortal danger as dead parents is another one of fairytale tropes.

That would've been a great idea. I wish it had occurred to them. Or they had used it if it did. I actually thought that's what would happen at first, since he's shown in dangerous situations in the trailers.

And poor baby Sofia served no real purpose in the story other than to introduce the magic wand. Then she was just forgetten lol.

That's true, but she was so little. I'm not sure what more they could've done with her in the story.

Oh, and did you guys notice Rachel Covey's (original Morgan) cameo in one of the Monrolasia scenes?

Yes! I'm glad she at least had a cameo. Other cameos I spotted were the film's producer or Amy Adam's husband as the artist painting Malvina's portrait.

[rodrigo_ca]

Ah, this was lovely. To be real honest, it's not what I expected, but after all this time I'm not even sure what I expected from an Enchanted sequel anymore. I'm glad we got it.

It drags a bit (for all the cut songs from the first one, I would have cut the Amy and Maya duet sooo easily here ), while the first one has a script so smartly written and tight. But it did made me cry, after all. It has heart and it's miles better than any live action movie Disney has released in a long, long time. Shame we didn't get to see it on the big screen. I must watch in soon again, but in English this time. Amy is amazing.

Anyway, when can we open the Re-Enchanted thread?

[Disney's Divinity]

I thought this was okay, about what I expected. I think I'm only disappointed that the music wasn't a little better. The only songs I liked were "Love Power" and Giselle's first solo (the one where she's singing about how she wishes she could have a fairy tale life). And "Love Power" was just okay, mostly lifted by Menzel, it came across more like a radio ballad in a way. Influence of Pasek & Paul from Menken's collab with them perhaps? In the in-film version, her long note at the end reminded me a great deal of Whitney's last note at the end of "Impossible (It's Possible)" in R&H's Cinderella. Morgan's solo was okay. I did love the score though.

Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph were both great, same with Yvette Nicole Brown and Jayma Mays, they were a lot of fun. Dempsey in particular seemed way more into this role than the original, but he didn't really have much to do. Pip was much less annoying (and more funny) in this than the first film. James Marsden didn't get enough considering how funny that character is; he looked barely changed from the original! I loved Amy Adams blue outfit with the peacock feathers (and how her hair looked), but I liked it when it was first revealed. That was really the only standout of the outfits for me.

The animation, eh... I didn't think it was bad, but mostly TV quality except for the song's sequence. Edward's animated face looked a great deal like Naveen's at times, strangely, at least in in the parts before Nancy's song. The lips and cheekbones were drawn in a way that reminded me of how Naveen looked and moved.

As far as odes to the princess films, the "Love Power" sequence reminded me a great deal of Pocahontas between the willow and the leaves flying everywhere. The climax reminded me of TLM, with Malvina using Morgan to force Giselle's hand and Giselle sacrificing herself for Morgan (the tentacle-like vines around Morgan, Malvina picking up her crown similar to Ursula picking up Triton's crown). The firefly at the beginning of course like Ray from TP&TF. The Cinderella and Snow White references were obvious. Morgan's song and the talking furniture / appliances for B&TB (also a fountain shown in the animated intro). Sleeping Beauty probably had the least reference to me, other than Malvina's name, I guess? I think Dempsey's suit when he was acting prince-like might've been like Phillip's (the blue and red one) though, I' m not sure? The clocktower also made me think of Once Upon a Time and the daughter's name Sofia (Sofia the Princess). Also the ugly stepbrother from Sneakerella as Morgan's love interest!

One of the child chipmunks at the beginning reminded me of Boh from Spirited Away when she/he(?)'s turned into a mouse.

[D82]

New poster inspired by the movie, links to the soundtrack, TV spot, featurette about shooting in Ireland and videos from the premiere:

https://twitter.com/DisneyStudios/statu ... 4914989056
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DxVHy2gGEw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-BFQOhtwD4

Amy + Maya on Jimmy Kimmel:
https://youtu.be/NRukEoZePug
(Movie clip around the 6:40 mark)

It was an enjoyable interview. Here are a couple more from TV shows:

Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and Idina Menzel at GMA
James Marsden and Idina Menzel at The Late Late Show with James Corden

As far as odes to the princess films, the "Love Power" sequence reminded me a great deal of Pocahontas between the willow and the leaves flying everywhere.

It's true, I hadn't realized that.

Sleeping Beauty probably had the least reference to me, other than Malvina's name, I guess? I think Dempsey's suit when he was acting prince-like might've been like Phillip's (the blue and red one) though, I' m not sure?

The wand as a present for Sofia's birthday reminded me of Sleeping Beauty, but I'm not sure if that was intentional. The three ladies who offer to help Giselle babysitting Sofia also looked like Flora, Fauna and Merryweather after the spell, but it's true there were many more references to Snow White and Cinderella. Maybe because those two movies have stepmothers, while Sleeping Beauty doesn't. Plus, I guess they already used many elements from it in the first film, especially with Narissa and the dragon.

[Farerb]

I thought the movie was just okay, better than most of what Disney has released in the last five years, but I still thought it was run of the mill, and on the level of a DTV or a Disney Channel movie. I think that if it had been released 10 years ago, I would have had a much lower opinion on it.

The premise was good but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Some of the characters had nothing to do. Robert is the most prime example, and I thought it would have been more interesting if he had died before the movie started. I also thought that Nancy wasn't really necessary to the climax and it was obvious she was only there to give Idina a song.

The humor wasn't as witty as the original's and they sort of missed its point, but I guess that's something that is hard to recreate. The animation was an eyesore and it kind of made me wish they hadn't bothered with it in the first place. It wasn't fluid and the characters moved weirdly.

Overall, I didn't hate it but didn't love it, it was really just serviceable in my opinion. I might watch it one more time, but I don't expect it to be a movie I watch often or even a third time.

Duster - I just thought the bit with the fish was disgusting and ungraceful.

[Disney Duster]

PatrickvD, yes, Gabrielle's singing was very, very good! So was Amy's surprisingly!

Mooky, that dead dad trope idea is clever! Would have been interesting if the spell would have killed him after midnight, too, but that would have made him seem selfish thinking of himself dying by holding the clock back instead of all about Giselle dying..

I'm glad this film made Mooky, blackcauldron85, D82, and rodrigo_ca teary! I'm also glad we agree about Robert and the memory tree, D82.

I liked the songs "Perfect" and "Badder" a lot. To be honest, I thought those were the only really good songs. Loved the Ariel wave, too!

I'm glad I made you laugh, D82. I thought it wasn't just the actual animation that was bad. The designs looked bad to me, too. Just stick with the original's designs, they were done by a former Disney artist's studio!

D82, what you said about Morgan being a true daughter of Andalasia and step and adopted families was so touching and beautiful.

Disney's Divinity, yes, the score was superb, and that firefly was totally a Ray reference.

Ok, Farerb, I gotcha about the fish. I also get your points on Disenchanted.

Did anyone catch the Cinderella transformation reference? That was so awesome for me! Too bad she transformed into a costume I hated, lol.. And hey, why didn't Giselle wish on the wand that Morgan was free or Malvina lost all her powers?

[blackcauldron85]

Other cameos I spotted were the film's producer or Amy Adam's husband as the artist painting Malvina's portrait.

I noticed that the hairstyle on Malvina's portrait did not match her actual hairstyle!

Sleeping Beauty probably had the least reference to me, other than Malvina's name, I guess?

What D82 said, and Maleficent (+ Cruella as well) mentioned in the "Badder" song). I saw a spinning wheel in that room Malvina was in that she grabbed that apple from, too.

The animation was an eyesore and it kind of made me wish they hadn't bothered with it in the first place. It wasn't fluid and the characters moved weirdly

It's a shame the film isn't on disc to easily skip to the animated portions. I need to rewatch the film when I'm not distracted by food or my dogs...I thought that the animals, the ogre, and Morgan were well done (which I believe was mentioned by others when the clips came out)...there were a couple shots of Edward and Nancy when I was like yikes! and my husband mentioned how bad the animation was...for me, in the context of the story, because we are dealing with two different worlds, or whatever Andalasia is classified as, I'm glad we got the animation. You need the animation for Andalasia, it's how it's distinguished from our world. And after Godmothered's animated style (it was stylized which made it easier to accept), I guess it's what's to be expected from Disney+ live-action/animation hybrid films. (C'mon, Disney, you're Disney, please do your own damn animation! Put films in the theater first to get a few million $ that you need to recoup for the animated portions and yay it's doable.)(I mean, THOND2 was also "Disney," via DisneyToon, and yikes, but most of the DTV films' animation wasn't so bad and was good even.)

Did anyone catch the Cinderella transformation reference? That was so awesome for me!

YES!! I turned to my husband and I said that I think they used the actual animation from Cinderella (I mean, rotoscoped for Morgan obviously)!!

And hey, why didn't Giselle wish on the wand that Morgan was free or Malvina lost all her powers?

Was Giselle too weak and felt that she might fade away before the wish could be unwished, so she wanted Morgan to do it? And also she believed in Morgan, being her daughter and all...?

The ending gift from Edward and Nancy was funny, how Edward was like, all it CAN do is grant food on the plate, right?

[Thumper_93]

I saw the movie yesterday and I have to say that I didn't like It too much. In my opinion It looks visually very cheap. The animation is not very good and I can't understand why they changed the design of the characters. I know that this movie is a direct Disney+ movie but come on, We're talking about Disney. They could have spent more money on It.
The soundtrack in Spanish is really awfull and the songs are not good enough to be remembered.
About the costumes I have to say that they looked cheap yo me. The only one that I like is the golden gown that Giselle wears. It is the only one that reminds me a little bit to the costumes that We saw in the first film.

[blackcauldron85]

‘Disenchanted’ Costumes Now on Display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
https://wdwnt.com/?p=817056

[DisneyFan09]

Well, after seeing the movie, I must say that I overall liked it. Sure, the biggest letdown for me was the animation, which switched from being adequate to meh (especially the firefly who was supposed to resemble Ray from The Princess and the Frog). Still, I found it to be a worthy sequel, overall. The two weaknesses with the predecessor, Robert and Pip, were improved here, as they were way more tolerable than in the first movie. Amy was good as Giselle, despite how she was more of a charmer in the first Enchanted. I liked Robert`s issue, despite how it was just given light slightly and then throwed away. Gabriella Baldacchino was fine as Morgan, without making her feel different from Rachel Covey. The influences from Cinderella were more overtly than previously.
It`s interesting how Giselle`s backstory is covered from the beginning of this movie, as she was found and raised by animals (which would make sense). If there were two nitpicks with the movie, is how the Giant wasn`t shown. It would`ve been interesting to see it. My other nitpick was the climax. It was solved too fast without a true confrontation between the hero and the villain. I listened to the song before the movie was released. Perhaps they weren`t great, but they were still good and enchanting enough. My favorites are Even More Enchanted, Fairy Tale Life (After the Spell) and Love Power, who certainly feels influenced from both I See the Light from Tangled and anything from Pocahontas (like Divinity said, the sequence felt very Pocahontas-like, with the orchestration and influence with the trees and the wind). My least favorite song was Badder, which I found insipid and silly.

[D82]

Loved the Ariel wave, too!

Yes, that was nice reference. I watched the song again and the director was right every shot is a tribute to other "I Want" song. Or at least most of them. Several are nods to "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast, but there are even some to recent songs like "How Far I'll Go" from Moana (when Morgan is walking among some trees) or "Waiting on a Miracle" from Encanto (when everybody freezes except her).

I noticed that the hairstyle on Malvina's portrait did not match her actual hairstyle!

Oh, it's true! I hadn't noticed that. Curious choice.

And hey, why didn't Giselle wish on the wand that Morgan was free or Malvina lost all her powers?

Was Giselle too weak and felt that she might fade away before the wish could be unwished, so she wanted Morgan to do it? And also she believed in Morgan, being her daughter and all...?

That's a good question, Disney Duster. I watched that part again and Giselle tells Morgan that she has to make the wish because her magic is almost gone, so I think blackcauldron85 is right she was too weak and I guess had already started to fade away in a way. She could've used it before, though, but maybe she didn't think of that possibility. I think they should've limited the wishes to one per person; it would've made things easier. But I guess they wanted Giselle to have magic to fight with Malvina.

The ending gift from Edward and Nancy was funny, how Edward was like, all it CAN do is grant food on the plate, right?

Yes, it was very funny. I loved that joke.

The soundtrack in Spanish is really awfull and the songs are not good enough to be remembered.

I don't know if it's just me, but I get the impression they did a better job translating the songs in the past. Although, the original versions have always been superior, especially the lyrics. By the way, I wasn't sure if it was Gisela singing the songs again this time or not. Her voice sounded a bit different to me this time, but I've looked it up and apparently it is her. As you know, she also provided the singing voice for Elsa in the Spanish dub of Frozen. It's curious that here that Idina Menzel has a song, she couldn't sing it since she already voices Giselle.

‘Disenchanted’ Costumes Now on Display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
https://wdwnt.com/?p=817056

Thanks for posting!

It`s interesting how Giselle`s backstory is covered from the beginning of this movie, as she was found and raised by animals (which would make sense).

Yes, that was interesting and I agree it makes sense. My only complaint regarding it was baby Giselle's design. Wasn't her hair too long for a baby? I didn't notice it when I watched the film, but little Edward and his parents also make an appearance in that sequence.

If there were two nitpicks with the movie, is how the Giant wasn`t shown. It would`ve been interesting to see it.

What giant?

like Divinity said, the sequence felt very Pocahontas-like, with the orchestration and influence with the trees and the wind

Yes, the instrumentation also reminded of Pocahontas.

[DisneyFan09]

Yes, that was interesting and I agree it makes sense. My only complaint regarding it was baby Giselle's design. Wasn't her hair too long for a baby?

Not only that, but her design was a little off. Her head was too big and her lips were too cartoony.

What giant?

The giant foot that comes when Roberts gets to save the day in the middle of the film. Remember?

[D82]

Not only that, but her design was a little off. Her head was too big and her lips were too cartoony.

Yes, I agree. She looked like a shrunken version of adult Giselle.

Speaking of Giselle, I don't know if you noticed, but we also get to see her wedding to Robert during "Love Power." I didn't catch it when I watched the film.

The giant foot that comes when Roberts gets to save the day in the middle of the film. Remember?

Oh, you mean that we don't get to see him completely, right? I thought you said he didn't appear at all, so I imagined you were maybe talking about another giant. Well, actually, his face is shown in one shot, as you can see below circled in red, but it's not too easy to see. I guess they didn't show him more to save money on visual effects, like they also did with the dragon.

By the way, I'm glad you liked the movie!