My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses: "Enchanted" - The Conscious Live Action/Animation Disney Parody of Their Princess Components

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.

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And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize

With the recent release of Disenchanted, it would be perfectly appropriate to write about it`s predecessor who started it all and who`s having it`s 15th Anniversary this fall...

Yes, we exist :)

Yes, the color blue is the
Enchanted color :)

This is how you`ll look as an
old ogre :)

When Shrek was released in the Summer of 2001, it solidified two things in the movie industry: How CGI animation was meant to take over Hand Drawn animation and the mockery of fairy tales. While the latter issue existed prior to Shrek, at least it became a trend to have mockeries of them after Shrek. Just look at all the movies that came after Shrek who did it! And yes, many people considered Shrek`s mockery to be a spoof of Disney`s properties. However, regarding how Disney have mocked their fairy tale components, they`ve happened to do it priorly. But perhaps really not in the same way as they did with 2007`s Enchanted. Who is essentially an remarkable oddity in the Disney canon.

Looking worried makes you
less dimensional :)

If we`re going to place Enchanted (named for how Giselle enchants everyone she meets) in Disney`s Library, it would`ve been awfully tempting to place it among the category of Live Action Movies who`s blended with Animation. However, while that placement is somewhat fair, it`s still on the surface. After all, Enchanted is rather a conscious delination of the two mediums: A movie that shows the different worlds and how animated characters comes to live in our world. However, what makes Enchanted notable is that it was made in a time where hand drawn isn`t as prominent anymore. Which makes it more rare. But what also makes Enchanted truly outstanding is (as aforementioned) how it`s a conscious spoof of the tradmarks and elements of Disney`s Princess movies. But unlike the likes of Shrek, which opted for complete irreverence, Enchanted`s mockery is a more respectful one.

Generel Information About Enchanted

Yes, she was under my spell.
And my wings :)

Released in Thanksgiving 2007 (November 21), Enchanted was helmed
by A Goofy Movie and Tarzan`s Director Kevin Lima (perhaps the most subdued of his movies). Starring Amy Adams (her breakthrough role, as Lima wanted an unknown actress so the audience could label Giselle as her own character and not the actress), Patrick Dempsey (Lima cast Dempsey after Disney was satisfied with Adams casting, since he was a bigger star), Susan Sarandon, James Mardsen, Idina Menzel (since she didn`t sing, it was a compliment to be asked for just her acting) and Timothy Spall and Julie Andrews as the narrator.

I made the castle behind me
myself with my own bare
hands :)

It featured songs by the Renaissance Disney Tunesmith Alan Menken
and his partner Stephen Schwartz (Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt), which got nominated at the Oscar`s. While it didn`t set the Box Office on fire, it still made a decent profit ($127,807,262 Domestically and $340,487,836 Worldwide. Enchanted was the first film to open at #1 at Thanksgiving in the 21st century. And criticially it did well, too. And in a time when Disney`s name was (unfortunately) becoming synonymous with Disney Channel properties (with primarily it`s two H`s: High School Musical and Hannah Montana) and Disney Animation was slowly beginning to recover from their failures of the early 2000`s (Brother Bear, Home on the Range and Chicken Little), at least Enchanted was a proof that Disney was slowly getting back on track.

We wanted to stand out from
the pink behind us, so that`s
why we`re in different colors :)

And since Enchanted was also released in a time when Disney`s Princess Franchise was at it`s peak, it was technically the first of the new generation to feature a Princess (and making Giselle the second of three Princesses to be strawberry blonde. Besides Cinderella and Anna). And technically Giselle could`ve been included in the franchise (despite how she`s not technically one), until it was discovered that Adams would pay royalties. And paved way for the following Revival Princesses (and yes, it has many similar components to Tangled, who even managed to be a snarky spoof on it`s own: Both are set in European kingdoms with a forest, have a fair heroine, a brown haired love interest, a female villain with music by Menken).

Ever ever after makes you a
human :)

Even Disney veteran Jodi Benson (Ariel) gets a significant role (and was originally going to be in just one scene), with cameos by Princess voices as Paige O`Hara (Belle) and Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas). Carrie Underwood provides the ending song Ever Ever After. Just like Brother Bear, it provides a ratio change from fullscreen to Widescreen (despite how this change of ratio happens during a scene). And sure, it`s easy to label the whole premise of Enchanted as pure fluff, cause it is. But it`s still not a disadvantage, as Enchanted comes across as genuinely inspired. But unlike some of it`s predecessors who`s blended both mediums, Enchanted haven`t truly been included among the canon list. So it is essentially an outlier.

Behind the Scenes Information

Now you know how it`s like
to be Quasimodo :)

The script of Enchanted was pitched to various studios who rejected it. It was bought by Touchstone Pictures in the fall of 1997. But after three years, it was unsuitable for Disney for being "a racier R-rated movie", inspired by the adult movies as American Pie (Giselle was mistaken for a stripper when she arrives in New York). It was also going to be darker. But the risque stuff was never at the expense of the sweetness. The crew had trouble to find a director. The film was going to be released in 2002 with Rob Marshall as director, but backed off for creative differences. The project did not take off.

The sketches to the left are
from the pre-color era :)

But in 2005, Lima was the hired as director (who wanted to be on it) and worked the script to be a "loving homage" to Disney's past. It took eight years for Disney to greenlight the production because they "were nervous about the tone". Cause yes, Giselle was going to encounter prostitutes, but they were cut. Lima was not sure if the references would work years prior to Enchanted`s release. Originally the movie was going to be a modern Sound of Music. The story didn’t feel believable by having the heroine singing, until they made her a cartoon. The first draft was similar to the script ended up (with the exception of the setting of New York).

The pattern around me is
supposed to be a rose :)

Both the live-action and animation were produced at the same time. The animation took about a year to finish, while the live-action scenes were filmed at the summer of 2006 and completed with the animation process. However, shooting in New York was hard as it was a constant changing. Filming That`s How You Know was also hampered by Dempsey's fans at times. And was choreographed by John O'Connell, who worked on Moulin Rouge.

Those sparkles are fireworks :)
Pretty cool, huh? :)

The style of Art Noveau was chosen for being romantic, feminine and organic. Giselle`s wedding dress weighs about 40 pounds. 11 versions of the dress were made. On the experience of wearing it, Adams described it as "grueling" since the weight was on her hips, so it felt like she was in traction. The crew built a rig to get the dress to turn around (which had Adams being stuck to the ground for many hours at the time, cause she couldn`t get out).

Originally Lima did just the temp voice for Pip, but did it so well that he was cast as Pip. The pigeons and rats were real and trained. And the amount of effects were of 350 and were the hardest for the crew to work on. In the climax where Narissa climbs the Woolworth Building, a greenscreen rig was built to hold Dempsey to film his face and movements. Which was a "puppeteering" approach involving a robotic arm controlled by three different floor effects artists.

This is the production of
Santa`s Workshop :)

Dick Cook wanted Menken, who was involved with the film in the early stages and invited Schwartz. Disney wanted the music to be a parody of Howard Ashman`s work. But Menken wasn`t comfortable with that. and went back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella. True Love’s Kiss was the first song written already in 1997. Adams had a past of musical theatre, but Mardsen was the big surprise with his singing voice. Schwartz thought it was fun to write a working song for rats. The title song, Enchanted, a duet with Menzel and Marsden, was deleted from the movie. For it`s misplacement. There were plans to have Menzel sing an end credit song, but she wasn`t big of a star at the time.

I`m drawing the line.
Literally :)

The hardest part was making Giselle a character you can have fun with and love simultaneously. Cause it was easy to make her a fool. Originally there was a scene about why Giselle didn`t return to Andalasia through the manhole (which has been ranted about by fanboys), but it was cut. Lima wanted Ilene Woods (Cinderella) and Mary Costa (Aurora) to be in the ball scene at the end of the film, but they declined without giving a proper reason. The budget of Enchanted was of $85 million and was done on a live-action budget.

The Hand Drawn Animated Scenes

I`m Homer in his next life :)

In fact, the two aforementioned components (hand drawn animation and parody) is what makes Enchanted remarkable. But the former element is certainly an notable issue (which the crew were excited to about). After all, Enchanted was released between the time where Disney had decided to leave hand drawn animation (in 2004) and the brief time where it was revived (The Princess and the Frog). However, it was still a proof of how a movie that featured hand drawn could still make a profit in a world that had mostly abandoned it (unless you count the success of Simpsons The Movie, who`s a rare exception to the rule).

We have the same eyes :)

But my main reason for seeing Enchanted was for it's hand drawn segments. And yes, it was the main reason for Disney fans to seek it out. But in that area, Enchanted truly shines. Supervised by former Disney animator James Baxter (Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo) who volunteered to do the work, they were on good hands. As the animated sequences manages to authentically capture the old-school feel of Disney animation. Despite how unfortunately full hand drawn scenes are mostly at the opening, at least there are some scenes that appears later on. While the animation may not be as glorious as Disney very best (sorry animators), it`s still nice, delightful and elaborate to look at (Narissa is impressively animated and designed).

I`m so proud of having made
you :) Despite how you`ll
look better with time :)

The animation was produced at James Baxter Animation in Pasadena. Since Disney had declined their hand drawn department and also to have it be less expensive. When Baxter heard about Enchanted in 2005, he called Disney and offered himself. But they were against two or three other studios.

Cause I`m full of wisecracks :)

And the storyboarding was done at Disney. It was the biggest crew Baxter`s studio ever had and he borrowed some animators. Like Disney veterans Andreas Deja and Mark Henn and William Salazar from DreamWorks. Baxter animated Giselle with Hehn and also animated Narissa as a queen. Deja did the Hag and the Troll. Even the Brizzi brothers and Joe Hardar were involved. The casting was done early, so the animators could base the characters on the actors) Multiplane techniques were used for those scenes. Baxter even did the music video with Carrie Underwood.

The Parody of the Fairy Tale Components

It was an expensive shot :)

However, what makes Enchanted fascinating to analyze is it`s fairy tale spoof. But as aforementioned, unlike the likes of Shrek, Enchanted is a loving homage to Disney's Legacy. Both to the Renaissance films and Walt's films (and also to live action Disney films, as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, Bon Voyage!, and Savage Sam. Even Lady and the Tramp gets a shoutout). But at least it takes advantage of it's premise clearly; To portray the contrasting difference between Disney's animated world and the real world. The idea of taking a Disney Princess to the real is somewhat corny, but also cute and funny. Some of the mockeries are very obvious and others less obvious.

We`re competing over who`s
having the thickest hair :)

Of course the purpose of Enchanted's mockery is to be tongue-in-cheeck and bringing laughs. Therefore Enchanted is filled with clever jokes, puns and writing to contrast these both worlds. While there are some hints towards sexuality, they`re rarely overt or grotesque (Giselle gazing at a naked statue and Morgan saying how guys are only after one thing). Despite how some of them, frankly, are a little too tongue-in cheek (Giselle not knowing the term angry and the taste of food. And Edward not knowing what the term thinking is).

The Poignant Contrast of the Worlds

Yet for all the deliberate mockery and parody, where Enchanted truly succeeds on the contrasts are with it's poignant moments. Where it demonstrates the contrast with the dissapointments and harsh reality of the real world. Those two scenes, where Robert tells about his ex-wife (being a divorce lawyer was suggested to have a greater contrast with Giselle and was going to be a celebrity lawyer) and the Witch luring the heartbroken Giselle to eat the apple, are cleverly and skillfully done (Since Sarandon's on-screen time was short, it took only two weeks to film her scenes. And she couldn`t walk in her dress).

As they`ve written and executed in a economic and understated, yet satisfying and compelling way. Cause they truly fills their purpose of showing the difference between an idealized world and a harsh world. And frankly (in my opinion), it`s a pity that the rest of the contrast never lived up to those two moments, as they were the most emotionally resonant scenes. And frankly, the story could`ve needed that same kind of resonance all the way through. Since it needed to have that contrast and needed to have more of it.

The Arc of the Characters

I`m falling down from London
Bridge :)

While the idea of even taking a Disney Princess and to the real world is indeed fluffy, it would be relevant to scrutinize the purposes for the characters. From a storytelling standpoint, it's easy to figure out that Giselle's (played convincingly by Amy Adams. And yes, Disney wanted Kate Hudson or Reese Witherspoon for Giselle) purpose in the real world is to transform the dour and po-faced Robert (which was challenging for Dempsey, cause he had to play straight to outrageous parts) and make him believe in the gleefully purposes of fairy tales.

I should`ve been called
Flower :)

And to bring glee and levity to Morgan (a surprisingly subdued and mellow little girl who`s wasn`t overtly cute or attention seeking, like many child actors are. She was later added so the kids see the story from their angle. And to show that Robert was a loving father). But Giselle also simultaneously goes through her own arc, since she ultimately decides to stay in the real world. Her arc is more understated than Robert`s, but ultimately she learns the means to take action and rescuing her love without being rescued herself (Adams did all the stunts on that sequence herself). But Lima still didn`t want Giselle to loose touch of the fairy tale world completely.

Are my ropes tight enough? :)

However, regarding the arcs of the characters, it`s remarkably how there`s an arc to everyone of them. But frankly it`s the secondary characters who goes through the most compelling arcs (in my opinion). While it may seem like fluffy, at least Phoebe and Ethan (the African-American couple who`s Robert helping) learns to love each other again and not to sacrifice their good times for their bad times thanks to Giselle`s encountering. Even more satisfying is the arc of Nathaniel (modeled after the Huntsman in Snow White), Narissa`s henchman. Who`s secretly crushing on her and does her bidding, but learns to not sacrifice his self-esteem and self-worth at the expense of his crush. In fact, Nathaniel is the character with the best arc, which makes it a pity that the story wasn`t primarily centered around him.

The Flaws of the Development of the Love Quadrangle

It`s an interspecies
romance :)

However, for all of it`s good intentions, unfortuntately Enchanted is hampered by the cluttered development of it`s love quadrangle. But yeah, while the quadrangle has it`s purpose, it feels superfluous and adds an unnecessary element of a soap opera-angle to the movie. Most obvious is certainly the sparse development of Robert and Giselle: Their development is too rushed and contrived to be believable. Most of the time Robert spends mentoring Giselle, who`s out of her element and being mostly a mentor than a love interest. However, while their brief argument is an arc for both of them, they suddenly fall in love after it without question. Despite having little chemistry as a couple.

Even guys can like
glitter :)

The same contrivance comes with the switch of the triangle with Edward (who James Mardsen had fun playing) and Nancy Tremaine (named after Cinderella`s stepmother). Despite how they display more chemistry, their arc and development is also too way too rushed be believable (and yes, since Nancy marries Edward, it does play the scrutiny of why Nancy isn`t a Official Disney Princess. But hey, scrutiny will always come with such things who gets unexplained in our scrutinizing world).

Disenchanted

I`m looking cool in a blue,
Medieval suit, don`t I? :)

While 15 years have passed since the release of Enchanted, it`s simply remarkable that it`s taken so long to make a sequel to it. Which was simply named Disenchanted. What makes it even more remarkable is how unlike it`s predecessor, it`s headed straight into streaming (Disney Plus). Most of the cast have returned (with the exception of Sarandon and Rachel Covey who played Morgan, who`s now been replaced by Gabriella Baldacchino. Which her favorite movie was Enchanted). Menken and Scwhartz returned as the songwriting team (with even more songs than it`s predecessor).

I`m a descendant from Beauty
and the Beast :)

Even producers Barry Johnson and Barry Sonnenfeld were back (as well as Adams producing). And the hand drawn sequences are back (despite how the marketing made less fuzz about it this time. John Pomeroy (John Smith from Pocahontas) animated them). Directed now by Adam Shankman (Hairspray), who was Enchanted`s director in 2003. And yes, Lima was saddened to not be asked. As for the plot, it takes place ten years after it`s predecessor. And centers around having our friends move from New York to Monroeville (with a new baby, Sophia) and having now a teenage Morgan having to deal with her teenage angst and frustrations (and even gets a mandatory love interest). Which has Giselle yearning for the simplicity of Andalasia and having a spell which transforms Monroeville to an Andalasian fairy tale. But also with disastrious consequences, by having Giselle actually becoming an evil stepmother (Shankman wasn’t afraid about this darkness, which he saw as a natural evolution for the world).

I wanted to prove how two
characters from each medium
can interact without any
wishing wand :)

There`s a new villain this time, Malvina (who happens to be the mother of Morgan`s love interest and people were afraid of her with her costume). Robert gets his own storyline about his purpose. Even Pip is back in both forms this time. And for those of you who`ve ranted about how Menzel never sang in Enchanted, at least she gets to sing twice in the sequel (Love Power was inspired from Let It Go from Frozen and Defying Gravity from Wicked). And yes, there`s even more obvious references to past Disney Princess features in this movie. New actors among the cast are Yvette Nicole Brown (Lady & the Tramp 2019), Maya Rudolph and Kolton Stewart.

I`m hugging you to make you
forget all the swirling around
us :)

A reason for the sequel to take so long was the regime change at Disney and deciding which movie was going to be made. And because the crew members had other projects. The movie was shot in both Ireland and England. Originally it was going to be Theatrically released. But was planned to streaming as Josephson saw the befenit of it. Writer David N. Weiss completed work in 2015, as the plot was announced in 2016. However, the official announcement was at Disney Investor Day in the fall of 2020. The teaser was released during this years Disney D23 Expo.

These leaves are trying to
cover me :)

Originally it was going to be released later in November, but was moved into November 18th. As for the reception, the critics have been rather lukewarm to it. But the consensus from audiences has been superior. As for my own opinion about the sequel, did I like it? Yes. Despite how the animation was mostly meh (sorry to the animators), I thought the movie was fine and touching with a nice story. The songs were cute, despite how they weren`t outstanding. But overall it was a worthy sequel to Enchanted.

Epilogue

This is my anime version :)

At the end, Enchanted may perhaps not be a milestone in Disney`s history. But it`s still an honorary entry to Disney`s library of fairy tales. Not only because of it`s tongue-in-cheek parody and the fact that it brought hand drawn animation back again for a brief while. But because it`s cute, clever and an honorary parody of Disney`s legacy. It`s hard to believe that it`s been fifteen years since it`s release and it`s remarkable that we`ve waited so long for the sequel to come.

I wanted to look like a beaver,
but it was hard :)

As for myself, did I like Enchanted? Yes, despite that it`s not the very best that Disney has ever done. It`s hampered by some flaws: The live action Pip was really annoying, some of the cartoony elements felt out of place in the real world, Enchanted feels less inspired with it`s live action segments and Narissa goes from being a menacing villain to become contrived and annoying at the climax. Still, Enchanted is still redeeming despite it`s flaws and is both inspired and honorable. But since it`s been fifteen years since it`s release and now that we`ve seen it`s sequel fifteen years later, there`s nothing left to wish Enchanted Happy 15th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more.