Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Maya Rudolph, Gabriella Baldacchino, Rachel Duff, James Marsden, Idina Menzel, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jayma Mays, Kolton Stewart, Oscar Nuñez, Alan Tudyk, Griffin Newman, Brooke Josephson, Mila Jackson, Lara Jackson, Eimear Morrissey.
It is the way of the modern world; a studio realises they have a cinematic hit on their hands and quickly takes steps to rush out a sequel. A couple of quick years pass, and the movie is almost seamless, the succession soon passed down, and before you know it you have a franchise on your hands. It is understandable, and whilst commercial capitalism is unhealthy, it does allow the viewer to keep the story in their minds, to keep it fresh, and not allow the tale on screen to become stagnant.
Yet, not all is well with this approach, time is not allowed to pass in a way which makes sense, which is organic, characters are not given the space to mature, to have lived, and whilst films such as the original Back To The Future and its immensely proud sequels not only cope with the quick turnaround, they positively fly with the speed, others all to often leave the feeling of being overwhelmed, of a studio cash grab which leaves the film lover finding cracks in the beloved, and gaps in the consequence.
Enchanted is a film that is untroubled by the feelings of time, it has been allowed to see the other side of its unburdened feelgood Disney charm and permitted to age gracefully and generously. An homage and a parody of all that is framed by the belief of happy ever after, and in its own sequel, Disenchanted, what gives it credence is the very nature of time as a corroding influence.
None of the charm of the original is lost, the quality of the tale is untarnished, and once more Amy Adams delights in the title role. Disenchanted…far from it, this is a film given space to be its own hero, that was understood from top to bottom how it needed to be given the appreciation of distance between the two films, the benefit it reaps is gorgeous, the songs capture the essence of the drama with magic and appeal, and the turn, the point of reveal is one of exquisite taste and style.
What brings the film together is the cohesion between the two films and true life. The honeymoon period may be a cliché, but it is there for a reason, not a get out clause, but a re-evaluation of time together. It is the same with art, with food, with our surroundings, what may have caught your eyes several years before, and to which you proclaimed unyielding love for, can, slowly or with haste, decay, it can turn brown and dog-eared, and before you know it, through neglect or weak will, it can turn to dust.
Disenchanted, whilst gamely focusing on the drama of the dream in turmoil, understands that magic does not come from a wand, but from truth, from acts of contrition, and love.
It is this that Disenchanted lives up to the original, and whilst released fifteen years apart, it has the stomach, the belief in all that it portrays to be treated as a spectacle of wonder and fascination. Magic, it seems, never goes out of fashion, not even after time spent apart.
Ian D. Hall