Disenchanted (2022) User Reviews

Another mediocre sequel.. sadly

[rosariokinnaird · 5/10 · 18 November 2022]

If Enchanted wasn't going to win any oscar, the movie was original, music was refreshing and the balance between fairytale and humour was holding fine.

In Disenchanted, all breaks apart. The title is exactly what I'd say people might feel after seeing this. Half way through the film, it's clear this movie isn't going anywhere.

The acting is cringe, the music lands blandly on too much plastic landscaping.

There is no even a sense the to whole plot.

There was a potential in the title. It could have been what the first few minutes makes you believe the movie was going to be. Giselle facing the reality of life vs magic. Instead, it forces the audience into live another sad version of a disney fairytale. What a waste.

Disenchants the first one

[DanteMonteverde · 5/10 · 18 November 2022]

Disenchanted delivers a cliche story that loses the charm of the first film. It manages to siphon out everything that made Enchanted great, whilst adding a forgettable villain into the mix, and numerous plot holes, that had me scratching my head at times. Performances were as good as they could be with the lackluster script, and the climax of the film came off as shallow and underwhelming. This movie is just another Disney reboot and I wouldn't recommend watching it.

Best part of the film was James marsdens character, he's just the only funny person in the whole movie, and it looks like James is having a lot of fun playing him

5/10.

Disenchanted is missing its personality

[Escapist-2802 · 6/10 · 28 November 2022]

In the new movie, "Disenchanted," the bulk of the actors and crew members from the earlier film are back. Everyone who is reprising their roles does an excellent job of ageing the characters while keeping them recognisably the same people they were in the previous film.

Giselle's over-the-top whimsy and the bustle and cynicism of New York City provided for a hilarious and effective cultural clash in the film Enchanted, which contributed to the film's popularity. Compared to the previous film, Disenchanted is missing a significant chunk of its personality due to the fact that Monroville has been transformed into Monrolasia. However, knowing that you've seen them done before in many of Disney's live-action remakes of its animation titles gives you a sense of déjà vu and changes the film from an appreciative but satirical tribute to more of a brand synergy exercise.

Disenchanted isn't horrible, and it serves its purpose if you're looking for light entertainment or want to see these actors and actresses again, but it's no match for the passion, energy, and freshness of the first movie in the series. Taking everything into consideration, I do not have any second thoughts about having seen it, but I also would not advise someone to go out of their way to do so.

Very disappointing

[sarahilayda1 · 4/10 · 20 November 2022]

So I loved the first movie, it's one of my favourite movies and I think it's one of the best Disney contents ever. This is exactly anything but. I didn't have the highest hopes but this is just disappointing in another level. They really did the original movie injustice and I'm surprised they got all of the actors with this script.

-First of all I'm not sure how they managed to make the CGI actually worse. Even the animated parts look worse. Did they spend all the budget on actors and rushed everything else? Enchanted still holds up but this... Bad.

-Why are they breaking into a song every 5 minutes? They should've paid more attention to script and the character development rather than 10 mediocre songs. It's way better to have 3-4 actually good memorable songs than 10 that are meaningless and uninspired.

-It uses already done many times clichés and relies on previous Disney movies. It was literally Rapunzel and Cinderella with a bit of Snow White mixed in. Why not do something new? Why just rely on existing tropes. Little nuances and cheeky call backs are nice here and there but the whole movie was like that. Try a bit to be a little bit original at least.

-The set design looks very fake, costumes look meh. Hair was good though...

The only positive thing I can say was it was nice seeing the original cast back and they did the best they could with what they were given, especially Amy Adams.

TLDR uninspired, boring, will be forgotten by everyone who watches it after 2 hours.

No spoilers needed; the negative reviews say it all

[david-thor · 21 November 2022]

I could watch Enchanted any time I want to feel better about the basic goodness of people - and that is what is missing in Disenchated. Apart from James Marsden's dimwitted return as the Prince, and finally letting Menzel sing (albeit a forgettable song amidst a sea of forgettable songs), there's nothing to recommend here. It's a sequel that shouldn't have been made, or at least not by a group of writers, which appears to be the case here. Same cast as Enchanted, Amy Adams actually looks even nicer this time around, but what a godawful story they're stuck with - it's just a mish-mosh of set pieces, each trying to set up the next piece, and failing. As was the case with Hocus Pocus 2, Disney has lost its way.

Not as good as the original but still lots of fun.

[mr_bickle_the_pickle · 7/10 · 20 November 2022]

Was it as good as the original? No, but it was still highly entertaining. I liked that they actually did something new with the story. So many sequels just basically end up doing the same story as the first. And Amy Adams was clearly eating it up as a villain. She was **wicked** fun. Plot wise, I loved the focus on the mother-daughter dynamic, although I could foresee how the spell would be broken from a mile away. And although Patrick Dempsey gets to have a bit more fun by partaking in the singing and dancing I feel like he has a kind of useless B plot. He definitely isn't as important as he was in the first. I thought they did a good job casting with Morgan. I seriously didn't even realize that it wasn't the original actress. A lot of the sets and costumes actually reminded me a lot of the Brandy Cinderella movie. They definitely didn't look cheap and they were full of whimsy but also didn't look fully cinematic either. The songs were very good too. I don't know if they will be as iconic as the original movies, probably not. But still overall good. I think my favourite might be Idina Menzel's memory song. Also just like the first, there's lots of fun Disney Easter eggs to look out for. It was a lot of fun and a pretty good sequel in my eyes.

Could've been better

[tpindustries · 4/10 · 20 November 2022]

My main issue with the film is it could've been better, there were some interesting ideas presented rather than just rehashing the original in a dulled down way as most sequels do, the cast were great although writing-wise the character development from the first film had basically vanished and the new characters were somewhat forgettable, still some funny moments but not as memorable as the original, similarly the songs were not as memorable as the original either, lots of abandoned plot threads and characters that had no role in the story but were just kind of there, it feels unfair to compare this to the original since that was over 14 years ago, time flies, but I just think there wasn't really a reason to make a sequel to the first Enchanted

Even so, as far as sequels go it's not the worst, the aforementioned positives stood out for me, the sets were beautiful and costume design was excellent, and I liked some of the ideas the sequel was leading into but the execution just fell flat for me, felt very rushed, sense of scale gone, the animated sequences were almost unnecessary this time as they didn't even involve much movement or expression, and it's a scathing indictment of both Disney's gradual attempts to abandon animation as a medium (despite it being so crucial to their past success) and the conditions animators have to work under, with very little pay or suitable hours, especially compared with the animated sequences of the first film.

All in all it ironically kinda lives up to the Disney tradition of making a memorable, iconic blockbuster film about a princess and then having the direct-to-video sequel being kind of underwhelming, I'd rate this a 6 or a 5 under other circumstances but because I feel like it was close to being a better film and just didn't reach that, and because it doesn't live up to the original, I think 4 is kind of appropriate, Disney needs to pick up their slack, they're becoming too complacent.

The cast are clearly having fun and there's some solid visual magic on display, but this outing feels curiously more muted than its predecessor

[IonicBreezeMachine · 6/10 · 19 November 2022]

Roughly a decade after the events of the last film, Giselle (Amy Adams) and Phillip (Patrick Dempsey) along with Phillip's daughter Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) have continued to live as a family including welcoming a new baby, Sophia, into their lives. With their larger family and relative smallness of their apartment, Giselle and Robert decide to move to Monroeville believing the change will be good for them much to the annoyance of Morgan who's now a teenager and dealing with the typical angst with which that entails. Following a fight between Morgan and Giselle, Giselle makes a wish using a wand she received as a present from Edward (James Marsden) and Nancy (Idina Menzel) in Andalasia for her life to be more like a fairy tale which results in Monroeville becoming more magical as a result, but with the price that Giselle is turning into a wicked stepmother.

Disenchanted is of course the long in development sequel to the 2007 hit film Enchanted which is notable for arguably being the breakout film for Amy Adams who received acclaim for her performance as Giselle. Discussions regarding the film were held as far back as 2010 when it was reported Walt Disney Pictures was pursuing active development of a follow-up. What resulted over the years was a recurring trend of information eeking out about the project only for long periods of silence to follow and supposedly this was due to script issues with the film varying iterations of the film considered at one point or another before officially being announced in December of 2020. While the movie was developed with plans for a theatrical release, as the film was being finalized in the days of the COVD pandemic both Disney and the producers opted to produce the film for Disney+ as Disney's theatrical efforts were mostly focused on four quadrant tentpoles and legacy franchises. After nearly fifteen years of waiting Disenchanted does capture some of the magic of its predecessor, but it also feels like a reunion piece that's there simply because the cast and crew had fun making the first one.

Disenchanted features the return of most of the major cast and characters from the first film with Amy Adams, Patrick Demspey, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel all reprising their roles quite well feeling slightly more aged, but still very much the same characters we knew in the first film. Gabriella Badlacchino replaces Rachel Covey in the role of Morgan who aged out of the role, and while it's not an especially meaty role as she's mainly just called to be mopey and angsty she does reasonably well in it. Alan Menken also returns to provide the music for the film and while the songs are still good, I think the film maybe gives us a few too many which is endemic to other issues with the film.

Disenchanted runs into an issue with its premise after the setup because once Giselle wishes for her life to be more like a fairy tale, most of the characters stop being themselves and just start acting like fairy tale archetypes with Morgan acting like a standard Cinderella type protagonist and Patrick Dempsey's Robert doing an impression of James Marsden's Edward with the running joke being that while he now "acts" dashing and valiant he's completely out of his depth and this role just isn't suited to Dempsey's talents and only serves to remind you of how much better Marsden was at this schtick and is now relegated to a borderline cameo appearance because the writers can't figure out what to do with him. The reason Enchanted worked was because Giselle's over the top whimsy contrasted with the bustle and cynicism of New York City created a comic culture clash and allowed the fairy tale elements of Edward and Giselle. With all of Monroville now turned into Monrolasia, we lose that key part of the appeal and Disenchanted loses a massive part of the original film's identity. While some of the costuming and set design remains impressive, you do get a sense of "deja view" feeling you've seen these sets and costumes done before in many of Disney's live-action remakes of their animated properties so yet another part of Enchanted's appeal fails to be captured. The movie also feels more blatant in its referencing of other Disney properties as opposed to Enchanted where it was just generic enough not to be distracting (barring the climax) but when you have them using "Cruella" and "Maleficent" as lyrics in your songs it ceases to feel like affectionate but mocking homage and more like an exercise in brand synergy.

I don't think Disenchanted is bad by any stretch of the imagination and it's perfectly serviceable if you're just looking for easy going viewing or revisiting these characters and performances, but when you compare it to the passion, energy, and novelty we saw in the original film it's a sizable step down. I don't regret seeing it, but I also can't say you should go out of your way to see it so take that for what it's worth.

Disney is the McDonald's of Hollywood

[cyrese-65547 · 2/10 · 20 November 2022]

Another Disney disappointment, as we seem to keep getting a near nonstop stream of these. I really wanted this to be better, I wanted to like this way more than I did. There are not many Disney projects I want to see succeed at this point but this was an exception. I loved the original Enchanted, I thought it was a great deconstruction of a lot of classic Disney tropes but it was done in the way where it was executed as affectionate parody. The love was still definitely there. But with this sequel, the only true redeeming factor here is Amy Adams. The other supporting actors are either phoning it in or overacting. The high schoolers were very unnecessary. All in all, this movie is just a reminder that you can be watching the far superior original. "Disenchanted" indeed. Don't waste your time.

Boring and disappointing

[elenorw · 6/10 · 21 November 2022]

If it wasn't for the nostalgia I'd given this a 4.

Is a pity, because all the ingredients are there; great actors, a solid pitch, a massive budget...but no filling, only crust.

The concept of the plot is great; a magical wish goes wrong as it means fairy tale logic is applied to real people and our former heroine Giselle is turning to a villain! Will the almost grown Morgan be able to reach past her grumpy teen persona and find her faith in fairy tales again? Great pitch!

Only that it's not what the movie is about.

There's no gradient turn of the people, no slow realization for neither Giselle or Morgan. Everything is explained as it happens, the logic of magic made up as it shows, or at least that's what it feels like as they present the answer to a problem exactly one second after it's occurred and then take three whole minutes to actually carry out what ever they just figured out before the next one shows up.

There is no generational change; Giselle is still the heroine although she's also the villain (?) and Morgan and Robert simply become completely other characters instead of gradually turning into their fairy tale persona. Missed opportunity.

I'd have loved for this to be Morgan's and Giselles story. Have Morgan rediscover her love for magic and imagination and faith in "happily ever after" by finding her self as the heroine she didn't think she was - all while Giselle yet again find her way back to what made her want to leave her former life of imagined paths for an open world that may be full of strife and conflict, but where love and overcoming those conflicts tastes all the sweeter for it.

This was not that. This was a mess of musical numbers "for the sake of it", special effects because they can do them and focus on Amy Adam's, because she's the star.

Disappointing. But not unexpected.

I was definitely disenchanted watching this

[sunisfun-99372 · 2/10 · 20 November 2022]

First off, the age of the actors is off. You have a couple in their 50s with new baby, sorry... Robert is old! Giselle turns into the wicked step mother(like that hasn't been done a billion times), Malvina, as a regular citizen has two ladies beside her at all times like old loyal dogs which would be normal in a teen flick, and there's just no story to it. You have bits and pieces of many Disney films all smashed together in one and it's tacky and cringe. The singing and dancing was typical Disney ballroom blah but more than anything.... The song they have Menzel sing is repetitive and annoying. She's yelling, not singing and the same line over and over. Not an ounce of creativity IMO like the first one was. Should've left it alone.

Worth a watch, good sequel

[dejakat · 8/10 · 21 November 2022]

The movie is cute. It takes alot of new ideas to interesting places and while some things feel rushed, ultimately you can tell the cast had fun and it's a great family film

You can tell from alot the comments and what has been "found helpful" and not, there's a general hate for this movie, and any positive reviews are getting downvotes.

Honestly, I don't understand some of the complaints. "they just pulled bits from other Disney movies!" That's what enchanted did though? The animal friends, the mannequin Prince, literally calling a dwarf "Grumpy!" All in the original movie.

It's not Literally "Enchanted" shot for shot, and that's what seems to be the problem I guess.

Take off the nostalgia blinders maybe.

Not so bad!

[Batsy1501 · 7/10 · 23 November 2022]

Although I've seen quite a few people criticize it, I thought it was fine. Like the original and many other Disney films, it was a charming musical with touching scenes and lessons about life. This script wasn't particularly bad or anything, but I can't dispute that the first one's was much better. Still, the movie provided some lovely musical selections and entertaining moments, which I anticipated. The characters' poor and peculiar character development, particularly for Morgan, must be the worst part. I mean, it's been years, but Giselle is still just like the first day she came to New York, and Robert received insufficient screen time, which led me to believe that he is only in this sequel since he appeared in the previous one.

The clue is in the title

[lottie-lc · 1/10 · 18 November 2022]

"Enchanted" mesmerized me back in the day as a kid, and did not lose any of its charms when I rewatched it lately as a grown-up. The sequel, however, lacks the original's cleverness, excitement and warmth (or enchantment, if you will).

There are (way too) many songs, but neither as memorable as "That's How You Know" or "Ever Ever After". The plot is all over the place at times. It is not a horrible movie, but rather just an average one. You will not find much of a love story - we are now told that memories are pretty much all that matters. No more carpe diem, I guess.

Well, perhaps the hidden message is to rewatch the original for nostalgia's sake and give up on crossing the threshold of "happily ever after".

No.

[bmbelko · 19 November 2022]

The first movie was charming, disarming, quirky, with catchy song lyrics and lines. This one, an hour in, was painful to watch. No really lovable characters, everyone overacts instead of just Amy Adams, which was her success in the first one. Now we have chipmunks, high schoolers, neighbors, husbands, magic scrolls, everything overacts. Three adults sat in pain and finally switched it off. Perhaps seven year olds would like it. The overdone NYC accents are funny for a bit nut, unlike Rizzo, quickly become annoying. I give it 2/10 stars. I'd give it 1/10 but I reserve that for Ed Wood movies.....

A musical?!?

[brulein-257-374862 · 5/10 · 20 November 2022]

Enchanted has got to be one of the most brilliant Disney movies out there. A Disney movie that parodies everything ... Disney! Not only was the story original and fresh, Amy Adams was a comedy revelation and her over the top Disney Princess was comedy gold. And then there's Disenchanted. First off, what's with ALL these songs??? Enchanted had, what, three, four songs that were funny and catchy. This movie got a zillion, cliché-sounding songs (except for 'Badder' which was a fun duet, and which should have the only song) turning this into a musical and completely losing the parody aspect and becoming a cliché the first one was making fun of! Having said that, Adams' comedic timing is still spot on. Especially when she switches from sweet Gisele to evil Gisele.

If you watched Enchanted as a child you will probably enjoy Disenchanted

[binkabird-97633 · 7/10 · 19 November 2022]

Although Disenchanted doesn't quite live up to its predecessor, it was still a very enjoyable watch. I loved seeing the characters I loved as a child on screen again. Had a grin plastered on my face the whole time. It's chocked full of princess references and is just a whole lot of fun with a whole lot of heart.

I must say that the music could have been better, it wasn't as memorable as songs like those in Enchanted. The villain song was the best one as always. And the relationship between Giselle and Morgan was great to watch, leaving me a little teary eyed at times. Don't go into this film expecting gold but also don't shut it down too much. If you don't enjoy Disenchanted, the movie just isn't for you.

Seemed like a good movie in theory but was poorly executed.

[lockprotubs · 3/10 · 18 November 2022]

Disenchanted had an interesting plot (Giselle becoming an evil step-mother due to wishing for a fairy tale life) yet it spent majority of the film with Giselle and her family trying to adjust to a new life. The movie felt very disjointed.

Now onto the music. It didn't capture the essence of the original movies music and felt very lacklustre. There were too many songs, none of which were catchy or memorable in any way.

The characters' overall journey were a bit disjointed and had no overall theme, other than perhaps Giselle and Morgan. The other characters also got very little screen time and certain elements could have been given more screen time.

I thought it was good for a Disney sequel

[ViciousCXY · 7/10 · 20 November 2022]

I never really hold out too much hope for Disney sequels just.. Based off of their track record of making pretty poor ones (all based off my own opinion ofc), but I actually thought this sequel was pretty good?

It didn't give you a repeat of the same story but modernised like Hocus Pocus 2 did; it went down the path of basically showing that you don't need a fairy tale life to live happily(ever after).

It was really fun to see Giselle get to become the villain of the story, I actually thought she was really fun to watch as a wicked step mother and that she played the role very well.

I wouldn't say it's a film you'd think was BETTER than the first one, but I think it's pretty on par.

Another one bites the dust

[tanishaabdulrahman · 1/10 · 20 November 2022]

Disney has been doing terrible with these squeals and remakes I really wanted to like this one since the first movie its full of charm, humor and plot and songs.

However, the squeal is just painful bad the story is just typical family drama Giselle and the step daughter have argument saying your not my mum and you can see where this going. She wishes life to be fairy tale now the concept sounds interesting but its poorly executed we have high school plot with step daughter and have crush guy. It goes downhill from there characters feels unlikeable and one dimensional. The main villain so called just so basic in comparsion to evil queen.

I have to say overall the plot is mess and the jokes are painful just fairy tales jokes just didn't work the characters are just one dimensional even new ones are so forgettable and the songs is so jarring I end up skipping it now its not fun listen. This wasn't worth waiting over 20 years for they did bad with Hocus pocus now this avoid this one and just watch first movie.

"Disenchanted" Review

[dmyrwood · 7/10 · 28 November 2022]

They stole that plot from "Wonder Woman 1984" didn't they?

That joke aside I went in as someone who has nostalgia for "Enchanted" and I think I enjoyed it more than most people. I wasn't really digging the first 20 minutes (just felt like a typical mom/teen dramedy with enchanted characters) but once the main plot kicked in I was engaged enough. I didn't think I would like "Evil Gizelle" but I thought it worked!

Good performance from Amy Adams switching between the two personalities (Through different vocals and behavior) Commendable acting! And we know gazelle is a sweet innocent person so the threat of her changing raises the stakes quite well! It's a clever fairytale twist having a Princess become a step mother. (Honestly think they could've just kept her as both a hero and a villain without an actual antagonist) It's always great to see always great to see more 2-D animation again!

They could've done more with the "after ever after" setup besides dissatisfaction, I wish we could've seen more Edward (as I was a standout character in the first one to me) and I think there was a missed opportunity to parody more modern Disney tropes (like they did the classic tropes in the first and in this one) guess I'lI have to be satisfied with "there's always one villain, the rest is either a minion or revealed too late") Definitely not as good as the first one (I honestly would watch that one over this one) and they could've done a lot more with a sequel but it's acceptable and has some clever enough concepts!;)

Not worth watching

[justmarloesmvs · 2/10 · 2 December 2022]

If you loved the first movie, I'm sorry to disappoint you, the second one is nothing like it. I was going to go in full detail as to why people shouldn't watch it but there's enough bad reviews already which says enough. To sum it up: no compelling storyline, not one great song, just a bunch of annoying ones.. The animation seems off, I actually think it was better all those years ago, maybe because disney did it themselves this time? (Not sure about that). What I loved about the first movie was the making fun of the fairytale cliches WHILE also loving them, here it really is.. just cliches, they add NOTHING to the story. It's just really bad, I'm going to watch the first one to erase this from my memory.

Why are people so disconnected from their inner child these days

[iamthemusicman14 · 10/10 · 20 November 2022]

What is up with people these days, they can't seem to realise that these movies are not meant for the fully grown adults who feel they have to find problems and inaccuracies in everything they come across.

In my family luckily, we are all big kids and can "let it go!" and enjoy these films to the fullest, laughing and crying and feeling everything without worrying what others might think or say.

This sequel has been brilliantly put together with the insane musical talents of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

The music is rich and very reminiscent of the musicals of old, with very talented singers and dancers.

All of the acting is brilliant and the story is perfectly portrayed by everyone involved.

It has everything required for the 100 years of Disney celebrations, full of magic and heart.

Please don't listen to all the haters, realise that you are allowed to enjoy Disney films without having to overanalyse everything.

Just because you are older in years does mean that you have to grow up and lose magic and imagination.

Family Night Enchantments And Gimmicks Don't Bring The Full Magic

[rgkarim · 7/10 · 20 November 2022]

LIKES:

Some musical Numbers Pack Emotion: It's Disney, so you know the music is going to pack a lot of emotion in the tracks. There are some of them that really do hit hard though, beautiful ballads capable of stirring goosebumps and tears, fun little numbers that you tap your toes, and cute numbers that will have kids singing for ages. Disenchanted has the emotion in the songs that is famous for the Walt Disney group and will certainly be for the Disney track lovers playing it on repeat in this age of music streaming. I give them props for several songs that have that wit, creativity, and stage command, and that's the positive factor I focus on.

The Characters Have The Same Familiarity: A world like Enchanted is all about knowing the characters to latch onto, something they did so well with in that first movie. Well, this movie does that decently well with most of the characters and brings that familiarity back. Giselle is the best example of this, still bubbly and enchanting, while also getting some expansion of charact that is a joy to tack onto her. Pip is hilarious and still the comic relief, with great attitude and writing to bring the charm back. Even the daughter Morgan, despite growing up, had elements from her past ringing through it that were welcoming. The point is that many characters have the familiar feel that brings the old back for the new to test and that was smart.

The Character Development To An Extent: Building from the last like, the development of the characters was much better than I anticipated with a straight to Disney+ mix. Giselle in particular works the best, the central character having a lot of great elements to work with and test the merit of the character. It may not be revolutionary, but... it really gets nods for what they did. Morgan's development was great too, but again a bit rushed, still it is touching and offers some great connections to help with the character development overall. Even Malvina the baddy has some decent work to extend her character past the typical antagonist, adding a little light and dark balance that coordinates so well with the theme of the movie. These touches were a smart extension to the movie and I was very happy with what they wanted to accomplish with this movie. If only it had been consistent.

The Cartoon Style Is Good: I'm a fan of the 2-d animation of the past Disney style. Enchanted started the movie with the style, while Disenchanted brings it in later on for the "meat" of the style. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the trip down the memory lane and seeing just how good the 2-D can still be when animating a princess tale. It's a good comedy source at times, adds the heart that the live action still can't mirror, and offered a fun number or two for playing the heartstrings once more, if only we gotten more time with it.

The Acting Is Cute: This was the case for the first movie, but Enchanted's second movie took the performance a little more towards the cute level that felt like a DCOM. Disenchanted is the kind of acting you saw with sitcoms like Full House, though perhaps better quality most of the time, as they crafted the lessons at hand. Rudolph is tamed in this PG-film, but her attitude is there to help give the kid level sass that is entertaining. The look she sports is true antagonistic style, and the air about which she delivers her lines only further adds the magic to her role. Dempsey is fine, dropping much of the dramatic edge he wielded during his Grey's days and really becoming the Danny Tanner copycat that is noble, nice, and of course admirable as a father figure that Disney fans pine over. But it's Amy Adams who steals the show in what she brought for her own brand of acting to this part. Giselle is still happy and peppy, the annoyingly sweet and innocent role that charms to the point of making you laugh. That innocence is so good and such a strong platform to build on to which Adams executes nearly flawless. And then there is the twist they did with her addressing the dark nature of her character. She may not have killed it like Maya, but I loved the exchanges she does between dark and light that are certainly funny in the way they did it. Eventually the nature changes to give one of my favorite numbers character, and only wished there were more people to run this side with. The chemistry is there too, but the movie does lack a bit of the balance and sincerity of the first film.

The Setting/Costumes Work Well: Now we are getting into my favorites, the movie's look and feel. Disney knows how to make a setting and film location come to life, but also quite fun and immersive at the same time. Disenchanted is beautiful in these regards as the real world and fantasy life once more blend into a clever field to play in. Several things look like rustic fairy tale cottages and camps, with a castle motif that is stunning with the modern design inside. And if you pay attention, you'll see nods to various Disney movies to serve as a fan service to help liven up and maybe inspire you to rewatch other Disney movies in the process. Costumes are still those very visual designs, but able to be worked with during the dance numbers without losing the flow of the style. That was very fun to me and I absolutely loved seeing the costumes really used past just visual style, but actually telling a story beautifully in the changes done. A solid work making these world come together and inspiring future costumes for whatever party they could think up next.

DISLIKES:

Silly/Stupid/Preachy At Times: Like most things in the modern Disney era, the preachiness of the movie gets a bit out of hand with the writing in this movie. Disenchanted is a bit heavy on the qualities that make it kid friendly, and perhaps parent friendly as well. Gone are most of the adult jokes hidden in the kid presentation, instead replaced by very silly antics, over the top attempt to be funny, and a bit stupid at times. That level was fun for me when I was younger, and is perfect for the younger audience, but lost something for me in the transition that the first just did so much better. And as for the preachiness, either I've become too sensitive to it, or the writing has gotten that simplistic to rub it in your face. Certainly, it teaches things well, but, it just isn't that natural delivery hat yours truly likes to see in movies like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.

Dempsey and Marsden Get Dipped in Quality: These characters were some of my faves in the first movie and now kind very much stinks in this film. Both male leads have been reduced to comical boobs, providing some small shreds of character nobility and love, but then swept under the rug for others to take center stage. I'm not saying anything political about this, but to lose such fun and good characters, and cheapen them to comedy props was not something I liked. Where were the quests of self-doubt and improvement/ Where were the interactions with the loved ones requiring reflection to get better? Where was just the characters we loved from the first one? Mostly gone was my answer and again a step down from the first.

The Villain Direction is Interesting, but Lame In Execution: The title should give you the idea of the direction they took with it, or the trailer if you watched it with anyone. And while this concept was realistic, motivational, and character depth heavy it just lacked the bite that our first villain of this series did so much better. Both villains have elements that work, with a song or two that hits hard, but they just don't have the menacing and manipulative nature that we saw other wield so well. Given all the stakes, the fates of characters tied in, and even the rivalry to make an interesting chess match, Disenchanted's bad guys really didn't feel the most threatening. I wanted the edge, I wanted the strategy, and I wanted the older audience theatrics to get a bit more time in, rather than the filtered mess we got.

The Music Was Too Much and Felt Cheap: Another heavy dislike, Disenchanted did the Frozen method and not to the same level of success. What do I mean? Simple, it feels like the movie was more a soundtrack with a story built around than the opposite case like other films. Disenchanted has some great songs, I mentioned that earlier that they still can craft great tunes and powerful songs for the new generation. However, they are haphazardly strewn about, becoming far too frequent and comedic with little meaning or timing for the perfect song to break out.

The VERDICT: Disenchanted is okay for me in the books, especially when it comes to a direct to streaming flick. It's got some of the charm of the first, building on a few characters to craft a semi touching story, with fun laughs for the family to enjoy. The acting helps brighten up the movie and really make this fairy tale feeling come to life, alongside songs that also do the job of giving the movie feeling. For me, it's the setting and visual effects, alongside the style of 2-d that is the best part, and a few quirky characters to mix things up in the process. However, I agree with other reviewers that the movie feels very kiddy compared to the first, lacking the finesse of Giselle's first adventure. The movie is a bit sillier, much more in your face, stupid at times and really struggles to bring that magnificence to the twist. It also does not help that the character balance is off and they focused more on the music that stepped on the story for more music to sell. As such, this sequel gives you a semi-entertaining story, but it's not my favorite thing to bust out of the Disney+ platform workshop. Certainly worth the family night in, but in terms of the movie score, my thoughts are:

Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.5.

Overlong, middling sequel

[PrinceCharmingHere · 5/10 · 18 November 2022]

So, nothing happens for the first half hour. Literally. It's like an episode of the Gilmore Girls or some CW family drama. Family moves. Awkward and homely looking daughter who doesn't fit in. Mia Rudolf plays the same character she did in the movie Sisters. Blah blah blah. It takes forever to get to the actual good stuff, plot and magic that we came to except from a sequel to Enchanted. By this point I didn't even want to watch the rest. The villain sucks. This movie is still much better than the atrocious Hocus Pocus 2 by a long shot, so it has that going for it. The music was nice and the legacy characters did good. Needed to trim some of the run time and cut some of the family drama at the beginning that went on for why too long and should have had a more interesting villain. Definitely disenchanted.