ENCHANTED: Fantasy Marries Reality
ENCHANTED (animated-live-action fantasy)
Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden and Susan Sarandon
Director: Kevin Lima
Time: 105 mins
Rating: * * * (out of 4)
REVIEW: Once upon a time, in a land called Hollywood, there lived a bunch of people who made fairytale movies about beautiful damsels and handsome princes, evil witches and magical creatures, and silly stories that end with the young couples living happily ever after. At first, these movies worked their magic on viewers, shaping the dreams and hopes of young girls all across the world.
After a while, however, these movies lose their charm because these girls grow up and find that the Prince Charming of their dreams often turn into Nasty Nightmares and the Wicked witches are in fact their mothers-in-law! The viewers soon get tired of watching such movies, and film-makers, especially those at Disney Studios, get tired of making them.
One day, a screenwriter named Bill Kelly came up with an interesting idea: How about making a fairytale movie about a beautiful damsel named Giselle (Amy Adams), have a handsome prince fall in love with her – and then throw the two lost lovers into the Real World, particularly, a place called Manhattan?
“How are we going to cast them into Manhattan, and who is going to do it?” asked Disney’s director, Kevin Lima.
“Why, we get the wicked Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) to push Giselle into a magic well that drains out to Manhattan, and have the gallant Prince Edward (James Marsden) coming to look for her,” said Kelly. “We can also throw in other creatures like the Prince’s clownish chipmunk Pip and the Queen’s henchman Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) as well, just to provide the laughs and some intrigue,” said Kelly. "I'm sure Pip will steal the show as the main lure for the kids."
“How do you expect Giselle to survive in the real world? She does not know any magic tricks. Can she get by on just her beauty and charm?”
“Maybe we can let her meet a cynical divorce lawyer named Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his little daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) and see how they get along. Why, I will even throw in a yuppie girlfriend (Idina Menzel) for Robert and see who he falls in love with eventually!”
“Sounds good. Now, what do we have in terms of music?” asked the director.
“Maybe we can have Giselle doing a few songs about a ‘true love’s kiss’ – and have some dancing in Central Park…”
“Songs and dances sound very much like Bollywood and people hate that. That’s why we don’t make fairytale musicals anymore!”
“We can have some real-live buskers joining in the dance. Maybe we can even have mice, doves and cockroaches doing a musical number – just like the one with the Seven Dwarves. Now, that has not been done before, even in Bollywood!”
“What are you planning for the grand climactic scene? Can we have the Wicked Queen doing battle like King Kong near some famous big building?”
“Sure, we can have Narissa fighting with Robert on top of a tower and having the gutsy damsel saving him, just for a change!” said Kelly.
“Now you’re talking! What do you propose we call this movie?”
“How about 'Enchanted'?”
After a while, however, these movies lose their charm because these girls grow up and find that the Prince Charming of their dreams often turn into Nasty Nightmares and the Wicked witches are in fact their mothers-in-law! The viewers soon get tired of watching such movies, and film-makers, especially those at Disney Studios, get tired of making them.
One day, a screenwriter named Bill Kelly came up with an interesting idea: How about making a fairytale movie about a beautiful damsel named Giselle (Amy Adams), have a handsome prince fall in love with her – and then throw the two lost lovers into the Real World, particularly, a place called Manhattan?
“How are we going to cast them into Manhattan, and who is going to do it?” asked Disney’s director, Kevin Lima.
“Why, we get the wicked Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) to push Giselle into a magic well that drains out to Manhattan, and have the gallant Prince Edward (James Marsden) coming to look for her,” said Kelly. “We can also throw in other creatures like the Prince’s clownish chipmunk Pip and the Queen’s henchman Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) as well, just to provide the laughs and some intrigue,” said Kelly. "I'm sure Pip will steal the show as the main lure for the kids."
“How do you expect Giselle to survive in the real world? She does not know any magic tricks. Can she get by on just her beauty and charm?”
“Maybe we can let her meet a cynical divorce lawyer named Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his little daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) and see how they get along. Why, I will even throw in a yuppie girlfriend (Idina Menzel) for Robert and see who he falls in love with eventually!”
“Sounds good. Now, what do we have in terms of music?” asked the director.
“Maybe we can have Giselle doing a few songs about a ‘true love’s kiss’ – and have some dancing in Central Park…”
“Songs and dances sound very much like Bollywood and people hate that. That’s why we don’t make fairytale musicals anymore!”
“We can have some real-live buskers joining in the dance. Maybe we can even have mice, doves and cockroaches doing a musical number – just like the one with the Seven Dwarves. Now, that has not been done before, even in Bollywood!”
“What are you planning for the grand climactic scene? Can we have the Wicked Queen doing battle like King Kong near some famous big building?”
“Sure, we can have Narissa fighting with Robert on top of a tower and having the gutsy damsel saving him, just for a change!” said Kelly.
“Now you’re talking! What do you propose we call this movie?”
“How about 'Enchanted'?”
posted by Lim Chang Moh @ 11:29 am
2 comments
2 Comments:
Lim,
I love your imagined conversation.
If only it had been that easy.
best,
Bill Kelly
Thank you for your comments. Now, I am waiting for the response of director Kevin Lima.
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