The Film
Hollywood is still ruled by the high concept, that catchy half-sentence summation of a movie intended to make studio chiefs proclaim, "We'll make it!" and audiences exclaim, "We'll see it!" The trailer for Enchanted, in which "a Disney Princess falls into the real world," didn't really speak to my interests, but word-of-mouth was better than I expected and so I gave it a chance, on Blu-ray. And days later I am still reveling in the sheer joy of what I saw and heard.
Under the direction of Kevin Lima (the animated Tarzan, the live-action 102 Dalmatians), everything comes together: a clever script, the casting, the production design, the costumes, the special effects, and of course the music, with original songs and score by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Amy Adams plays Giselle with willowy abandon and a lovely singing voice, a would-be princess who runs afoul of an evil queen (Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon) and is cast from her animated fantasy world into the heart of New York City. Prince Edward (James Marsden) is not far behind, but it's lawyer and single dad Robert (Patrick Dempsey) who truly rescues her.
The obvious jokes and plot twists are certainly here, but with so much heart yet so little sappiness on display, I gladly overlooked some mild corniness and lapses in logic. (How does the prince manage to have such a good time in The Big Apple with no cash? Oh well.) Enchanted draws blatantly upon the tradition of all the great Disney films that have come before; characters and situations, melodrama and happy endings; and is a complex hybrid as a result, with a very modern flavor all its own. As much as my wife and I enjoyed it, one of my daughters was practically on the verge of exploding with glee at the humor and the beauty of it all, while the other ran crying from the home theater when the action became scary. I guess even Disney can't please everybody.
The Picture
The opening animated sequence is windowboxed with a black frame on all four sides to achieve a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and when we transition to the real world, the bars on the sides disappear for a full 2.35:1. The exaggerated palette of the animation gives way to a fairly accurate representation of the harsh urban jungle, which is eventually infiltrated by the rainbow hues of the big production number "That's How You Know" against a variety of lush greens in Central Park. Blacks are strong and the image is noise-free throughout.
The Sound
The Dolby TrueHD audio is marked by aggressive surrounds and sub. The opening scenes in particular feature over-the-top bass, as when Prince Edward fells a troublesome troll. Both live action and animated portions make smart use of the 5.1 speakers for offscreen characters, faraway voices, and the many going-on in the always-busy Times Square. There's a lot of weather in this movie, and while thunder shakes the walls, heavy sheets of rain also envelop us. Of course, the music is mixed big and powerful.
The Extras
The Blu-ray exclusive "The D-Files" feature asks that we watch the movie again, this time with a periodic pop-up multiple choice quiz. Simple questions alternate with photo challenges and more, and the fairly elaborate scoring system awards more points if we respond quickly. There's a even an occasional musical challenge reminiscent of Name That Tune, as we guess how many notes we'll need to identify a familiar song, but my fully updated PlayStation 3 did not like this bit and would not play along (no notes at all). With most correct answers we're given clips from the Disney classics that inspired a scene, plus a quick explanatory interview with Lima and others. I was originally going to express dismay that a film with so many creative layers did not include a running director's audio commentary, but the meat of The D-Files more than makes up for it, as most of these branches play like micro-documentaries about the abundant influences and homages.
High scores are rewarded with otherwise inaccessible "making of the song" clips for "True Love's Kiss," "Ever Ever After" and "So Close," depending upon how many points we rack up. Questions and asides are specially chaptered when we are watching in D-Files mode so that we can jump immediately to the next, a real timesaver when you're a Blu-ray reviewer on a deadline. When we reach the end, we're given a special menu page that lists these D-Files chapters by name, with direct access. This is a wonderful use of the Blu-ray technology and a perfect title for its debut.
Additional bonus materials are shared with the DVD. "Fantasy Comes to Life" goes behind the scenes of three key sequences, Lima introduces six deleted scenes, and the bloopers are always good for a chuckle. "Pip's Predicament," a parallel story of the chipmunk comic relief character told in a rudimentary pop-up book style of animation, doesn't quite work. Honestly, this looks like it started its life as an intended set-top game, maybe we were supposed to use the remote control to choose different items or paths, but this final version offers no interactivity whatsoever, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The music video for "Ever Ever After" with American Idol winner Carrie Underwood is also included.
Final Thoughts
Only the most cynical viewers will find nothing to like in Enchanted. And with solid audio/video backed by enjoyable cutting-edge extras, the Blu-ray is nothing short of magical.
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