I Love Amy Adams, and You Should Too!!!

"Enchanted" may be the title of a movie, but it could also be used to describe Amy Adams the star of said movie and the main reason you should see said movie.

Adams plays Giselle, an animated Princess from the magical land of Andalasia who is about to get married to her Prince Edward when she is tricked by an old hag of a women and sent through a portal which brings her literally into the real world of New York. Giselle herself becomes human but still carries her fairy tale sensibility wherever she goes. She searches all over Manhattan trying to find her castle and her Prince, but she is soon found by a cynical divorce attorney named Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his daughter who take her in. Meanwhile Giselle's Prince (James Marsden in a great clueless performance) finds the portal to New York and intends to rescue her, along with Pip a talking squirrel (although in the real world, squirrels can't talk which causes some problems), and his servant Nathaniel (Timothy Spall who I just saw in "The Last Hangman"). Nathaniel however is secretly working for the evil Queen (Susan Sarandon) the person responsible for sending Giselle through the portal in the first place.

The fairy tale story is sort of an homage of various Disney Princess stories like "Snow White", and "Sleeping Beauty", with a little bit of "Cinderella" thrown in at the end for good measure. Meanwhile Giselle is learning about the real world through Robert, while Robert is learning the world isn't such a bad place after all from Giselle.

You already know where "Enchanted" is headed the moment Adams steps out of the portal, however I must admit there are a few surprises and clever moments I didn't see coming or didn't expect done so well. Mostly the musical numbers were all inspired , particularly the ditty Adams sings when she is cleaning up Robert's apartment with the help of some of her animal friends, which aren't all the cute and cuddly in their real forms. Then there is another show stopper in the middle of Central Park that almost had me clapping in the theatre.

This film isn't just making fun of Disney films like the "Shrek" movies do, but they are also paying homage to them by showing us just what makes them so special in the first place. There isn't a hint of cynicism in this film and that's because we believe in Adams' character so much, she's the one that makes the film work. I would also credit Marsden's Prince Edward who also never loses that sense that he came from an animated world.

I do wish the film makers made up a more creative foil for Giselle rather than Dempsey's straight laced cynical business man type that we've seen so many times before, and the climax with the CGI dragon is just really ridiculous and sloppy, but all and all I was won over by the charm of Amy Adams and the musical numbers, both of which hearken back to Disney's glory days. And Hurray for 2-D animation!!

3 stars out of 4