It has been 15 years since we last saw Giselle having a romance in the Disney animated world of Andalasia with Prince Edward. His mother, Queen Narissa (a brilliant over the top performance by Susan Sarandon), a sorceress, who sends her down a well. It is a portal to another world, in fact our world stripped of magic and fairy tale endings. She meets Robert Philip, a divorce lawyer, has a daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey). He is about to propose to Nancy Tremaine. There are other Andalasian transported to New York to help like Pip (Kevin Lima) the chipmunk and others to stop Giselle, like the henchman, Edward. Spoiler!, Edward marries Nancy and Pip returns to Andalasia while Giselle stays in New York to start a fashion business. This new director, Adam Shankman, also directed Hairspray (2007) and is executive producer of this year’s Hocus Pocus 2. The story is by Richard Lagravenese, J. David Stern, and David N. Weiss with a screenplay by Brigitte Hales, who also wrote for the fantasy series, Once Upon a Time.
We open with the Disney castle logo that is swiped by bluebirds to the Andalasian castle.
It is the typical European medieval village, trolls are lazily fishing by a bridge, with theme song. This moves to the narrator, Pip (Griffin Newman), who tells about an abandoned baby is discovered by forest animals. A bit of a downgrade from Julie Andrews. The original Pip voice also had a Bronx accent, but it was tinny so kinda funny. The voice of Pip here is kinda grating, but becomes more Steve Buscemi-like in the later part of the movie. The baby is of course Giselle. Pip recaps her story from the first film and sings her song. The story is continued, while Pip holds open a book, by his kids. He says to his children that there is more to Giselle’s story picking up an Enchanted book from his shelf. Pip adds that Giselle and Robert had a baby named Sofia. They are exhausted by the new baby and Morgan grown up to be a teenager. Giselle looks out her window to see a billboard of Monroeville, “Your Fairy Tale starts here!” Pigeons, cockroaches, and rats are on the balcony as a moving van is ready to go.
Giselle (Amy Adams) sings the beginning of her song. Then, we have the family van with Robert (Patrick Dempsey) working to load it while Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchio) checks her phone. Baldacchio has worked in television including the tv comedy, Unschooled (2019). Morgan would rather stay in the city. We don’t have any resolution of Giselle’s fashion business. They reach Monroeville after Pip’s song. Morgan has memorized Giselle words, she’s just on repeat. The house with the peaked tower is still under construction. Three ladies go to greet Giselle and the new baby. They are in the same color pattern as the fairies in Sleeping Beauty (1959). The family goes to the kitchen window, Morgan calls the backyard a “land fill”, Giselle adds, “a land filled with adventure.” She tries to cheer up Morgan with a song while dodging construction workers. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz returns as songwriters. Gisele and Robert take Morgan to her new room with her eyes closed. Morgan opens her eyes and is stunned, she says that her room is beautiful.
Still, she flicks on the light, and the circuit burns until it reaches her boxes! Robert puts out the fires when a neighbor calls from downstairs. They meet Malvina Monroe, (Maya Rudolph), head of the town’s council. Rudolph was perfect as Rita in the comedy Idiocracy (2006) and voiced Aunt Cass in Big Hero 6 (2014). Malvina has two sidekicks Rosaleen (Yvette Nicole Brown) and Ruby (Jayma Mays). Brown starred as Shirley Bennett in Community and she is in the sports series, Big Shot. Mays was Emma Pillsbury on the musical high school show, Glee, and also starred in Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020). Malvinia sends Rosaleen and Ruby to give gift baskets to the family and they try to flatter her. I find it strange that Robert buys a new house and doesn’t check the neighborhood. At night, Robert and Giselle tuck in Sofia while Morgan sleeps at the foot of their bed with the smoke still in her room. The alarm clock goes off at 5 a.m., Sofia cries, Giselle tries to make breakfast and Robert has to get to his commute! Morgan gets splashed by her father’s coffee, then some magic bursts from the house’s well!
This is the arrival of Queen Nancy (Idina Menzel) and King Edward (James Marsen). Edward is still a little awkward saying Robert’s house looks poor, he apologizes, and then gives Robert his sword. Later, Nancy and Edward present a gift for their god child, an Andalasian wishing wand. The instructions are of course sung by Menzel (the first time in these two movies!) and Marsden. They also have a scroll that can help. Giselle notes that Sofia is a “true daughter of Andalasia” and Morgan looks ignored. Robert makes it to the train and the passenger wonder about his sword. One passenger (Ann Harada) notes that he has to ride the train “over and over” umpteenth times! The other passenger is played by James Monroe Iglehart who was in the Broadway production of Aladdin. They do sing later. At Monroeville Preparatory School, Giselle walks over Morgan who has to wear her stepmom’s pink vest and matching flower-patterned dress! Malvina and her henchwoman have a booth to raise funds for Monroe-fest. Also, it is a chance to be voted prince for the event, including Malvina’s son, Tyson. Morgan brings up that Giselle is the best at baking.
Malvinia offers Giselle coffee to talk while Morgan is bumped, but collects her books with help from Tyson (Kolton Stewart). I get the meet cute, but Morgan’s loss of confidence and her wisecracks to her parents are suddenly lost. He called over by other students while Morgan is mocked for her clothes by others. At the coffee house, Edgar (Oscar Nunez) serves up Malvinia, and correctly guesses Giselle’s choice. Malvinia tells Giselle about finding her place and she agrees. At home, Giselle has made a miniature park for the crickets, and Morgan returns disappointed. They have a talk, but Morgan says she can work her situation out on her own. Giselle brings down her memory tree and puts it next to the Monroe-fest flyer. Morgan wakes up and sees Giselle’s note to go to the school. She has set up a table of cupcakes with a “Vote for Morgan” booth. Morgan is disappointed and walks away. Giselle tries to follow, but Malvinia stops her. She can’t have a booth without being on a committee so Ruby and Rosaleen tear down the booth.
Later, Giselle is worried that she doesn’t seem to be the same in Monroeville, Robert tries to console her. Morgan walks in, late, she said she went back to New York. She starts to argue with Giselle and Robert says if she is angry direct her anger to him. Morgan says Giselle will only be a stepmother to her. This shatters Giselle. So of course she goes outside to sing a song when the well lights up and Pip appears. Giselle decides to change Monroeville into a fairy tale with the Wand of Wishes. She goes to sleep and wakens to find bluebirds talking and then her applicances talking as they make breakfast. Next, Morgan has Giselle’s song and happily singing. Robert enters the kitchen singing (first time in these movies). They dance together and then Giselle tells Pip her wish came true. She walks outside and sees the house and tower covered with flowers. The three women are now fairies. The townsfolk are now singing and dancing in Monrolasia. I can’t help, but think of two regular people lost in a magical worldof musicals in the Apple+ series Schmigadoon!
Trumpets sound the arrival of Queen Malvinia who arrives in a carriage and reminds Giselle of the festival. She notices the wand held by Sofia. Then, the clock tower rings. Gisele’s eyes glow yellow and she snaps at the queen. She snaps out of it and says that this is her daughter’s first festival in Monrolasia. Malvinia and her ladies-in-waiting go to see the Magic Mirror. Again, I see it as the magic book in Ella Enchanted (2004). Malvinia suspects that the answer lies in the wand and sends Rosaleen and Ruby after it. Their rivalry is something out of Descendants (2015). In the dressmaker’s shop, Morgan finds a blue dress for the festival and sees outside the window, young Tyson. Giselle has a dress picked for her, she refuses, and then the bell tolls again. Giselle wants all of the dresses. At the house, Rosaleen and Ruby peek in trying to find the wand. Morgan checks on her sister and then Giselle brings out Morgan’s torn dress, golden scissors fall down from her dress. Ruby reaches for the wand through the window, but it falls. Morgan is still upbeat about the dress. Ruby picks up the wand, but her ruby bracelets falls down. Morgan goes to the market and reminds Giselle that she is her stepmother.
Giselle realizes that her dress is low, funny, and realizes that she is the Wicked Stepmother. So this gives Adams the chance to play the villain for a little bit. She runs to the tower which is Morgan’s messy attic. Pip notes that the queen is evil and the wish should be unwished. He becomes sick and then is transformed into a cat. Out of the forest, Robert hears a scream, travelers are facing a dragon. He charges in, but is thrown out and then burned. This is a clumsy version of Prince Charming from Once Upon a Time. Is his awkwardness because he is from New York? I did not find Robert foolishly boastful before the transformation. Giselle brings the box with the Scroll (Alan Tudyk) who has the Ed Wynn silly voice from Mary Poppins (1964) as Uncle Albert. He says the magic for the wish has come from Andalasia and she has until midnight to undo the wish or it will be permanent! Giselle needs the wand, but of course it is lost because magic wands are usually kept lying around. One of the cleverness of the first movie was that it was parodying princess animated movies, especially Disney princesses, but this story drops that, no parody of city to suburban life. Plus, no twists in the real world with the wish world, I do like the dragon fruit!, and modern stores and places turned medieval. Incidents just happen. I do like the cast including the new cast members, but the film gives them little to do. Disenchanted does seem like a tv movie with film cast and needs a stronger, funnier story!
Three Wand of Wishes out of Five!
#Disenchanted, #AmyAdams, #PatrickDempsey, #GabriellaBaldacchino, #KoltonStewart, #IdinaMenzel, #JamesMarsden, #MayaRudolph, #YvetteNicoleBrown, #YaymaMays, #GriffinNewman, #AlanTudyk
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