Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Musical
Directed by Kevin Lima
Produced byBarry Josephson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay by Bill Kelly
Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel&Susan Sarandon.
Narrated by Julie Andrews
Edited by Gregory Perler, Stephen A. Rotter
Cinematography:Don Burgess
Music by Alan Menken
Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Josephson Entertainment, Andalasia Productions, Right Coast Productions
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The plot: Princess Giselle is banished from her kingdom by her lover’s evil stepmother. She is then transported to the real world where she meets a lawyer and finds herself falling for him.
This movie was Descent.
Pros: I like how they used a mix of live-action and classic Disney animation. Amy Adams is like a force of nature as the main character. James Marsden is charming & entertaining as Prince Edward. There were some moments in the film that I did laugh too and I enjoyed how they did new spins on these romantic fairy tales.
Cons: I think I would have enjoyed this movie more when I was a younger child. Didn’t like Susan Sarandon as the villain and I wish I had seen it in the cinema years ago when it was released.
Cast & Characters:
- Amy Adams as Giselle, a singing and dancing princess-to-be who ends up almost having her dream of meeting her prince a reality.
- Patrick Dempsey as Robert Philip, a cynical Manhattan divorce attorney who does not believe in true love, happily-ever-after, or fairy tales since his wife left him and their daughter. He falls in love with Giselle after her adventure to New York City, and her sense of fun gradually rubs off on him over the course of the film.
- James Marsden as Prince Edward, a dim-witted, yet brave, heroic and good-hearted, prince who ends up confused with the world of New York once he enters it.
- Timothy Spall as Nathaniel, a servant of Queen Narissa, who gets controlled through his infatuation with the Queen and his own lack of self-esteem. He initially does Narissa’s bidding, but ultimately realizes her true nature and rebels against her. He has a penchant for disguises.
- Susan Sarandon as Queen Narissa, Edward’s evil stepmother, a sorceress, and a megalomaniac with a hatred for Giselle simply for being an obstacle for her to keep her power.
- Jeff Bennett and Kevin Lima as Pip, a chipmunk friend of Giselle who has no trouble expressing himself through speech in Andalasia, Loses his ability to speak in the real world and must communicate by acting.
- Rachel Covey as Morgan Philip, Robert’s six-year-old daughter. Despite her father misunderstanding her and telling her otherwise, she believes in fairy tales and also believes that magic exists.
- Idina Menzel as Nancy Tremaine, a fashion designer and Robert’s girlfriend. Once Giselle falls in love with Robert, she falls for Edward and leaves with him.
- Julie Andrews as the Narrator
- John Rothman as Carl, Robert’s boss
- Paige O’Hara as Angela, a soap opera character
- Jodi Benson as Sam, Robert’s secretary
- Judy Kuhn as a pregnant woman with children living in Robert’s building
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Ethan Banks, a male client during a divorce case
- Tonya Pinkins as Phoebe Banks, Ethan’s ex-wife
- Marlon Saunders as a calypso singer in Central Park
- Jon McLaughlin as a ballroom singer. He sings “So Close” at the ball while Robert and Giselle dance together, as do Edward and Nancy.
- Emma Rose Lima as:
- Bluebird, a young female bluebird who is one of Giselle’ animal friends.
- Fawn, a young female deer who is one of Giselle’ animal friends.
- Teala Dunn as Bunny, a young rabbit who is one of Giselle’ animal friends.
- Fred Tatasciore as the Troll, a creature from Andalasia who tries to eat Giselle.
- Frank Welker as Destiny, Prince Edward’s horse from Andalasia.
I recommend watching this film on Disney Plus before seeing the sequel.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe.