Disney films (well all kids’ films actually) changed forever in 1995. This was the year that Toy Story was released. This movie made it officially okay for kids’ films to not take themselves seriously. The old stereotypes are dead and gone. They ditched the ideas of the damsel in distress, the wicked witch, and the rescuing knight. We now can expect inside jokes, innuendos, and obscure references to please the moms and dads who also have to sit through it. Shrek is probably one of the best examples of this new development, featuring an ogre as the hero and big stars as the voice actors.

Enchantment continues this trend and even sends a few nods to old Disney classics by taking these cheesy characters out of their fantasy world and shoving them into downtown New York.

The plot is a simple one, but it is a bit original for the genre. Princess Giselle (Adams) is cast out of the cartoon world and into Manhattan by Queen Narissa (Sarandon) to prevent her marriage to Prince Edward (Marsden), Narissa’s son. Edward goes on a trying quest into reality to try and save Giselle, but Nathaniel, Narissa’s servant, quickly follows in order to make sure that the Prince fails.

Basically,  another classic Disney fairy tale. This quickly departs from the usual when the cartoon heroes start to interact with average New Yorkers. Giselle ultimately finds a friend in the straight-laced divorce lawyer Robert Philip (Dempsey). He is understandably a bit jaded from his work and has developed relationship problems with Nancy (Menzel), his girlfriend. There is a good bit of conflict between Giselle and Philips since they come from different worlds. Giselle is full of hope and joy while Philips makes a living off of relationships failing. Obviously, the two eventually learn valuable lessons and start to form a strong relationship. But, Prince Edward and Queen Narissa are still hot on her tail, which makes for some sudden turns before the ride is over.

Amy Adam’s does an incredible job pulling off Giselle’s character. She manages to play the role with just the right amount of innocence and sweetness, without being too over the top. A less skilled actress could have easily ruined the movie with a sickly sweet performance, but she adds a lot of charm and balance to the film as the confused princess. The role itself is pretty standard. It’s just a mix of Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, but Adams is able to add a little extra emotion to the basic role and make it into a lot more than the standard “damsel in distress” position. She really steals the show through her great acting and memorable dance scenes, even if they are pretty cheesy.

Marsden and Spall are also very good as the comic duo. Marsden’s performance as the bumbling Prince is well done and is so realistic that you might even start to question if it’s actually an act. Spall carries over his previous successes in British television and perfectly portrays the clumsy assistant to the villain. Their attempts to find Giselle (even though they need her for different reasons) provide good comic relief and a little bit of slapstick to break up the cheesy romance of the film.

Unfortunately, Disney drags in several failures. The premise is pretty good, but they don’t always follow through with their intent. They start off with the idea of making fun of all the classic fairy tale characters, but they still present childish ideals, such as true love and heroic male figures, as true wisdom. Disney set out to laugh at their own values, but they often switch it around to tease the audience members for turning towards the unrealistic optimism and cheerfulness of these fairy tales. Another failure was the out of place finale. The final battle scenes just seemed out of place in this simple movie and hurt the camp atmosphere of the rest of the film.

But, we may be expecting a bit much if we really thought Disney was going to be too hard on itself. It is obviously just a little film for people who are long-time fans of Disney. There are many references made to all of their old films to keep movie buffs and Disney veterans entertained. This movie will probably never reach the status of a classic like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, one of the best times animation and real actors were mixed, but it will probably get laughs from each member of the family through its little twist on Disney classics.