Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wishing Wands
Julia McGrath ’23
Staff Writer
mcgrathjj@lakeforest.edu
The long-awaited sequel to the 2007 film Enchanted is finally here, and while it’s a fun and entertaining watch, it doesn’t bring anything substantial to the table. In Disenchanted, which premiered on Disney+ on November 18, Giselle, played by a vibrant Amy Adams, makes a wish on a magic wand for her life to be like a fairy tale. Of course, the wish backfires and she has to make things right before the spell becomes permanent at midnight. All the while, Giselle is fighting to prevent the wish from turning her into an evil stepmother.
While most of the main cast returns for this movie, one performance worth noting is that of newcomer Gabriella Baldacchino, who plays Morgan, now a teenager. Baldacchino steps into the role well, thanks to her incredible singing voice and great chemistry with Adams. For the first 20 or so minutes of the film, Morgan longs to be back in New York and away from the small town her family has moved to. She’s also harboring a little resentment toward Giselle, who has good intentions but ultimately doesn’t know how to connect with her like when she was little. A scene where this dynamic stands out is during an argument with Giselle and Robert, where she coldly calls the former her stepmother, unknowingly setting the story in motion.
However, once Giselle’s wish is in effect, Morgan’s character deteriorates for a while into a Cinderella-esque archetype. The exception to this rule is her song “Perfect,” where it’s implied that Morgan knows she doesn’t quite fit in this new world. Thankfully, she gets some better character development toward the end of the movie, and ends up inadvertently saving the day. Still, having Morgan be a damsel in distress for a good chunk of her screen time is time that could’ve been better used another way.
The most interesting part of the movie is obviously Amy Adams’ performance. The actress is so clearly at home in the role of Giselle, and her internal battle with her “wicked stepmother” side brought on by her wish is a testament to Adams’ skills. The only thing missing from her performance is the lack of scenes she shares with Robert, her love interest from the first film. Despite the two characters now being married, they only have a few scenes together at the beginning and end of the film, leaving a lot to be desired from an audience perspective. Giselle’s wish sadly drives the two in different directions, when it’s obvious the stakes would be higher if she didn’t go through the evil stepmother transformation on her own. Whenever Giselle and Robert are onscreen together, though, their love for each other is clear.
All in all, despite understanding the characters well enough, Disenchanted leaves a lot unexplored plot-wise. From underusing Edward and Nancy to Maya Rudolph’s somewhat disappointing new character, the film could benefit from one thing at this point: time. Here’s to hoping it ages as well as the first one did.
Disenchanted is available on Disney+ for $7.99 a month.
