Movie Review # 584: Disenchanted (2022)

Alright, everyone, today we are going to be reviewing a film that has a mix live-action, and animation, and that was released exclusively to Disney+ just a couple months ago, back around Thanksgiving of this past year, as a matter of fact. And it’s not just any live-action/animation hybrid film, but it is a sequel to a popular Disney film that was released just fifteen years before, in 2007, and featured Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Idina Menzel, and more. And now, most of that cast from that film, known as Enchanted, returns in this sequel to that film, the one, and only, 2022’s Disenchanted. So now, let’s see how Disenchanted compares to it’s predecessor, Enchanted, shall we?

Plot: Set ten years after the events of Enchanted, Robert (Patrick Dempsey), and Giselle (Amy Adams) are now happily married, and have a new child of their own, in addition to Robert’s daughter, Morgan (now a teenager, and played by Gabriella Baldacchino). However, after starting to feel unsatisfied with life in New York City, Robert, Giselle, their daughter Morgan, and their newborn, Sofia, decide to move to a fictional suburban town called Monroeville. After things begin to go wrong while living in their new home, and Giselle is given a wishing wand by old friends Prince Edward (James Marsden), and his queen, Nancy (Idina Menzel), who come from Andalusia to visit them, and present Sophia with a wishing wand, Giselle decides to use it to wish that her family’s life was a “perfect fairytale.” Will this wish make life better for Giselle, Robert, and their family, or will Giselle come to regret making that wish?

So, as I’m sure many of us know, this sequel was released exclusively to Disney+ just as the first film would reach it’s 15th anniversary. With that said, did we need a sequel in the end? Was it necessary? Quite honestly, no! Okay, it’s an okay follow up to the original Enchanted. However, Disenchanted was probably not the best sequel for Disney to come out with. Yes, there were some good lessons to take away from this film, even though those may have been executed in better films. And yes, the acting was very good, especially from Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Idina Menzel, and of course Gabriella Baldacchino, who played teenage Morgan. The 2D hand-drawn animation for the scenes where we’re taken back to the kingdom of Andalasia, is also superb. Quite honestly, if Disney is willing to take a stab, or two, at hand-drawn animation again for any of their upcoming projects from Walt Disney Animation Studios, then hopefully the will be just as great, if not better, than it was for the animation here in Disenchanted. Anyway, the score by Alan Menken was also very good. I mean, come on, he’s most definitely a musical genius whenever composes especially for any Disney film (case in point, Enchanted, The Little Mermaid, or Pocahontas, for example). Finally, the film did have some rather comical lines, and moments as well.

With all those being said, Disenchanted is still not the best. The reason being is, well, there’s the story, for one. Don’t get me wrong, it is the nice idea with the kind of storyline that the writers were trying to convey this time around. And yeah, it was nice to see Morgan be a teenager, and end up having conflicts with either of her parents, and her having to learn some valuable lessons along the way. Still, it’s safe to say that there are other movies out there that seem to execute this kind of storyline better than in this one. Plus, if all of the main characters were memorable to you in the first film, let’s just say you probably won’t like how some of them are handled in this sequel, especially characters like Giselle, and her chipmunk pal, Pip. As for the ending, it was most certainly a decent ending, but probably felt a little too rushed. With issues such as these, it’s safe to say that Disney needs to get more back in the game of coming up with original ideas, instead of these sequels, and remakes, and all of those things, and milking out franchises, you know?

And that’s my review for Disenchanted. It may be an okay sequel. However, it probably wasn’t the best one to exist. If you liked the first film, probably stick just with that one. While there may be worse sequels out there, this one either could have had a better storyline, or, better yet, not existed at all. If you’re looking something newer to watch on Disney+, then I guess you could go worse. Just don’t expect one of the best sequels out there.

Final Grade: C+