Disenchanted

My main issue with the film is it could've been better, there were some interesting ideas presented rather than just rehashing the original in a dulled down way as most sequels do, the cast were great although writing-wise the character development from the first film had basically vanished and the new characters were somewhat forgettable, still some funny moments but not as memorable as the original, similarly the songs were not as memorable as the original either, lots of abandoned plot threads and characters that had no role in the story but were just kind of there, it feels unfair to compare this to the original since that was over 14 years ago, time flies, but I just think there wasn't really a reason to make a sequel to the first Enchanted

Even so, as far as sequels go it's not the worst, the aforementioned positives stood out for me, the sets were beautiful and costume design was excellent, and I liked some of the ideas the sequel was leading into but the execution just fell flat for me, felt very rushed, sense of scale gone, the animated sequences were almost unnecessary this time as they didn't even involve much movement or expression, and it's a scathing indictment of both Disney's gradual attempts to abandon animation as a medium (despite it being so crucial to their past success) and the conditions animators have to work under, with very little pay or suitable hours, especially compared with the animated sequences of the first film.

All in all it ironically kinda lives up to the Disney tradition of making a memorable, iconic blockbuster film about a princess and then having the direct-to-video sequel being kind of underwhelming, I'd rate this a 6 or a 5 under other circumstances but because I feel like it was close to being a better film and just didn't reach that, and because it doesn't live up to the original, I think 4 is kind of appropriate, Disney needs to pick up their slack, they're becoming too complacent.

If Enchanted wasn't going to win any oscar, the movie was original, music was refreshing and the balance between fairytale and humour was holding fine.

In Disenchanted, all breaks apart. The title is exactly what I'd say people might feel after seeing this. Half way through the film, it's clear this movie isn't going anywhere.

The acting is cringe, the music lands blandly on too much plastic landscaping.

There is no even a sense the to whole plot.

There was a potential in the title. It could have been what the first few minutes makes you believe the movie was going to be. Giselle facing the reality of life vs magic. Instead, it forces the audience into live another sad version of a disney fairytale. What a waste.

Was it as good as the original? No, but it was still highly entertaining. I liked that they actually did something new with the story. So many sequels just basically end up doing the same story as the first. And Amy Adams was clearly eating it up as a villain. She was **wicked** fun. Plot wise, I loved the focus on the mother-daughter dynamic, although I could foresee how the spell would be broken from a mile away. And although Patrick Dempsey gets to have a bit more fun by partaking in the singing and dancing I feel like he has a kind of useless B plot. He definitely isn't as important as he was in the first. I thought they did a good job casting with Morgan. I seriously didn't even realize that it wasn't the original actress. A lot of the sets and costumes actually reminded me a lot of the Brandy Cinderella movie. They definitely didn't look cheap and they were full of whimsy but also didn't look fully cinematic either. The songs were very good too. I don't know if they will be as iconic as the original movies, probably not. But still overall good. I think my favourite might be Idina Menzel's memory song. Also just like the first, there's lots of fun Disney Easter eggs to look out for. It was a lot of fun and a pretty good sequel in my eyes.

I could watch Enchanted any time I want to feel better about the basic goodness of people - and that is what is missing in Disenchated. Apart from James Marsden's dimwitted return as the Prince, and finally letting Menzel sing (albeit a forgettable song amidst a sea of forgettable songs), there's nothing to recommend here. It's a sequel that shouldn't have been made, or at least not by a group of writers, which appears to be the case here. Same cast as Enchanted, Amy Adams actually looks even nicer this time around, but what a godawful story they're stuck with - it's just a mish-mosh of set pieces, each trying to set up the next piece, and failing. As was the case with Hocus Pocus 2, Disney has lost its way.

Disenchanted delivers a cliche story that loses the charm of the first film. It manages to siphon out everything that made Enchanted great, whilst adding a forgettable villain into the mix, and numerous plot holes, that had me scratching my head at times. Performances were as good as they could be with the lackluster script, and the climax of the film came off as shallow and underwhelming. This movie is just another Disney reboot and I wouldn't recommend watching it.

Best part of the film was James marsdens character, he's just the only funny person in the whole movie, and it looks like James is having a lot of fun playing him

5/10.