Disenchanted (2022)

So, moving on fifteen years from the first outing for "Giselle" (Amy Adams) et al., we return only to find that a bit of ennui has set into their idyllic lifestyle. As the saying goes - "the devil finds work for idle hands" and a careless wish plunges her, husband "Robert" (Patrick Dempsey) and their own new daughter into a series of adventures as she must race against the clock to stop disaster striking on the final toll of the midnight bell. Sadly, this has none of the engagement of the 2007 introduction to these characters. Sure, we don't expect much jeopardy with the storyline, but here it is all just a bit too contrived and there are also way too many rather bland songs that seem more a substitution for pretty weak dialogue and characterisations, than their ability to get you singing along. It does look good, and it is curious to see the entire cast reunited after the intervening years, but sadly this is little better than a television movie that might engage the youngsters for the first hour of it's over-long two hour duration, but afterwards I fear attentions may start to stray to what's going on out of the window. Pity - another sequel that we really didn't need.

**Refreshingly innovative, mostly a kids-pleaser. (7/10)** My expectations for this film were low, as it was not only a sequel but also one without even a theatrical release. And the first 20 minutes or so was about on par with your typical "sitcom sequel": Family moves out of the big city into the suburbs, angsty teen just wants to go home, mother who doesn't understand teenagers proceeds to embarrass her on her first day, etc etc.... Needless to say, I was settled in for a mediocre film. I was, however, surprised by several things once the magical part of the film got rolling. While character development is thin in this film, a certain twist involving Giselle caught me off guard and there are several clever foreshadowing points and Disney callbacks throughout the film. Musical numbers range from OK to Good, but there's a particular jazzy duet that knocked my socks off. (If you've seen the movie, you know exactly which one I'm talking about.) Unfortunately, the novelty wears off around the third act of the film, where it essentially just becomes your basic fairy-tale kids movie plot. Save the world before midnight, showdown with main villain, yada yada.. Anyway, the movie brings a few good ideas to the table, and it's probably worth a watch - it's not like you gotta pay for movie tickets after all. I'd reckon Disenchanted is about on par with the original Enchanted - no better, no worse; sometimes a movie just is.

It has some pluses, though 'Disenchanted' is largely uninteresting. The special effects are good, when Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph are onscreen together the movie is more watchable, some of the attempted heart from the story does eventually show up well and the animation bits are nice. Despite those positives, I still wouldn't say I enjoyed this. It was a bit of a slog to sit through in truth. I narrowly liked the first film, but this sequel just didn't really click into gear in my opinion.