When Amy Adams was hired to play the latest in a long line of Disney movie princesses in Enchanted—opening Wednesday—she didn’t have to do much research. After all, the 2007 Oscar nominee (for Junebug) says she’s been studying for her role her entire life.
“I would love to say that I sat in front of the television and watched all the Disney movies to prepare for this role,” Adams said at a recent publicity event for Enchanted in Los Angeles. “But the truth is, I spent my entire childhood watching these films. They were already a part of who I am.”
She actually tried out to be a princess at one of Disney’s theme parks when she was 19, “but I didn’t get cast,” says Adams.
Now 33, Adams’ performance in Enchanted is a perfect translation of the franchise’s many cartoon princesses; she’s even getting some early Oscar buzz. And she didn’t have to rent a single movie to prepare, because she already owned them all.
A love letter to all things Disney
That universal intrinsic knowledge of Disney lore is exactly what inspired Enchanted, “a love letter to all things Disney,” says co-star Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy).
In the movie’s opening minutes, a cartoon beauty named Giselle (Adams) daydreams of a prince who will come and give her “true love’s kiss.” Surrounding her are her forest friends—bluebirds, a baby deer, a gray rabbit, a warthog, etc. The sweet, idealistic two-dimensional beginning is a condensed Disney classic of yesteryear—the brave and charming Prince Edward (James Marsden) meets Giselle, saves her from danger, and promptly whisks her away to be “married in the morning!”
Unlike the famous classic Disney films of the past, that’s just the beginning. Edward’s stepmother (Susan Sarandon) sees Giselle as a threat and magically whisks her to a place “where there are no happy endings.” Yes, New York City. There, Giselle wanders the streets before being taken in by Robert (Dempsey) and his young, awed daughter.
By bringing archetypal Disney characters into the live action world, Enchanted is able to examine the classic Disney idealism, cheerfulness and magical view of love at first sight—and gently smack it upside the head with a dose of dirty New York real-life. Take for instance the “Whistle While You Work” parody starring dirty pigeons, rats and cockroaches helping Giselle clean. This is not a place where cute woodland animals help you do your chores. Or people break out in song. And love doesn’t come easily and magically.
“What I think about most when I see this movie is that cynicism is an easy emotion,” said screenwriter Bill Kelly. “It’s easy to be cynical. To carry innocence and joy takes effort and determination. It takes work to create that magic in your real life, but it’s worth it.”
The Director’s Passion
Kelly’s high concept idea arrived on Disney’s doorstep about five years ago. “It was one of those great ideas that when you hear about it, you can’t believe it hasn’t been done seven times,” said executive producer Christopher Chase.
Director Kevin Lima was a perfect fit for the cartoon/live action combination. He’d already directed a major Disney animated feature (Tarzan) and a live-action one (102 Dalmatians). But his qualifications ran deeper. A longtime Disney animator (on titles such as The Little Mermaid, Oliver & Company and The Brave Little Toaster), Lima knew the company’s history and understood the art side.
But most of all, he brought passion. As several cast members noted, Lima practically became obsessed with using the movie to pay homage to all things Disney. It started simply with plot points like poisoned apples and recognizable forest animals. “Then, coming up with references became like a disease,” Lima says. Soon, Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid, was given a small role. A law firm was changed to be named for the songwriters of Snow White.
“It was a running joke on the set because Kevin kept changing all the names in the film and continually added cast members,” said producer Barry Josephson.
True Love in the True World?
But Enchanted goes deeper into the Disney mythos than playing “Where’s Waldo?” with classic icons. Producer Chase says, “I think one of the big ideas [of the movie] is, ‘Can you take those iconic Disney values—which are very simple and very black-and-white—and bring them into our world?'”
The answer, according to the film, is a definite yes. While Enchanted does poke fun at the idea of falling in love in a day, don’t expect this Disney film to critique or abandon Disney’s iconic themes. “[Our goal] was more lifting up and affirming those themes than satirizing or making fun of them,” said Josephson. “More than anything, we are updating those ideas.”
Lima explained that even in modern society—and yes, even in cynical, tough New York City—fairy tale love as captured in classics like Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty can exist, sort of. Enchanted‘s central thesis is that real love needs a mixture of real world work and fairy tale magic.
“What I tried to do with this movie was to tell classic Disney thematic ideas for a contemporary audience,” Lima said. “I wanted to show that you could have happily ever after in our world. And it takes some of the same values that Disney characters hold on to: You have to have perseverance of spirit. You have to have love in your heart and hope. Those are messages from the old Disney classics that I wanted in a contemporary setting.”
The central way Enchanted accomplishes this exploration of Disney love versus real love is by juxtaposing the relationship of Prince Edward and Giselle with New York couple Robert (Dempsey) and Nancy (Idena Menzel).
“Edward and Giselle meet and after two minutes know they are going to get married because they sing a song about it,” writer Kelly said. “Nancy and Robert’s love, on the other hand, is very thoughtful and almost contractual. They are two people who maturely assess each other’s needs and make almost a business arrangement. We’re trying to examine the idealism about love we all grow up with in contrast to the sometimes unhappy reality that is real life.”
Happily Ever After?
As the cast and crew of the film discussed the movie, talk repeatedly turned to the idea of love—and whether the classic Disney ideal of magical, Happily-Ever-After Love was possible.
“I hope there’s a happily ever after,” said the single Adams. “I’m hopeful. I think a great message of this film is that sometimes what we believe to be the fairytale prince is not. Sometimes we get so fixated on what we think we want, that we miss what we need.”
The married Dempsey said his beliefs about love parallel a central idea of Enchanted—love exists but is not as easy as cartoons may suggest. “I think there is a true love,” he said. “But I don’t feel it’s necessarily happily ever after. Love comes with a tremendous amount of work and understanding and sacrifice. I don’t believe it is happily ever after and, snap, you’re perfect. It’s the chase of perfection that’s the fun part.”
Sarandon, longtime partner of actor Tim Robbins, said she isn’t really sure what “happily ever after” even means. “Do I think it is possible to walk off into the sunset? Yes, but not without effort,” she said. “One thing I think this movie says is that you need to work at it. You walk off into the sunset, but somebody gets stuck. And then you go further into the sunset and wait for the next [setback] to happen. That kind of stop-and-start walk into the sunset is what I believe.”
Becoming a Princess
Adams said that she’s been fielding a lot of questions about being a “new kind of Disney princess.” And yet she isn’t so sure how different Giselle is from her predecessors.
“When compared to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, that’s true: she is different,” Adams said. “But the more modern Disney princesses do really reflect how women have changed over time. Those older characters represented how women were portrayed at that time in our society. And now, I really feel that from The Little Mermaid on, they’ve been very strong-willed women. All of them have been girls who bucked tradition and went after their own destiny. Look at Mulan. I wouldn’t mess with her.”
She also said she’s very aware of the responsibility that comes with being a Disney princess. When asked what she’ll do to make sure tabloid photographers will not catch her—like notorious Hollywood bad girls—without underwear, Adams laughed.
“You’ll be happy to know I’m well stocked,” she said. “I’m not a huge misbehaver. I’m bound to make mistakes in life, but I am a very honest person. I think that’s the most important thing you can be for little girls: honest.”
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