Summary
- Enchanted's director commentary track offers exclusive insights into the making of the beloved Disney film.
- Kevin Lima transformed Enchanted from a cynical take on Disney Princess movies to a heartfelt love letter.
- Amy Adams was not Disney's first choice for Giselle, but her performance became a highlight of the film.
The Enchanted commentary track is a delightful addition to the watching experience or even as a standalone presentation to to the beloved Disney movie. Enchanted was such a fresh take on the fairy tale genre, that in some ways it feels like Disney movies can be categorized as "before Enchanted" and "after Enchanted". A love letter to the animated films of Walt Disney studio, but particularly its catalog of Disney Princess movies, Enchanted is a magical, musical, and modern movie that pays homage to the films that came before it while offering something totally unique.
For the 15th anniversary of Enchanted's 2007 release, director Kevin Lima made an exclusive director's commentary track on his YouTube channel, with the 1-hour 50-minute video designed to play alongside Enchanted. An interested viewer can open up the video on their phone or laptop, and synch up Enchanted on Disney+ or with their physical copy, so Lima can explain the film scene-by-scene to the viewer. The commentary track is filled with fascinating anecdotes, facts, and surprising reveals even most die-hard fans won't have known about.
Enchanted: Every Song In The Film, Ranked From Worst To Best
Enchanted is one of Disney's underrated classics, with a truly terrific score. With Disenchanted on its way, fans are reliving its best songs!
10 Enchanted Was Originally A More Biting Take On Disney Princesses
Kevin Lima Made Enchanted More Of A Love Letter
Bill Kelly, the writer for Enchanted, and Sunil Perkash, the producer for the film, initially had the idea for the movie in the late 1990s, about seven years before Enchanted premiered. Disney was immediately interested, but there wasn't much movement on the script until Kevin Lima was brought in. It was the director who realized the issue was that the original script was too cynical. Instead of being proud of the history of Disney, it took a more Shrek-like approach, pointing and laughing at tropes rather than reveling in them.
That may have been an interesting take on the movie, but a more positive and charming tone was the better way to tell this particular story. Lima mentions numerous examples of how Enchanted sincerely winks at Disney when it originally was more biting. The director saw the film as a love letter rather than a take-down. For instance, when Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) delivers poisoned apples through a restaurant stew pot, they were originally supposed to come up through the restaurant's toilet. The former idea is just cuter and less mocking than the latter, and it works better.
9 Lima Had To Film The Times Square Entrance In One Night
He Was Worried Amy Adams Would Be Injured In The Chaos
When Giselle (Amy Adams) arrives in New York City from the animated world of Andalasia, she pops out of a sewer main in the middle of Times Square. Lima reveals that the crew had only one night to film the scene. They closed the entire area down with their extras and cars, but they had to work quickly and Lima was incredibly nervous that Adams would inadvertently be injured with all the cars crashing into each other in the scene, which would immediately shut down production.
As it turns out, the crew did end up getting a second night, but only with access to Adams' stunt double. The reason Giselle is swept into the subway by all the commuters and comes out at a different stop was because the filmmakers only had those two nights to film, and they had to go somewhere else to continue the scene.