I’m mostly happy about getting to finally see the first trailer for Disney’s Disenchanted, the long-awaited sequel to 2007 masterpiece, Enchanted, one of the best Disney movies ever made.
Mostly happy because this looks genuinely great, though I can’t imagine it will live up to the original, which was just about as close to perfect as a rom-com can get.
So why only mostly happy? I suppose it’s because I feel fifteen years older watching this trailer. The movie stars—Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Idina Menzel—also look fifteen years older, though they all look pretty great regardless. Dempsey in particular ages well, though Adams is an enduring Hollywood crush of mine.
I was 26-years-old when Enchanted hit theaters in 2007. My now 15-year-old daughter was only a few months old and I’m pretty sure her grandparents babysat so that we could go to the movies. I was a new father and a hopeless romantic who had never been in love the way they are in movies like this one. Heavy stuff for someone in a marriage with a brand new baby.
Disnechanted
In any case, Disenchanted can’t possibly be as brilliant and charming as the original movie, but that’s a great trailer and Maya Rudolph is a perfect new villain (since Susan Sarandon’s Queen Narissa was killed off).
The sequel features new music from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (if you love Menken’s music please watch Galavant!).
The official plot summary from Disney reads:
“It has been 15 years since Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever. Frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, she turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy. Now, Giselle is in a race against time to reverse the spell and determine what happily ever after truly means to her and her family.”
Admittedly, I’m a little worried that Disney decided not to make this a theatrical release, sending it straight to Disney+ streaming on November 24th instead. I’m fine with streaming movies but I can’t shake the “made for TV movie” vibe that a direct-to-streaming movie has about it. Enchanted was such a fantastic return to form or Disney—self-aware, funny, romantic and creative—it would be a shame if the sequel was a disappointment.
Here’s the full poster Disney released during the Disney D23 Expo:
Disenchanted poster
