Production: Walt Disney Video
Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1,
DUBs: French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital
5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, none
Disc
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Runtime: 1:46:47
Extras:
• Hi-def trailers for
BRD's of
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe, a Blu-ray
Disc promo;
Sleeping Beauty and others.
•
D-Files
•
Deleted Scenes
•
Bloopers
•
Behind the Scenes
Featurette: Fantasy Comes to Life
• Pip's
Predicament: A Pop-Up Adventure
• Music Video :'Ever Ever After"
Disc:
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Release Date: March 18th, 2008
Standard Blu-Ray case
Synopsis:
Beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen
from her magical, musical, animated land and finds
herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern
day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment
that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis,
Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need
of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love
with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to
her aid — even though she is already promised to a
perfect fairy tale prince back home — she has to wonder:
can a storybook view of romance survive in the real
world?
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The Film:
Life is idyllic in the fairytale world where conflict is minimal and breaking into song solves every problem, but what happens when a princess from the fairy world gets magically transported into the real world? Enchanted begins in the animated fairytale world of Andalasia where Princess Giselle (Amy Adams) is destined to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden) and live happily ever after. Problem is, Edward's step-mother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) doesn't want to give up the throne and will do anything to get Giselle out of Edward's life. Queen Narissa's solution is to push Giselle into a well that magically lands Giselle smack in the middle of the real world--the center of Time Square in New York City, to be exact. This launches the live-action portion of the film where Giselle immediately realizes that things are frighteningly different in this new world and that she is ill-prepared for the callous ways of the people who inhabit it. Giselle finds herself alone on a stormy night in the wrong end of town, but a chance encounter with Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his princess-loving daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) leads to a warm, safe place to spend the night and the beginnings of a complicated, yet compelling relationship. As Giselle begins to question the fairy-tale truths she's always inherently believed, Robert's outlook on life and love also begins to change significantly. Parallels to the classic Disney fairytales, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty abound in the form of a King's and Queen's ball, small animals and rodents who clean house when called, the threat of poisoned apples, characters impulsively breaking into song, and the power of the kiss of true love and the absurd juxtaposition of fairytale idealism and stark reality is hilariously funny. Features music by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame fame, Wicked's Broadway Elpheba Idina Menzel as Nancy, and even a brief appearance by former Princess voice talent Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas). Enchanted is one of the best, most entertaining Disney films of the year. (Ages 6 and older with parental guidance due to some scary images and mild innuendo).
The Video:
I have no strong complaints. The image quality is at the high end (even for Blu-ray) but I wouldn't say it is perfect. Minor noise and extremely bright outdoor scenes seem a shade problematic. But otherwise this image is quite perfect and the animated sequences are pristine. Colors are rich and vibrant plus contrast is without flaw excepting some highly bright moments. The CGI (a bit cheesy at times) is infused into the live action exceptionally well and I suppose this is a factor of technology. I don't think this particular film has many jaw-dropping 'wowser' type instances that produce the much desired 'high-definition' experience many crave but saying that - this DVD visually must surely blow-away the corresponding Standard Def disc. Wading past the opening trailers most fans will be very pleased with the way this Disney BRD looks.
Screen Captures
NOTE: the opening 10 minute animated sequence is 1.85 matted onto a 2.35 scope with black bars on both edges.
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Audio:
This Blu-ray offers a English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, which I tested, or a English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (plus 2 DUBs: French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1). I wouldn't say the film exports a substantial amount of separation (some at the end) but it seems to hold its own when called upon. I noted nothing overly dynamic but that would probably be more a function of the original track which I expect is very faithfully represented by the HD 5.1. Optional Subtitles are available in English SDH, French, or Spanish in a smallish yellow font.
Extras:
There are some decent extras offered with this package - which starts
with Hi-def trailers for BRD's of
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe, a Blu-ray
Disc promo;
Sleeping Beauty and others.
D-Files is exclusive to the Blu-ray edition of this film
- kind of a gaming thing for children. There are some inconsequential deleted
scenes an a few chuckling bloopers where essentially people forgot their
lines. There is a shortish behind the scenes featurette entitled Fantasy Comes to Life,
another kids supplement Pip's
Predicament: A Pop-Up Adventure. Music Video :'Ever Ever
After'.
Menus
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BOTTOM LINE: I can't see too many people not getting some enjoyment out of this very cute film. My big pet peeve with this disc are the 11 minutes or trailers that precede the feature (although they are in high definition). I had some trouble chaptering foreword past them and found it better to scan through but even that is an excessive pain. It makes me respect my Warner Blu-rays - you stick them in and the film starts but Disney are beginning to put me in a bad mood before the first line of dialogue. This Blu-ray is $7 more than the SD and I think it's a personal decision to buy this upgraded issue. It certainly looks and sounds good enough but the film is more child-oriented with some amusement for adults. I'll admit I got into it a bit as Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey share a nice chemistry - plus I'll watch Susan Sarandon as an evil queen any day of the week.
Gary Tooze
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