What happens after you get a happily ever after? It’s been said to be a wonderful life of pure joy and happiness with the one you love, but what if that stereotype is not true? In the movie Disenchanted the sequel to Enchanted (2004), it explores the idea of a not-so-happily ever after. Disenchanted, was released on November 16, on the streaming platform Disney+, and was directed by Adam Shankman. It also retains the original cast from the movie Enchanted, which includes Patrick Dempsey as Robert, Amy Adams as Giselle, James Marsden as Prince Edward, and Idina Menzel as Nancy. The only main cast member who was changed was Morgan Phillip who is now played by Gabriella Baldacchino.

At the beginning of the movie, it shows that Giselle and Robert have a daughter together named Sophia, as well as showing Morgan is now a teenager and grown up. Giselle and Robert decide to move to a suburban area, leaving their city home. Nancy and Edward visit the family as they are getting settled in and present them with a wishing wand. Morgan’s character plays the typically sarcastic teen who is embarrassed by their mom, when lashing out she calls Giselle her stepmother and says that’s all she will ever be. The argument causes Giselle to wish with the wishing wand to have her life be a fairy tale, which soon backfires as she begins to turn into an evil stepmother.

Disenchanted was a good movie on its own and it didn’t feel like it was attempting to piggyback off of the first movie. I enjoyed how it was unique in its own way of making a villain vs villain storyline, as fairy tales usually consist of one main bad guy. The movie made references to other famous fairy tales, which was fun to notice. Morgan’s character turned into a Cinderella story having Giselle as her evil stepmother, and her being kept away in the attic. Malvina, the queen bee of the town they moved to was turned into an evil queen with magical powers. Seeing all the fairytale stories clash was fun and different. 

One of my favorite scenes from the movie was the magic fight scene, after seeing the tension between evil Giselle and Malvina build up. The special effects were good, which helped pull the scene together and made it perfect rather than cheap and cringey. I also liked how the fight scene took place at the ball, as it really fit the fairy tale theme, as well as just seeing all the gorgeous fairytale-like dresses was eye candy.

Amy Adams’ acting was phenomenal, especially since she had to switch between the innocent Giselle, and the evil stepmother Giselle. The way she was able to change her tone, voice, facial expressions, singing voice, and mannerisms quickly was incredible. I was wowed by her acting performance as a whole, I loved how she was basically playing two different characters.

In my opinion, Disenchanted was a great follow-up to Enchanted, and the acting didn’t disappoint. It didn’t feel like I was just rewatching the old movie but in a different font, it was enjoyable, entertaining, and fun. A great way to finish off the story without it seeming like it was just prolonging the first movie.