Kevin Lima's ENCHANTED

By Dennis D. McDonald

I’ve always been a fan of movies that combine live action with animation. Needing a break from the unfaltering bad news of Disc 1 of Lonesome Dove, I popped in the Enchanted DVD.

What a good time! Starting out with classic Disney style animation, it quickly moves its two-dimensional cartoon princess-to-be and prince to New York where they have to deal with the live action heartlessness of The Real World.

But our heroine, played by Amy Adams of Junebug fame, is not cowed by reality. Her heartfelt perkiness and good nature soon win over the real world characters she meets, and in the final reel’s altercation with the evil queen (dragonesque Susan Sarandon) she shows how cartoon princesses, too, can climb the side of a skyscraper while wielding a sword.

Okay, it may not be Roger Rabbit, but it’s fun. The music and production numbers are appropriately outlandish and silly. If you need something pleasant and friendly, you need look no further than Enchanted.

• Copyright (c) 2008 by Dennis D. McDonald