Enchanted, Blu-ray (2007)

by | Mar 25, 2008 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

Enchanted, Blu-ray  (2007)

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon, Timothy Spall 
Directed by: Kevin Lima
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Video: 2.35:1 anamorpic/enhanced for 16:9, 1080p HD
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD; English, French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: “Fantasy Comes to Life” featurette; deleted scenes; outtakes; “Pip’s Predicament: A Pop-Up Adventure”; Carrie Underwood “Ever Ever After” music video; “The D-Files” interactive game; theatrical trailers
Length: 107 minutes
Movie Rating: ****    AV Quality Rating: ****1/2

“Enchanted” begins in an animated fairytale land called Andalasia where the beautiful Giselle (Amy Adams) meets the handsome Prince Edward (James Marsden) and they instantly fall in love.  The two are set to be married the following morning.  This proposed marriage, however, does not sit well with Edward’s mother, the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), who is trying to preserve her control of the throne.  Before the marriage can take place, Narissa transports Giselle to a faraway place where there is no happily ever after – New York.  The journey transforms Giselle from an animated girl into a real flesh and blood person.  Divorce lawyer Robert (Patrick Dempsey) offers Giselle shelter from the street and she immediately begins turning his life upside down.  Adjusting to her strange new world with Robert as her guide, Giselle begins developing feelings for him.  Meanwhile, Prince Edward travels to New York to rescue Giselle but Queen Narissa is not far behind and she is still trying to make certain that the couple doesn’t reunite.  When Prince Edward does find her, Giselle must decide with whom, Robert or Edward, she will have the best chance at her ‘happily ever after.’  This is a really enjoyable movie.  I loved the way that Disney playfully pokes fun at itself and its beloved animated classics throughout the movie.  One of my favorite scenes is when Giselle, after being transported to New York, calls out in song for her animal friends to help her clean up Robert’s apartment.  Instead of furry little woodland creatures appearing, Giselle is met by rats, cockroaches, pigeons and bugs.  The music soundtrack of “Enchanted” is very catchy (with three Oscar-nominated songs), and Amy Adams stole the show for me as Disney’s newest ‘princess.’  Highly recommended.

In terms of high definition video quality, this Blu-ray DVD is excellent.  Images are crisp with razor sharp detail.  Black levels are consistently deep throughout the film.  Colors are vibrant and robust with fully saturated hues.  Picture defect mastering is perfect with no flaws or compression problems.  The audio quality is also excellent with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track.  The soundtrack does a nice job of incorporating all of the discrete channels into its mix.  Dialogue is natural sounding and always intelligible.  The surround channels, which include several split rear effects, are moderately active and utilized for sound effects and the wonderful music score.   The low frequency effects channel is smooth and at times, quite powerful.

 – Calvin Harding Jr.