In this scene, Patrick Dempsey illustrates the dangers of an overly shoulder-centric workout

Enchanted

Check listings for details

As Enchanted expounds on the importance of love and family in that Disney manner, you’ll think “this is nothing more than an ideological assault by right-wing family value groups,”

And then Amy Adams smiles.

All that liberal arts education turns to mush as every Disney heroine that broke your adolescent heart becomes flesh and sings in Central Park. It’s not just Adams, but also James Marsden, Timothy Spall and Susan Sarandon. Each one seems to embody the graceful line bestowed by an animator. The little touches that usually bring an animated character to life, such as the enthusiastic head nod of all Disney heroines, seem absurdly oddball and charming when performed by real human beings. It’s unfortunate the so-called realistic characters seem so lifeless and dull, robotically emoting through the motions of a Hallmark commercial. Despite that, and the foundation of dubious gender politics the film is built upon, Enchanted remains a charming and fluffy confection.

Robert (Patrick “McZZZZZZ” Dempsey) is a high-priced divorce lawyer and single father who no longer believes in love. Joined by his dumpy daughter (Rachel Covey, who takes after her dull movie father… that’s right, I’m bagging on a little girl) on a rainy night in New York, they run into Princess Giselle (Adams) pawing at a castle in a billboard. She’s been tricked out of her animated fairy wonderland by her evil stepmother-in-law, the Queen (Sarandon), who desperately fights to remain in power. Prince Edward attempts to rescue his princess and bride-to-be while Giselle learns to empower herself in the spirit of Marie Curie and, in turn, falls in love.

In the end, the villain is destroyed, the henchman learns the error of his way and everybody is arranged into their proper romantic configurations. This is a Disney tribute to Disney heroines, from the obvious (the animated bookend sequences and a climatic homage to Sleeping Beauty) to the insidious. Divorce is flippantly dismissed by one character who says, “All relationships have troubles. You just need to work through them.” Single parents will not be pleased and their kids even less so. And Giselle’s discovery of empowerment, as if she was going to leave her fairy tale existence to enrol in data entry classes, would be laughable if it wasn’t for Adams’s charm.

These issues become less pressing as the drab characters leave the screen to make room for their superior cartoon-brought-to-reality counterparts. Sure, the film should and could have been far more subversive, but by the time Adams breaks into song and incites an entire park to sing and dance along with her, you’ll be won over.