DISNEY'S classic animated fairytale meets modern, live-action romantic comedy in Walt Disney Picture's Enchanted!

Featuring an all-star cast, the film follows the beautiful princess Giselle as she is banished by an evil queen from her magical animated land.

She finds herself in the gritty reality 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?

Enchanted is directed by Kevin Lima ( Tarzan, Eloise At Christmastime ) from a screenplay written by Bill Kelly ( Blast From the Past ) and will feature original songs from the reunited team of acclaimed composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz ( Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame ). The story is narrated by Julie Andrews ( Sound of Music, The Princeess Diaries ).

Review

Enchanted tells the tale of Giselle (Amy Adams), a cheerful and melodic girl living in the magical land of Andalasia. She waits excitedly for prince charming to find her and share "true love's first kiss." Having escaped the clasps of an ogre, Giselle literally falls into the arms of charming Prince Edward (James Marsden). The two fall head over heels in true cartoon fairy tale style - lots of singing and furry animal friends.

They are ready to be married the very next day but Prince Edward's stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) is prepared to do everything in her powers to prevent it. Andalasian customs dictate that when the prince marries, he will ascend to the throne. Just moments before the wedding, the evil Queen Narissa banishes Giselle to a place where there are no "happily ever after"s - New York City!

The 2-D fairy tale scenes evoke memories of older Disney classics - Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White - a stark contrast to the less-than-perfect "reality" Giselle arrives at. Giselle finds herself right in middle of fast-paced Times Square, where nobody has a spare second to look at her let alone believe that she is trying to get home to her castle in Andalasia.

Tired, shocked and completely out of place, Giselle remains hopeful that her brave Prince Edward will come to her rescue. Meanwhile, she befriends Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey), a cynical divorce lawyer and his six-year-old daughter who takes her in and tries to help her get back to wherever she came from.

It's hilarious to watch Giselle's little magical antics as she tries to adjust to her temporary life in the big city. Her magical abilities to summon animals (still intact in this world) is put to good use as she cleans up Robert's apartment with the help of her new animal friends - rats, flies, cockroaches and pigeons.

The movie juxtaposes the paradigms of a self-proclaimed "realistic" city-dweller and the airy-fairy-happily-ever-after princess. "Forget about happily ever after. It doesn't exist," he says. But needless to say, Robert and Giselle fall in love despite both being engaged to other people. This happens at the worst possible time, when Prince Edward finds Giselle and is ready to take her home to Andalusia for their happily ever after.

However, the obligatory happy ending seems beyond reach. Queen Narissa comes to New York to personally hunt down and kill Giselle once and for all. Giselle will ultimately have to make the biggest decision of her life; should she give up the handsome prince she has always dreamt of an unlikely sort of true love?

The storyline is very clichd, right down to its cheesy, happy ending. The movie never soars although there are enough delightful moments to keep viewers somewhat entertained. The musical scenes are the best part of the movie. The songs throughout the movie are beautifully-written and performed, accompanied by well-choreographed dances and props.

Giselle's habit of singing her sentences often leaves Robert dumbfounded and embarrassed, particularly when she sings a happy tune right in the middle of a park. A delightful musical scene involving hoards of people at the park comes to life, oh how very Bollywood!

The kids will enjoy this.

Enchanted hits the big screens on Nov 29.

Contest

Rentakini and Buena Vista Columbia Tristar Films are giving lucky Rentakini readers a chance to win exclusive Enchanted merchandise and movie tickets!

Two lucky grand prize winners will walk away with a beautiful, gold charm bracelet watch. We also have Enchanted tote bags for five readers. Five limited-edition Enchanted temporary tattoo sets and five pairs of Enchanted movie passes are also up for grabs!

Answer the following questions and complete the slogan to win!

1. Which American city is the movie Enchanted set in?

2. Who does Susan Sarandon play in Enchanted?

3. I love Rentakini because.....

Email your answers to [email protected] before Nov 29.

(Enchanted contest has now closed and winners will be notified by email.)