Welcome back, Setters! It’s only taken a few weeks, but we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. As I thought about what movie I should highlight to kick off the 2025–26 school year, the film that ended up striking me as the most compelling is none other than the 2007 fantasy masterpiece, “Enchanted.”
Starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey (at the height of his McDreamy era), James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Hollywood icon Susan Sarandon and Broadway’s own Idina Menzel, the movie could’ve had a terrible script and probably would’ve been passable anyway. But, Enchanted doesn’t have a terrible script. In fact, the script is one of the wittiest, subversive kids’ movies available to watch today.
It constantly pokes fun at the fairytale narrative, while simultaneously subscribing to its themes. Our heroine, Giselle, at first comes off as ridiculous and childish in 2007 New York. The comedy in her over-the-top hope and effervescent joy is only emphasized when she’s unexpectedly paired up with a pragmatic divorce lawyer, already scorned by romance, so much so that he’s turned his doubt in true love into a profession.
The hijinks and conundrums that ensue as love blooms in the most unexpected places are endlessly endearing and make this movie fun to rewatch over and over again.
It is a musical, but not stiflingly so—the few songs scattered across the film’s runtime only serve to help us understand Giselle and Robert, especially when it comes to understanding how they feel about how love takes hold and how powerful it truly is. Not to mention, they’re genuinely earworms, and the sparse nature of their appearances makes each one shine all the more.
On a purely nostalgic level, this movie will always hold a special place in my heart. Not only is it a genuinely enjoyable watch, but growing up, my Mom LOVED this movie. I’m studying abroad this semester, so when it came time to settle in to my new dorm in an unfamiliar country with a roommate (love you, Molly!) who I admittedly don’t know that well yet, miles away from the campus and people I’ve grown to love so well over the course of the last two years, this was the obvious choice. It bleeds with hope and happiness and argues that happy endings are more common than we might think.
All that to say, aside from its nostalgic value, this film is genuinely a solid four out of five stars. It’s whimsical and fun, and Adams—and the entire cast, really—truly succeeds in bringing a fairytale to life. The direction is fun and whimsical, gratuitous with its use of glitter, comically clunky dialogue as fairy tale princes bicker with New York bus drivers and truly excellent costuming. To classify “Enchanted” as a simple rom-com feels stifling to all that it truly is. Sure, it’s a rom-com, but it’s a rom-com with big dance breaks, dragons, self-referential comedy, and a satirical air that only emphasizes all the things that already make it great.
I watched this when I was in need of a little taste of comfort and home, and it did the trick in no time at all. And it’s nice to know that it’ll always be there, ready for me to return to it if I ever find myself in need of another break from the dark, damp, fundamentally un-home-like air of London’s beautiful, sweeping streets.
