The Earth, The Sky and Everything In Between

Hey world-that-won't-see-this, I saw Enchanted at the theatre last night. "But Nathan, hasn't that been out on video for months now?" I really don't know, but probably. This theatre, however, was the dollar movie, and it was worth every penny.

Right up until the last 5 minutes.

Here we have a movie that spins together themes from most of our favorite animated Disney classics. I won't run through all of them, but focus on the few that serve my forthcoming point. The old, cruel queen stepmother refuses to give up her crown to the true love-to-be of her stepson, Prince Charming. The entire movie, she plots and schemes to deny (and eventually kill) the fair maiden. I cannot stress this point enough. This theme spans 95% of the film. At the end, the poison apple spell is broken and the maiden brought back to life. The evil stepmother turns into a dragon (a-la-Sleeping Beauty) bent on killing the maiden she has sought to kill the entire movie. Except this doesn't happen. At all.

Instead, the evil stepmother completely changes course and goes after the presumed hero, leaving the fair maiden - the object of her hatred, mind you - safe and free. At that moment, the stepmother ceased to live, to breathe as a character in a story, and became nothing more than a disconnected plot vehicle. The previously-helpless maiden grew a pair, grabbed a sword, and began scaling the tower, chasing after her hero and the dragon who held him captive. eventually to save the not-so-heroic hero.

I actually enjoyed this movie until I was subjected to this horrible trick. This was no story, and no fairy tale. This was a bait-and-switch to serve a feminist agenda. The first 95% of this movie had no threading, no connection to the final 5% of the movie. This was not a movie about feminism or female-empowerment, or whatever you want to call it. Most of this movie was a modern-day rehashing of old fairy tales. The characters had their leanings and motives and grew and learned more about themselves and each other as the story went on. The surprises and twists grew organically out of the story, until the end, that is. The stepmother, who through the entire story was resolute in her focus to destroy fair Giselle, abandons her quest and decides the man must die, leaving the woman to save him. (Not that you couldn't assume this, but it's worth mentioning the man put up no fight. He was snatched up immediately and was helpless the entire climax). The woman found an innate strength not evidenced at any prior point in the film, climbed a treacherous tower, and saved the man. The stepmother/dragon, woman, and man, in abandoning their roles cast for the previous 90 minutes, ceased to be persons at all. They were no longer organic or alive, but puppets for a movie maker's philosophical leanings.

I respect philosophical views different from my own. I reserve the right to whole-handedly disagree with them, but I welcome a forum for differing views. This was not a forum for a feminist philosophy. This was not a movie about female empowerment. This was the Walt Disney Co. taking Walt Disney's traditional fairy tales and playing along with them in a very heartwarming and modern adaptation, only to completely bastardize his entire moral and essentially say 'his story was good, but we like our ending better.' Lacking is the obvious consideration or regard that his story and their ending could not be more incongruous.

All said, 'Enchanted' was an entertaining and visually stimulating rotten, dirty trick. I fear for a world where boys do not rise up and rescue the captive maiden. I fear more for a world where boys are not afforded the opportunity, much more even know their role.