Enchanted

After spewing out a lifetime of rote and rehashed princess pap that only a four-year-old could love, Walt Disney studios redeems itself with a movie that fans of classic Disney can enjoy. A joyful, slightly cheeky homage to Disney favourites, Enchanted begins in animated Andalasia. Soon-to-be-princess Giselle (Amy Adams) is exiled on her wedding day by the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) to "real-world” New York City, where sewer rats and cockroaches stand in for the woodland creatures of fairyland. Enlivened by one good musical number and marred by several irritating ones, Enchanted’s best feature is a truly sparkly performance by Amy Adams as the princess whose chirpy good humour not even a grumpy reviewer can deflate. Patrick Dempsey is suitably gruff-but-cuddly as the divorce lawyer Giselle falls in love with, and James Marsden as Prince Edward has a gas romping around in velvet and tights. If you have kids, this one’s definitely worth having for rainy days. Extras include a lot of stuff kids won’t like, including deleted scenes and three short "making-ofs,” and a secondary character’s animated "pop-up” adventure.