Amy Adams as Giselle in Disney's live-action DISENCHANTED, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Jonathan Hession. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Courtney Howard // Film Critic
Movie audiences love a good Easter Egg, little incongruous nods to other films tucked into the recesses of the frame. And Disney loves engineering those moments that pull focus and steal our hearts. In DISENCHANTED, the highly-anticipated sequel to 2007’s blockbuster movie musical ENCHANTED, director Adam Shankman placed quite a few for eagle-eyed viewers to uncover.
Shankman, speaking at the film’s recent virtual press conference, says he took his cue to include a myriad of nods to other Disney animated classics in his feature since the original, centered on princess Giselle (Amy Adams) exchanging her fairy tale world for the real one, started the irreverence.
“The fundamental construct theoretically of ENCHANTED is the sending up of all of the tropes. And it’s one of my favorite things about the movie and about participating in it. To my knowledge, it’s the first time Disney ever winked at itself. I don’t think Disney ever allowed winking at itself. So this was such an incredible opportunity.”
And there’s a ton of homage paid.
“If you look around, when the town turns into a fairy tale town, every sign of every shop has something Disney winking involved in it. But it’s super subtle.”
They also knew where to make Easter Eggs a little more obvious.
“There is a not-so-subtle nod in Gabby’s solo song. Actually, there’s many. Every shot in that song is something that’s a nod to another “I want” song.”
The list of what to look for grows, he says.
“Pip turns into Lucifer. Amy turns into many Disney villains. The magic mirror is a replica of the magic mirror from SNOW WHITE. It is floor-to-ceiling. Everywhere you look, you could swing a cat, you’re gonna hit a trope.”
Shankman even consulted a few of the actors about building in these references.
“I think with the actors, we talked about some of them. But, a lot of them, I just kind of laced in there. Jayma and Yvette’s ball dresses are literally the step sisters’ dresses from Cinderella.”
EGOT-winning songwriter Alan Menken was tasked to also pay homage to animated Disney films of the past. Shankman adds,
“We get everybody singing songs that Alan and Stephen are very, very specifically wrote that are referential.”
Menken picks up immediately,
“We’re pulling threads going all the way back to SNOW WHITE. And then, the threads from the early ‘50s for CINDERELLA. Some of those threads, like for instance with love ballads, Stephen gave me an assignment, which was to do a sendup of “Defying Gravity.” So, we do have eclectic tropes. I always try to use very specific references. And all of them come from the same pool that your early Disney comes from.”
DISENCHANTED is streaming exclusively on Disney+ starting November 18th.
