review: ENCHANTED (Blu-ray)

Walt Disney  //  Buy from Amazon.com The tale follows the beautiful princess Giselle (Amy Adams) as she is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land - and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets 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 (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden) back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world? I have to admit: I thought I had long ago left behind any interest in Disney films. Sure, I'm still a sucker for some classics like "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" and "Sword in the Stone," but their recent movies haven't done a whole lot for me. As such, I admit to not expecting to be too enthralled when I sat down to plop "Enchanted" into my trusty PS3 for review... Well, I will freely admit that crow tastes great - much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this film, and found myself grinning like a child from start to finish. On one hand, you have a beautiful, sweet, charming, sincere, enthralling love story (the kind I thought I wasn't interested in), and on the other you have a beautiful shot film that is presented with razor-sharp clarity on this high def release (see notes below on just how good this one looks!) So even if you're not much for sugar sweetness, you have to appreciate the technical aspects... and if you could care less about things like cinematography and 1080p transfers, you're sure to enjoy the story itself. Clearly the Big Mouse still has a few cards up his sleeve, and if they keep putting out fantastic productions like this, they'll be around for a very long time (which is a good thing.) Video I have to say that this may be the best looking film I have ever had the pleasure of watching from the comfort of my own home - Disney is known for putting out quality home video products, but "Enchanted" on Blu-ray is ridiculously high quality - every single frame of the film is like a high definition photograph, with unbelievable detail and coloring, and not a single flaw or blemish to be found. Audio The included Dolby TrueHD audio mix is also phenomenal, boasting shockingly clean & crisp detail in the soundscape, be it dialogue, sound effects or music. Extras "The D-Files" trivia game "Fantasy Comes to Life" featurettes "Pip's Predicament" short Carrie Underwood "Ever, Ever After" music video deleted & extended scenes w/ introductions trailers Closing Thoughts Sugary-sweet, but thoroughly enjoyable, family film for all to enjoy + nice collection of extras = excellent addition to any Blu-ray library