When I talked about the Disney limbo a few months ago, I mentioned that Disney had officially announced plans to make a sequel to “Enchanted.” In the article I said I didn’t want an “Enchanted” sequel. I liked where the movie left things, and I also wasn’t sure that the premise of the first film, which was a bit flimsy on its own merit, could sustain another movie.
Now that I’ve had a couple months to think about it, I may have come up with a compelling way Disney could approach a second “Enchanted”: Prince Edward.
James Marsden’s performance as Prince Edward stole the show in “Enchanted.” The movie clearly meant for me to want Giselle to end up with Patrick Dempsey’s Robert, and I while I respected that they were probably better for each other than Giselle and Edward, I wanted the original couple to remain together in the movie.
This had less to do with me actually believing Giselle and Edward would suit each other as a couple (though I still think they would, and don’t entirely buy the movie’s arguments that they didn’t), and more with me just wanting Disney to give James Marsden more screen time.
When the movie first came out I remember seeing an interview with James Marsden in which he said he played Prince Edward as a good-natured Gaston (from “Beauty and the Beast.”) I can see that: Marsden hammed up the role of Edward with all of Gaston’s entertaining swagger, while still keeping the character an essentially good person.
A second movie could focus on Edward’s character growth to become a little less spoiled and self-centered, though if too much of that is removed from his character he won’t be as entertaining anymore. But I can think of just the person to help Edward grow a bit: Nancy.
Idina Mentzel’s character, originally engaged to Robert, basically elopes with Edward at the end of the film. At the drop of a hat she abandons the life she’s always known in New York to live in an animated fantasy world as Edward’s princess.
That development was always the most puzzling piece of “Enchanted” to me. It felt like the filmmakers shoved Edward and Nancy together to try to force a happy ending, the implication being that one has to have a partner in order to get a happily ever after.
On top of the worrying message that sends about what’s necessary for someone to live happily ever after, that idea undermined the film’s central thesis. “Enchanted” was supposedly about how one should choose a spouse for real, proven love, not just take up with the first person one meets in a romanticized fairy-tale whirl. “Enchanted 2” could explore Edward and Nancy’s relationship and explain to viewers why these two actually belong together, rather than just being each other’s consolation prizes.
As a strong, independent woman from the contemporary world, Nancy could teach Edward to be a little less wrapped up in himself. And Edward could show Nancy to let go and live a little more impulsively. I don’t care exactly how the movie might go, but I know I’d far rather see Disney deepen and expand the relationship between Edward and Nancy than watch the continued adventures of Giselle and Robert, whose story had a fine ending.
Idina Mentzel, best known for originating the role of Elphaba in Broadway’s “Wicked,” certainly has the acting and vocal chops to carry the lead in a Disney fairy-tale film. And we already know what I think of James Marsden as the leading man.
So now that I’ve thought about it more, I realize “Enchanted 2” might not be a total disaster, so long as Disney doesn’t repeat their mistakes from the first film. They just need to focus on the story’s strengths, like James Marsden’s Edward, and things might work out.
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