One part Little Mermaid, One part Roger Rabbit, One part...

...yeah, okay, couldn't think of anything to finish that with. (shrugh) Whatcha gonna do?

We celebrated Samwise's 8th birthday over the weekend (8th!?!?!?!), and somewhere in between piecing together Bionicle warriors, Sponge-Bob Lego sets, and playing with remote control tarantulas, we managed to squeak in a movie, namely, Disney's Enchanted.

Say what you will, I liked it. Really.

A lot of books, movies and whatnot lately have been playing with or on the conventional fairy tale--Shrek, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Hoodwinked, to name a few. But where some do it out of a spirit of deconstruction, or mocking, postmodern detachment, and whatnot, Enchated does out of a spirit of fun. Yeah, it makes jokes about some of the fairy tale/animated fairy tale movie cliches, but it does so with love, not a sense of superiority.

This movie combines animation and live action, fairy tale world and the "real" world, a clash of cultures, a firm belief in happily-ever-after and skepticism about happiness in general. The musical numbers are just a blast (I've gotta get this soundtrack).

Marsden plays the good-hearted dullard that most Disney princes are perfectly. I haven't liked Dempsey this much since Can't Buy Me Love. Adams is...spectacular--she is a Disney heroine brought to life. I loved the cameos by past Disney voices (took me WAY too long to recognize Jodi Benson, and after all the Mermaid special features that Frodo's made me watch). Sarandon and Peter Pettigrew Spall are the perfect Disney foes.

I honestly can't think of a certain false note. Yeah, it's not going to walk away with Best Picture--but it's good wholesome fun that'll leave you smiling.