Film One: Enchanted

Genre: Musical, Romance, Family, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Type of Film: Walt Disney

Main Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Amy Adams, James Marsden

'Enchanted' is not a remake of a comic or book, however, it leaves small hints that it is a fantasy, fairy-tale, such as the queen witch who gives Giselle a red apple, which was originally from 'Snow White', the plastic, transparent shoe left on the dance floor, which was supposed to represent the glass shoe from 'Cinderella' and Robert kissing Giselle to life, true love's first, was originally from 'Sleeping Beauty'.

The target audience of the film are young girls or possibly for anyone who likes fairy-tales and fantasy and would like to see how a fairy-tale character reacts and behaves in the real world, as well as the real world interacting with a fantasy character. This is because it has romance and comedy in it and it is interesting to see fantasy enter the real world.

To be honest, I actually liked the film, because it begins as a 2-D animation, which hasn't been seen in the theatres for a few years and it takes me back to the earlier fantasy, fairy-tale films I used to watch as a child. I also like how Robert Philip became the 'Damsel in Distress' and Giselle was the 'Knight in Shining Armour', because their roles were switched and it's usually the woman who needs rescuing by the man. The 2-D animation interacting with reality (when the queen took the apple out of the soup) was also a good feature.

What I didn't like about the film were the effects used. The smoke and green lightening seemed a little fake and it didn't look too good. There wasn't a huge variation of camera shots used. Only shots like over the shoulder, close ups and long shots seemed to be used quite a lot which made it rather boring to watch. I also didn't like the idea of the film having almost the same fairy-tale plot - the prince and princess falling in love and the villian trying to prevent that. Because it happens in every romantic fairy-tale and it gets a little boring.

There were no camera techniques that really inspired me because there didn't seem to be a wide variety of camera techniques used.

There were a few values and messages in the film. Giselle said something about true love's first kiss is the most powerful thing in the world, and when she chocked on the apple, Robert's kiss brought her back to life, which meant that love conquers all. The film also tells us that love isn't so fairy-tale, but that you have to get to know the person in order to fall in love with them, not because it's how the story goes. It also gives the message that anyone can find happiness anywhere and that a few disagreements shouldn't ruin a relationship. But I think the main message is that love is a powerful thing and can be found anywhere.