'Enchanted': A Postmodern, Traditional Fairytale

It would be safe to say that Disney almost single-handedly invented the so-called princess genre when it began to unspool its female heroine films starting with Snow White (1937) and ending with Beauty and the Beast (1991). These princess movies all contain similar elements: traditional princess storylines, 2D animation, and a Broadway-musical theme. Lately, however, Disney princess fare has taken a backseat to the ever-popular CGI movies that fly in the face of traditional 2D-animated princess fairytales or even make fun of them (Shrek). In fact, Disney's own animation department had at one point left the 2D technique by the wayside with the decidedly below-average Home on the Range (2004)—they've only recently decided to revamp this almost defunct art. Also, they haven't even attempted a Broadway-style movie since Mulan (1998), which is interesting because Disney was the only movie studio making movie musicals with any success during the late 80s and early 90s (see The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, et al.) This is unfortunate since musicals seem to be back in vogue with the likes of Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Hairspray, and Sweeney Todd singing themselves back onto the silver screen with critical and commercial success. So, the question is: Why not make another Disney princess movie with all the methods that made it a masterpiece (i.e., traditional animation, song and dance, as well as a 'happily ever after' storyline)?

After watching Enchanted with my girlfriend, (we both loved it) we started to discuss the dearth of classic Disney princess musicals. I was of the opinion that those types of movies just wouldn't work for America's current taste. They would be a tough sell in today's Shrek-inspired market that relies heavily on poking fun at all things conventional for the sake of buzz-inducing irreverence. I'm not trying to bag on Shrek or its conglomerate of clones; I'm just saying that 'the mockery' has taken place of 'the masterpiece.' The cynical post-9/11 audience has now become accustomed to sarcastic, biting humor engineered to lampoon tradition, rather than embrace it—stuff that would make Walt Disney rollover in his cryogenic freezer. This phenomenon has even transcended into the Broadway realm as it seems that the most popular and award-winning musicals are parodies (i.e., The Producers, Spamalot, etc.). This entertainment trend in the realm of 'family' entertainment might even be considered to be 'postmodern.'

So, let's examine postmodernity with Enchanted as the prime example: Now, 'postmodern' is an ambiguous term thrown about by quasi-intellectuals (ahem) that has a cornucopia of meanings. The meaning that I wanted to evoke is the following: 'the breaking of traditional frames of genre, structure, and stylistic unity" (Wikipedia). Thus, Enchanted may work on a lot of levels, but I think its success is mainly due to Disney's self-parody of the princess genre that it created. Here's a 'for instance:' While watching the opening 2D-animated sequence from Enchanted--that ripped storylines from Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty--I felt that it wasn't meant to be an homage to these movies, but rather a spoof. The audience understood this and they all laughed. In other words, Disney wasn’t presenting to the masses a classic, traditional princess archetype replete with brilliant music and color, but a mimicked replica of those old films with its tongue planted very firmly in its cheek, as if to say, "we know these types of movies don't work anymore either," wink, wink. It would be the equivalent of the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, deciding that his movies just weren’t connecting to his fanboy audience like they used to, so he decides to broaden the audience and reimagine the next Star Wars movie into a romantic comedy, When Anni Met Padme, for example. While this does intrigue me a little, I’d be a little remiss that all my Star Wars memories as a kid would be thrown out the window for the sake of George Lucas’ creative urges (oh wait, this already happened). My point it: while I think movies or genres are always in the need of an update, sometimes it just makes me a little sad to think that America’s mood and taste has shifted so much that making a traditional, yet exceptional movie has become the extreme, while making those cutting-edge, pushing-the-envelope-type films has become the norm.

Scene from When Anni Met Padme

Here's a look at Enchanted and it's less-than-traditional undertones: (1) McDreamy is a divorce lawyer that pushes feminist heroines on his impressionable young daughter. I like the fact that he's trying to push realistic ambition into his daughter, but I have a hard time imagining Walt Disney adding in a scene like this for any of his movies. (2) The evil queen (Susan Sarandon) sends Giselle (the princess) to a place where "there are no happily ever afters." First of all, to suggest there are no ‘happily ever afters’ kills all traditional princess credibility, but then to have the no ‘happily ever after’ place become the princess’ home by the end is downright pragmatic (?). Secondly, a reference to the ‘real world’ was unheard of in earlier Disney movies, and yet today it seems like all CGI movies survive off of pop culture jokes. It would be like Cinderella’s fairy godmother singing, “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, the Commies are out to get you!” during the Red Scare 1950s. I just don’t know if those types of jokes stand the test of time. (Have you watched the first Shrek movie in a awhile?) (3) The princess saves the mansel (man + damsel) in distress (McDreamy). Again, in the oft-mentioned Disney princess movies, even if the princess was the main star of the show, she was always saved by the prince. I guess this just mirrors today’s political climate, as Hillary Clinton (a modern-day princess?) has always had to save her own mamsel in distress.

Then again, I could be completely wrong. While Enchanted could come across as a poke in the eye of all things princess, it really ends up very traditional in the fact that everyone really does end up 'happily ever after'—as my girlfriend pointed out. In fact, to weaken my argument of this postmodern trend, Disney is ready to get back into the princess movie making game with a pair of future releases. The first is The Princess and the Frog, which is being touted as a return to 2D animation for the Mouse House with singing and dancing for all. The interesting twist for this movie is that it will star Disney's first African-American heroine, who was recently called Maddy, until the PC police decided that it was too racially insensitive. Her name is now Tiana. The other princess-themed movie scheduled to hit theatres, is Rapunzel. However, instead of going with the traditional 2D-animation, the studio has recently decided to mix the best of both worlds of 2D and CGI. Here's what Wikipedia had to say: "Because of the advancements in computer technology many of the basic principles of animation used in traditional animated movies that has been absent in CGI films due to technical limitations, is now becoming possible also in this field of animation, where they will be used together with the potential offered by CGI." Thus, they plan to animate the movie as if it were a traditional oil painting on canvas. Intriguing. It sounds so, well,…traditional.

The Swing, the artistic inspiration for Rapunzel

I wanted Yoda to be the traditional kind of character you find in fairy tales and mythology. And that character is usually a frog or a wizened old man on the side of the road. The hero is going down the road and meets this poor and insignificant person. The goal or lesson is for the hero to learn to respect everybody and to pay attention to the poorest person because that's where the key to his success will be.

- George Lucas

Disney theatrical animated features

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Pinocchio (1940) • Fantasia (1940) • Dumbo (1941) • Bambi (1942) • Saludos Amigos (1942) • The Three Caballeros (1944) • Make Mine Music (1946) • Fun and Fancy Free (1947) • Melody Time (1948) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) • Cinderella (1950) • Alice in Wonderland (1951) • Peter Pan (1953) • Lady and the Tramp (1955) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • The Jungle Book (1967) • The Aristocats (1970) • Robin Hood (1973) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) • The Rescuers (1977) • The Fox and the Hound (1981) • The Black Cauldron (1985) • The Great Mouse Detective (1986) • Oliver & Company (1988) • The Little Mermaid (1989) • The Rescuers Down Under (1990) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • Tarzan (1999) • Fantasia 2000 (1999) • The Emperor's New Groove (2000) • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) • Lilo & Stitch (2002) • Treasure Planet (2002) • Brother Bear (2003) • Home on the Range (2004) • Chicken Little (2005) • Meet the Robinsons (2007) • Bolt (2008) • The Princess and the Frog (2009) • Rapunzel (2010)