Disney has often been accused of relying on the past too much with an endless stream of live-action remake of our childhood favourites. However, much like with Hocus Pocus 2, Disenchanted is something we're happy Disney got nostalgic for.
It's been 15 years since the release of Enchanted and fans have been asking for a sequel for just as long. The brilliant original movie saw Disney gently poke fun at itself by subverting tropes of its animated classics by dropping an archetypal Disney Princess into the real world.
Enchanted wasn't a sure thing as it'd be easy to slip into smugness, but due to its witty script, pitch-perfect casting and memorable songs, it became an instant Disney classic. Little wonder it's taken so long for a sequel as it would have been daunting to try and recapture that same magical blend.
But Disenchanted is finally here on Disney+ and while it likely won't be a disappointment for fans, it doesn't quite recapture the magic entirely.
Like the first movie, Disenchanted has a strong concept: what happens after Happily Ever After and can it exist in the real world?
For Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey), 15 years have passed and, for Giselle especially, there's a need for a change and what better than to move to the suburbs? On the surface, Monroeville appears to be the perfect place for Giselle to find a new spark for her life.
But real life is never as easy to 'fix' as it was for her back in Andalasia and rather than be living unhappily ever after, Giselle decides to turn to the magic of her former home for help. Her decision accidentally turns her new home into a real-life fairytale – which might sound magical, but ends up threatening both her family and her former home.
It even starts to turn Giselle into the most iconic of Disney tropes: an evil stepmother. Lady Tremaine better watch out, there's a new villain in town.
To its credit, Disenchanted doesn't just repeat the same beats as the original. The elements are there, such as the songs and countless Disney Easter eggs, but there's a sense of progression in the characters, especially Giselle.
Amy Adams slips effortlessly back into Giselle's optimistic tone, yet there's a world weariness behind it now, like it takes her more effort to be so upbeat. Once the spell is cast, Adams ends up with a dual role as Giselle's good side battles with the evil coming out (think Gollum and Sméagol, but Disney), and it's supremely entertaining.
A big part of the first movie's success was in its casting and the promise of Maya Rudolph as an evil queen ends up being as good as hoped. When Malvina and Giselle are battling wits or exchanging barbs, such as in the standout song 'Badder', Disenchanted comes closest to matching the joy of the original.
The main issue though is that by turning the real world into a fairytale world, it loses something along the way. Enchanted worked because it sent up fairytale tropes in the real world, but here, Disenchanted becomes a live-action fairytale. It takes away most of the playful jibes as the characters become the stereotypes that the first movie mocked.
By switching to a fairytale world, Disenchanted becomes more of a musical than the first movie too. However, even with the brilliant Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz behind them, the songs are largely forgettable. They're enjoyable as they're happening, but beyond 'Badder', you won't remember them beyond the credits.
The songs do have plenty of Disney nods to be discovered for musical fans, and Idina Menzel's big number 'Love Power' even combines 'Let It Go' with Wicked's 'Defying Gravity'. It often feels though that more time was spent on these clever nods rather than making them classic songs in their own right.
Despite the songs being a bit of a let-down, there is fun to be had elsewhere thanks to the game cast. Adams and Rudolph are the most wickedly entertaining, but Dempsey gets to have some fairytale hero fun and Menzel gives her solo numbers everything, as you'd expect. (James Marsden is criminally underused, though.)
It's hard to escape the feeling though that as enjoyable as Disenchanted often is, it feels quite flat in comparison to the original. That's not just in the songs, but also the overstuffed plot that tries to give everybody something to do and only succeeds in creating several underdeveloped subplots.
Enchanted fans will still have a fun time catching up with Giselle, Robert and co, trying to catch as many Easter eggs as possible. It's just that it's hard to imagine there being quite the same clamour for a third movie as there was for a sequel.
Disenchanted is now available to watch on Disney+.
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