ENCHANTED 4 1/2 Stars (Out of 5) Directed by Kevin Lima Starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, and Susan Sarandon Hi Guys, Mastidon here with a review I myself am surprised I'm writing. I just finished attending the world premier of ENCHANTED. I must admit, I went into this film with VERY low expectations. A modern telling of SNOW WHITE? Are you serious? How could this be any good? Well, it is. So far I have seen a half-dozen movies here in London and this is the one I liked most. Quite simply put it is enchanting. Is it predictable and corny at times? Of course it is, its Disney. But its also charming, witty, and mesmerizing. As well publicized, this film features both live action and animation. The last several Disney animation movies have been bad to say the least. This puts them back to where they belong. The great musical score from Alan Menken who did ALADDIN and THE LITTLE MERMAID doesn't hurt either. My personal favorite song being the one used in a scene in Central Park screams Oscar nomination. James Marsden does a worthy job trading in his Cyclops uniform for a different type of tights. His voice is very good. I haven't seen HAIRSPRAY but heard his voice is also fine in that. I asked Alan Menken about that and he said that no doubles were used for either James or Amy but that it is their natural talent. The script is well written to cater to both kids and adults. The film is as much a romantic comedy as it is a fairy-tale. Very funny with the audience laughing at over a dozen different places, A small warning to you conservative parents, there is some adult humor in there with a couple of scenes (girl in towel falling on guy) but nothing too much to worry about. The final scene may scare very small kids but I doubt it based on the ones I talked to after the show. After the screening, I asked every parent I could find what they thought and how their kids reacted. All had the same answer - the kids stayed awake and followed the movie closely even true for one mother with her 3 & 8 year old girls. My only concern was would boys be as intrigued with this film as girls? Thanks to 2 lovely ladies on the Tube after the show, I now know the answer is yes. They had a mixture of 8 boys and girls sitting directly in front of them. None fidgeted or slept. No easy task as the film is just under 2 hours. I was able to briefly interview several of the cast and crew from ENCHANTED before the screening. They also did an audience Q&A. A copy of that to follow soon. ENCHANTED opens on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving making it the perfect treat to start the holiday season. Not only is this a great movie to take the whole family to see, but its also a perfect date movie guaranteed to give you a smile with a nice romantic touch. From my London hotel room still under the spell of ENCHANTED.... Ciao, -Mastidon