Enchanted, Passing Through

A runaway hit in theaters, where it equally charmed audiences and critics alike eager for wholesome family entertainment, Enchanted arrives today on Disney DVD in both a standard release and a new-fangled Blu-ray edition. And although the version for us regular folks with an old-fashioned player is fine for the most part, a nifty feature on the high def release may convince die-hard Disney enthusiast that now is the time for an upgrade.

First things first: the film itself. Reduced to the small screen, the flaws I noted in my original review (click here to read) stand out more. For example, you’ll be reaching for the fast forward button whenever Timothy Spall’s villainous underling comes onscreen (couldn’t they have cast a more comedically gifted actor in this far too prominent role -- say, a Nathan Lane, or even a Jason Alexander?). However, what is good about the movie stands out as well, chiefly Amy Adams’ spunky, heartfelt performance as the displaced animated waif Giselle who finds herself (and her own flesh and blood Prince Charming) in the real life big city of New York.

The single disc’s bonus supplements range from the passable (a standard collection of deleted scenes, a mostly laughless blooper reel, a music video for “Ever Ever After” -- wherein Carrie Underwood’s toon doppelganger comes off as more expressive then the real thing) to the completely skip-able (a perplexingly pedestrian “Pip’s Predicament: A Pop-Up Adventure”).