Enchanted charmed its way onto the big screen in 2007, and its success warranted that the fantasy musical received its own sequel, titled Disenchanted. The film was a hybrid of traditional animation and live-action, and the multimedia feature film permitted Disney to take a step forward in experimenting with how they presented royalty-inspired stories. Enchanted had the ability to honor Disney’s most popular princesses while executing an entertaining satire of its own tropes.
Despite sequel rumors swirling for years, Disney made the official announcement for the long-awaited sequel at the end of 2020, more than a decade after the release of the first movie. Filming for the project began in 2021. Two years later, we have more information about what's in store for the sequel. A trailer and more information regarding the upcoming film were released on September 9, 2022, at the D23 Expo held in Anaheim, California. Here's everything we know about the movie for now!
Updated September 2022 by Jessica Peerez: If you're excited about the long-awaited Disenchanted, you'll be happy to know we've updated this article with additional info about the sequel.
Disenchanted: The Plot
With the release of the new trailer, fans not only got a glimpse into the Disenchanted live-action musical comedy but were also given more details regarding the narrative of the film. As per the synopsis attached to the trailer, the storyline of the sequel will follow a 'disenchanted' Giselle who knows "that change can be scary, but it can also be exciting" as she goes in search of a fairy tale life.
The synopsis for the film reads:
"It has been 15 years since Giselle and Robert wed, but Giselle has grown disillusioned with life in the city, so they move their growing family to the sleepy suburban community of Monroeville in search of a more fairy tale life. Unfortunately, it isn’t the quick fix she had hoped for. Suburbia has a whole new set of rules and a local queen bee, Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), who makes Giselle feel more out of place than ever.
Frustrated that her happily ever after hasn’t been so easy to find, she turns to the magic of Andalasia for help, accidentally transforming the entire town into a real-life fairy tale and placing her family’s future happiness in jeopardy. Now, Giselle is in a race against time to reverse the spell and determine what happily ever after truly means to her and her family."
Disenchanted's summary proposes that Disney may uphold Enchanted's original model of bouncing from animation to live-action, staying faithful to what gave the first film its most creative edge. The compounded forms of artistry were instrumental for Enchanted to leave such a memorable impact, and it is assumed that Disenchanted will carry over the most outstanding elements of its predecessor.
Disenchanted: The Cast
Amy Adams will reprise her role as Giselle in Disenchanted. This doesn't come as much of a surprise, given that when director Adam Shankman first signed on for the sequel, Adams said on The Graham Norton Show:
"They've got a director and they are developing a script. I'm hoping I am in it. I'm not going to let anyone else play Giselle!"
Other actors reprising their roles include Patrick Dempsey as Robert, Giselle's husband, James Marsden as Prince Edward, and Idina Menzel as Nancy. The original quadruple was featured as prominent characters in Enchanted, and their involvement in the sequel was first sourced from composer Alan Menken.
We will also see several new faces in the sequel. Maya Rudolph is set to join the cast as the plot's central antagonist, Malvina. Yvette Nicole Brown is another newcomer to the Enchanted franchise and is expected to bring humor to the sophomore film. Gabriella Baldacchino will take on the role of the teenage daughter. Kolton Stewart also joins the ensemble as Tyson Monroe, and Jayma Mays is billed on the published cast list as Ruby. Oscar Nuñez has been tacked onto the cast as Edgar.
The Music
As the newly released trailer makes evident, music will play a prominent role in the sequel, similar to the first movie. A significant proportion of Enchanted's success was credited to the noteworthy soundtrack. Given this, it is highly likely that the creative team behind Disenchanted will find creative ways of seamlessly interweaving song and music into the sequel's narrative.
So far, seven songs have been confirmed for the sequel. While Patrick Dempsey will be singing in the film, Idina Menzel is confirmed for two musical performances.
Release Date
Disney has announced that Disenchanted will forego a cinematic release. Instead, the film will stream directly through Disney+. Years in the making, the highly anticipated film will release on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2022. With the release date being so near but yet so far, it leaves us just enough time to brush up on our Enchanted knowledge, given that the initial movie is, in fact, 15 years old now!