44 Fun Facts About Enchanted

Who plays Giselle?

Amy Adams plays Giselle. The studio wanted an established star, but the director insisted on a lesser-known actress, and the role earned Adams a Golden Globe nomination.

What is the name of the animated fairy-tale kingdom Giselle comes from?

Giselle comes from Andalasia, the hand-drawn fairy-tale kingdom ruled by Queen Narissa, where she lives in a forest cottage with her animal friends until Prince Edward proposes.

Why is Queen Narissa so determined to keep Prince Edward from marrying?

Narissa's reign ends the moment Edward weds, because his bride becomes queen, so she has her henchman Nathaniel keep him busy hunting trolls and away from any true love.

How does Narissa get rid of Giselle on her wedding day?

Disguised as an old hag, Narissa pushes Giselle down a wishing well in Andalasia, dropping her into the real world, 'a place where there are no happily ever afters'.

Where in New York does Giselle first surface?

Giselle climbs out of a manhole in Times Square wearing her wedding dress, and is promptly robbed of her tiara by a homeless man.

What is Robert Philip's job?

Robert Philip is a Manhattan divorce lawyer, a cynic about happily-ever-after who is raising his daughter Morgan alone after his wife walked out on them.

Who plays Robert Philip?

Patrick Dempsey plays Robert Philip. Disney wanted a bigger name opposite its little-known Giselle, and Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy fame as 'McDreamy' fit the bill.

Who plays Prince Edward?

James Marsden plays Prince Edward. He asked to read for the prince rather than Robert because Edward was 'more fun', and he sings the opening duet 'True Love's Kiss' with Amy Adams.

Who plays the wicked Queen Narissa?

Susan Sarandon plays Queen Narissa, Edward's scheming stepmother. She voices the character's animated scenes and appears in person once Narissa follows Giselle into live-action New York.

Which British actor plays Narissa's servant Nathaniel?

Timothy Spall plays Nathaniel, Narissa's henchman, who trails Edward to New York in a string of disguises before finally turning against the queen.

Which Broadway star plays Robert's girlfriend Nancy Tremaine, in a role with no singing?

Idina Menzel plays Nancy Tremaine. She called being hired for her acting alone a compliment; her one duet with James Marsden was cut from the finished film.

Nancy Tremaine is named after the stepmother in which Disney film?

Lady Tremaine is the wicked stepmother in Disney's 1950 Cinderella; Nancy Tremaine's surname is one of the film's many nods to earlier Disney fairy tales.

What kind of animal is Giselle's friend Pip?

The animators gave the CGI version eyebrows, which real chipmunks do not have, to help him emote.

In Enchanted, what does Pip the chipmunk discover to his dismay when he arrives in real-world New York?

He can no longer speak, and must communicate through squeaks and charades; the character was modelled on sidekicks like Mushu and Timon.

What does Giselle make her first New York dress out of?

Giselle sews her first New York outfit from Robert's living-room curtains, which she takes down overnight; Robert recognises the fabric the next morning.

In which New York landmark is the costume ball held?

The Kings and Queens Costume Ball is held in the Woolworth Building, the 1913 Manhattan skyscraper whose rooftop hosts the film's storm-lashed climax.

Whose kiss finally wakes Giselle from the poisoned-apple sleep?

Robert, the divorce lawyer, wakes her. Edward's kiss fails, and he realises Robert is Giselle's true love and urges him to try; her eyes open at Robert's kiss.

What business does Giselle start after choosing to stay in New York?

Giselle starts a fashion design company, Andalasia Fashions, making dresses with Morgan's help, while Nathaniel stays in New York and writes his autobiography.

Who ends up marrying Prince Edward?

Nancy, Robert's girlfriend, notices Edward while watching Giselle and Robert dance, and the pair wed in Andalasia.

Who directed Enchanted?

Kevin Lima directed Enchanted. A Disney animation veteran, he came aboard in 2005, after several other directors had been attached and dropped away during the project's long development.

Which screen legend narrates the film?

Julie Andrews narrates the film's opening and closing. Critics compared what Enchanted did for Amy Adams's career to what Mary Poppins had done for Andrews's in 1964.

Which pair of songwriters wrote the film's songs?

Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist respectively, wrote and produced the songs, and Menken also composed the score.

Which country star sings 'Ever Ever After' over the film's ending?

Carrie Underwood sings 'Ever Ever After', the Menken and Schwartz ballad that plays over the film's closing montage and end credits; it was also released as a single.

Which singer performs the ballad 'So Close' at the ball, and later sang it at the Oscars?

Jon McLaughlin sings 'So Close' at the ball and reprised it at the Oscars. Menken modelled it on his Beauty and the Beast ballroom ballad; it was the only nominated Enchanted song not sung by Amy Adams.

Which real animals were the only ones actually filmed on set for 'Happy Working Song'?

Real rats and pigeons were brought on set for 'Happy Working Song'; every cockroach was CGI, as were the pigeons carrying brooms and the rats scrubbing with toothbrushes.

The five-minute 'That's How You Know' number in Central Park took how many days to shoot?

The Central Park number took 17 shooting days, partly because the weather allowed only about seven sunny ones; it involved 300 extras and 150 dancers.

Where were the film's hand-drawn animated sequences produced?

James Baxter Animation in Pasadena produced the hand-drawn sequences. Disney had wound down its traditional animation unit, so the work went to former Disney animator James Baxter's own studio.

Roughly what percentage of Snow White did the director say went into Giselle's character?

Kevin Lima said Giselle is about 80% Snow White, with the rest borrowed from Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty's Aurora, and a dash of Ariel's spunk.

Roughly how much did Enchanted gross worldwide?

Enchanted grossed about $340 million worldwide on an $85 million budget, opening at number one over the 2007 Thanksgiving weekend with roughly $49 million across the five-day holiday.

Why was Giselle ultimately left out of the official princess merchandising line-up?

A Giselle doll had already been shown at a 2007 toy fair with Disney Princess branding.

Which former Disney voice actress, once Ariel, plays Robert's secretary Sam?

Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, plays Robert's secretary Sam; Paige O'Hara (Belle) and Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas's singing voice) also cameo, as a soap-opera character and a pregnant mother.

Where did Enchanted have its world premiere in October 2007?

Enchanted had its world premiere at the London Film Festival on October 20, 2007; its wide US release followed on November 21, the day before Thanksgiving.

What is the title of the 2022 sequel?

Disenchanted, released straight to Disney+ in November 2022, brought back Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden and Idina Menzel, to far more mixed reviews than the original.

Who directed the sequel?

Adam Shankman, director of Hairspray (2007), directed Disenchanted; he had briefly been attached to direct the original Enchanted back in 2003.

In the sequel, Giselle moves the family from Manhattan to which suburban town?

Giselle moves the family to the suburb of Monroeville; her wish on Andalasian wand magic turns it into the fairy-tale kingdom of 'Monrolasia'.

Which comedian plays Malvina Monroe, the town-council head who becomes an evil queen in the sequel?

Maya Rudolph plays Malvina Monroe, Monroeville's queen bee who becomes a literal wicked queen once the town turns fairy-tale; Yvette Nicole Brown and Jayma Mays play her two sidekicks.

In which country was the sequel filmed in 2021?

Disenchanted was shot in Ireland in 2021, with the village of Enniskerry in County Wicklow dressed as Monroeville and stage work at Ardmore Studios.

In Enchanted, who provides Pip the chipmunk's squeaks in the real-world New York scenes, where he cannot talk?

Director Kevin Lima did the squeaks himself; Jeff Bennett voices the talking Pip in Andalasia.

How much did Touchstone and Sonnenfeld/Josephson reportedly pay for Bill Kelly's original script in 1997?

Touchstone Pictures and Sonnenfeld/Josephson bought Bill Kelly's script for $450,000 in 1997; it then took almost eight years and a Kelly rewrite under Kevin Lima before Disney greenlit the film.

Which pair of Disney films did Kevin Lima direct before Enchanted?

Tarzan and 102 Dalmatians; Lima brought Bill Kelly back to write a new version of the script.

Roughly how many actresses auditioned for the role of Giselle before Amy Adams was chosen?

About 300 actresses auditioned for Giselle. The studio wanted a star, but Kevin Lima insisted on a lesser-known actress, and Amy Adams was announced in the role in 2005.

Robert and Morgan's ivory-fronted apartment building, The Paterno, stands at which Manhattan corner?

The Paterno, with its curved ivory facade, stands at 440 Riverside Drive on the corner of 116th Street in Morningside Heights; the apartment interiors were built at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.

Which film did Enchanted narrowly beat on the US DVD sales chart in March 2008?

Enchanted edged I Am Legend at the top of the US DVD sales chart after both arrived on disc on March 18, 2008; on Blu-ray, I Am Legend sold roughly four times as many copies.

Who replaced Rachel Covey as Morgan in the 2022 sequel Disenchanted?

Gabriella Baldacchino plays the teenage Morgan in Disenchanted; the original Morgan, Rachel Covey, makes a brief cameo as a different character.