SPOILERS are ahead for Disenchanted, now streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
Fifteen years after Disney fans first fell in love with Enchanted, Amy Adams’ Giselle, the cast from the original, along with some new faces have come together for Disenchanted. The sequel follows Giselle and Patrick Dempsey’s Robert as they move out of New York City to the suburbs with a teenage Morgan and their new baby. Although Giselle has spent a lot of time outside of the animated Disney princess world of Andalasia when we catch up with her in Disenchanted, the movie is packed full of Disney references, just like the first movie.
Disenchanted sees Giselle’s new town looking like home when she wishes for a fairytale life. It leads to numerous opportunities for Disney easter eggs. As director Adam Shankman recently shared with us:
The fundamental construct theoretically of Enchanted is the sending up of all of the tropes. And, it's one of my favorite things about the movie and about participating in it because, to my knowledge, it's the first time Disney ever winked at itself. I don't think Disney ever allowed winking at itself. So this was such an incredible opportunity.
Adam Shankman spoke to Disenchanted’s Disney easter eggs during the movie’s virtual press conference, in response to CinemaBlend’s question on the subject. He continued by sharing some specific moments from the film, saying:
Honestly, if you look around when the town turns into a fairy tale town, every sign of every shop has something Disney winking involved in it, but it's super subtle. There is a not so subtle nod in Gabby's solo song. Well, actually, there's many. Every shot in that song is a nod to another ‘I Want’ song.
That’s right. During Gabriella Baldacchino’s tune titled “Perfect,” Morgan, who is hypnotized like the rest of the town to be a fairytale character, takes up the role of being a classic Disney heroine. As Shankman explained, the scene calls back to various Disney “I Want” songs. Looking back at the scene, I definitely see it. Morgan clutches a piece of material just like Aurora does with Phillip’s cloak in “Once Upon A Dream” and a splash of water erupts behind her like The Little Mermaid’s “Part Of Your World” as she sits on a ledge.
I’m sure there’s more in that scene alone. Speaking to easter eggs elsewhere in Disenchanted, Shankman also said this:
Pip turns into Lucifer, Amy turns into many Disney villains. The Magic Mirror is a replica of the Magic Mirror from Snow White. It is floor to ceiling, everywhere you look, you can swing a cat, you're gonna hit a trophy. And, it was really, really fun. And like I think with the actors, we talked about some of them, but a lot of them I just kind of laced in there. How about Jayma and Yvette's ball dresses? They are literally the stepsister's dresses from Cinderella. So it is toes to top of head [easter eggs].
Sounds like we could spend an entire viewing looking out for Disney references! As Giselle’s fairytale wish comes true, she becomes an evil stepmother, and Morgan becomes the hero of the story. With that, Adams gets to emulate a new side of herself and reference many Disney villains with her clothing, and Pip gets turned into a cat who looks just like Cinderella’s Lucifer. Speaking of Cinderella, the Disenchanted director also pointed out that Jayma Mays and Yvette Nicole Brown wear evil stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella’s iconic dresses as well.
The movie arrived on Disney+ this weekend to mixed reviews from critics overall and CinemaBlend’s raving Disenchanted review rating it 4.5 out of 5. You can make your own decision as to if the sequel is good or evil. But no matter way, you gotta love that Disenchanted continued the tradition of including all the Disney callbacks as Enchanted did.
