Disney's Disenchanted, the long-awaited sequel to the 2007 fantasy musical Enchanted starring Amy Adams, is close to being released. Enchanted was a resounding success in 2007, adapting the genre to include both live-action and traditionally animated parodies of archetypal fairytale princesses. Produced by Disney, it generally paid homage to the classic Disney Princess musicals such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White while also satirizing their recurring tropes. With Disenchanted scheduled for a Disney+ release on Thanksgiving 2022 (November 24th), the world needs Giselle (Adams) more than ever before.
Enchanted follows Giselle, an animated princess based on the common tropes of the classic Disney princess movies. Giselle is cast out of the fictional fairytale kingdom of Andalasia, who is pushed into a well by an evil sorceress. Suddenly cast into a live-action version of herself in New York City, she is found and cared for by Robert (Patrick Dempsey), with whom she falls in love instead of her animated Prince Charming, Edward (James Marsden), and his young daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey). The film ends with the sorceress destroyed, Edward and Nancy (Robert's fashion-designer girlfriend, played by Idina Menzel) returning to Andalasia, and Giselle staying in New York, married to Robert, and running a fashion business. Disenchanted picks up 15 years after these events.
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The ending of Enchanted left a world of possibilities for a sequel with Giselle fully navigating the real world without the constraints of the classic Disney princess archetype. Over the years, there have been many rumors of an Enchanted sequel, but nothing was confirmed until Disney+ tweeted about Giselle and Amy Adams’ official return on Disney Investor Day in December 2020, revealing the official title: Disenchanted. Here's everything we know about the Enchanted 2 cast and release date, any Enchanted Sequel plot details, and, of course, what fans can expect from the dancing and songs in Disenchanted.
When Does Enchanted 2 Come Out?
Disenchanted will be released directly to Disney+ on 24th November, 2022. Pinned for a Fall 2022 release since the 2020 announcement, the exact date and month remained unknown until Disney announced in May 2022 that Enchanted 2 would debut on Thanksgiving, numbering it among several highly anticipated 2022 Disney movies. Disney initially confirmed Enchanted 2 in 2011. Since it had been over a decade since Enchanted was released, the studio re-confirmed Enchanted 2 in December 2020 alongside the Disenchanted title. Over the years since, some solid production details emerged. Adam Shankman signed on as the film’s director, replacing former director Kevin Lima. With Shankman’s experience working on musicals and fantasy films such as Hairspray and Bedtime Stories, Disenchanted is in good hands to take on Giselle’s next chapter.
Enchanted 2 Trailer
The Enchanted 2 trailer finally dropped on September 9, 2022, just a little over 2 months before the movie's official exclusive Disney+ release. The Disenchanted trailer opens up with Giselle calling all of her animal friends to her aid, with her titular theme tune – though this time, the animals are NYC favorites like rats and co*ckroaches. It then pans to a sweet discussion between Disenchanted's Robert and Giselle as they decide to start a new chapter in the suburb of Monroeville. The new family moves into a fixer-upper, which warrants a visit from the newly-minted Princess of Andalasia, Nancy Tremaine, and Prince Edward. In addition, the footage provides a glimpse of Maya Rudolph's new villain, Malvina Monroe. It also appears that Giselle and Robert have had a baby since the events of Enchanted.
It's clear in the trailer that Giselle is unhappy with her new life in Monroeville and uses a magic wand to wish that her life was a fairy tale again. This obviously goes awry, as the entirety of the town (including her family) is transformed into non-animated fairy tale characters. The new villain can also be spotted in the form of an evil queen. All in all, it looks like Giselle and the rest of the family is in for an exciting new fairytale romp as the main character wrestles with acclimating to her new life in Monroeville.
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Who Is Returning To The Enchanted 2 Cast?
In terms of the Enchanted 2 cast, Disney announced Amy Adams’ return as Giselle for Disenchanted back in December 2020, when the company reconfirmed the project. It's been a long time since Amy Adams has been onscreen singing, and it's a great talent that the actress hasn't gotten to flex in quite a while. In addition, it'll be interesting to see how Adams' career in indie pieces affect her characterization of Giselle. So, who else will star in the sequel? Enchanted music composer Alan Menken revealed in his JLBG Livestream on March 23, 2021, that Patrick Dempsey will reprise his role as Robert Philip. James Marsden returns as Prince Edward and Idina Menzel (a.ka. Elsa from Frozen) as Nancy Tremaine. Both Dempsey and Menzel will be singing in Disenchanted, and it's reported the Enchanted sequel will contain a lot more musical numbers. Susan Sarandon's villain Queen Narissa will not be appearing, however, and Maya Rudolph will be playing the new villain Malvina Monroe.
Who Is New In The Enchanted 2 Cast?
New Enchanted 2 cast members include Yvette Nicole Brown (from Community) as Rosaleen and Kolton Stewart (Astrid Saves the World) as Tyson Monroe. Gabriella Baldacchino (The Conners) has replaced Rachel Covey as Robert Philip’s daughter Morgan, though Covey will be shown in archival footage. Jayma Mays (from Glee) has been cast as Ruby, and Oscar Nuñez (of The Office fame) will play the role of Edgard. Most of these new characters will probably be residents of Andalasia or Monroeville. Comedian Maya Rudolph (who also appeared in Luca's voice cast) has been cast in Disenchanted as the main villain, Malvina Monroe. Kolton Stewart will be playing her son in Enchanted 2.
Enchanted 2 Story and Songs
IMDb’s Disenchanted plot synopsis indicates that the story takes place 15 years after Enchanted’s ending. Following the happily ever after of her marriage to Robert, Giselle begins to question if she is truly happy. Giselle, Robert, and Morgan relocate to the suburb of Monroeville. In the process, the princess is forced to deal with all the adult struggles that come with finding a new home in a new place. This dilemma of self-discovery (and her acquiring a magic wand) leads to ensuing chaos for Giselle’s friends and family in both the real world and Andalasia. Ultimately, she will have to come to terms with what "happily ever after" actually means for her family and herself.
Enchanted2's long-awaited release provides ample opportunities for exploration into Giselle's new life. Considering Enchanted's success with turning fairytale and Disney princess tropes on their head, it’s no surprise that Disenchanted would do away with the supposed “happily ever after.” But despite the title and Giselle's disheartened outlook in the sequel, Amy Adams has confirmed that the princess will sing and dance even more than she did in the original movie. During an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she commented on how difficult it was for her to perform those sequences more than a decade after shooting the first film. Read her full comments below:
"There’s a lot more singing and a lot more dancing which was humbling. The last time I really danced as much as I’m required to dance in this, I was in my 20s and now I’m not in my 20s.
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Where To Watch Enchanted 2
In the release announcement Tweet from Disney+, the streaming service revealed that Disenchanted will not receive a theatrical release. Rather, Enchanted 2 will be exclusively released on Disney+. The Frozen movies became a massive phenomenon in the years between the release of Enchanted and its follow-up with Enchanted 2, so there's a big challenge in topping Disney's most successful animated movies with new musical numbers, even more so considering that the actors have to perform them in live-action. But with the proven talent of Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, and Idina Menzel, there's no doubt Disenchanted will exceed expectations. Disney+ subscribers will be hard put to find a better option for brand-new easy family viewing on Thanksgiving 2022.
Why Enchanted 2 Has Taken 15 Years To Happen
Enchanted was released in 2007. While many movies released in 2022 were supposed to debut much earlier but got pushed back, Disenchanted has a history of delays that started long before the pandemic in 2020. Enchanted 2 was delayed by 15 years. Enchanted knocked it out of the park at the box office, netting $340.5m against an $85m budget. The sequel was confirmed as early as 2011, so the reason for the long break has nothing to do with Enchanted performing badly or Disney questioning demand for a follow-up. In fact, the exact opposite was the problem.
Enchanted was such a runaway success that disagreements emerged over how to make a worthy follow-up. This is evidenced by the continual shifting of scriptwriters and directors associated with the project over its 15-year production journey. Shrek 2 writers J. David Stem and David N. Weiss were on board, working on an earlier script drafted by Jessie Nelson, with Anne Fletcher (known for her work on The Proposal starring Ryan Reynolds) directing, but Shankman took over directing in 2016- 2017. Still, by May 2019 Enchanted 2 still wasn't green-lit. Finally, in 2020, a complete story was agreed upon and Disney announced that Disenchanted would arrive on Thanksgiving Day (November 24th, 2022).
