In Disenchanted, it’s been 10 years since Giselle and Robert fell in love. Having outgrown their fast-paced life in the city, the couple, along with their new baby girl Sophia and Robert’s now-teenage daughter Morgan, move to the quaint suburban town of Monroeville in search of a newer, happier ever after. Unfortunately, the non-stop construction zone that is the family’s new fixer-upper house, plus a less-than-welcoming run-in with the local queen bee, Malvina (Rudolph), throttles the usually optimistic Giselle into further disillusionment.
Struggling to adapt to suburbia, Giselle makes a wish on a magic wand from Andalasia. However, the spell backfires when her longing for a fairy-tale life morphs the entire town into a trope-filled storybook village complete with evil queens and fierce dragons, while Giselle slowly transforms into a wicked stepmother. Similar to the first film, Giselle’s journey culminates in an epic ballroom battle between good and evil. This time, however, she must face herself.
Below, Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph open up to Glamour about transforming (literally) into Disney villains, singing together on screen, and why the timing couldn’t be more perfect to return to the world of Enchanted.
Disenchanted, 2022.Courtesy of Disney Enterprises,Inc.
Along with the release of this long-awaited sequel, November 2022 marks the 15th anniversary of Enchanted. Reflecting on the film’s legacy, what makes the original film so special?
Maya Rudolph: It makes the audience feel like we’re in on the joke together and we’re all having the same experience. It’s taking the story—you know, the fairy tale and the happily ever after—and then turning it on its head and changing it. All of that was so exciting to see for the first time. It was done so beautifully.
Amy Adams: I think there’s a fine line between “having fun with” instead of “making fun of.” Everybody involved in the first film and everybody involved in this film has such a deep love for the stories that we’re winking at, so there’s never a moment where we’re making fun of the [Disney] lexicon. We’re having fun with it.
