#Disenchanted criticism

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Hi! I recently read Disenchanted rewrite and from the snippet I saw, I find it to be better than the movie. I especially love how you gave the two sisters an actual relationship with each other.

Oh my, this is really huge for my rewrite, thank you so much for your simple and really helpful feedback. While we’re at it, how about I break down the first 5 things on my fic to do list to help share why I’m rewriting Disenchanted:

I rewrote Disenchanted because I had to: This is going to be really quick, the reason I’m rewriting this sequel is because I got so pissed off by how out of character Giselle, Robert, and Morgan were depicted in the movie I couldn’t get past the first act satisfied and ended up looking at spoilers on wiki and Moderngurlz’s review. Since Disenchanted got sent to streaming and the sneak peeks ended up killing the hype, this movie never stood a chance with the Rotten Tomatoes critics and the Oscars. Hopefully, once Wish comes out this November it’ll end up avoiding the pitfalls Disenchanted ended up in. Let’s face it, no one on the Disenchanted writing team actually understood the assignment.

2. I rewrote Disenchanted’s prologue because I felt like it: Let’s just say I didn’t like the chipmunks recapping the first movie and speedrunning the whole prologue. That’s why I had Morgan and Sofie recap the first movie to make it more audibly tolerable for the readers.

3. I made Morgan the main protagonist because I felt like it: Let’s be honest, Morgan was done so dirty in the sequel, because the whole movie had Giselle be the main character (*cough* main character syndrome *cough) I really did not like how her portrayal as a stereotypical angsty teenager felt really forced and the excuse got old super fast. It also shows that nobody knew how to write an authentic teenaged character. Mirabel, Camilo, Mei, Miriam, Priya, and Abby worked because they were all given their own unique traits that made them likable to the audience, while Morgan in the first act felt pretty irritating and unoriginal. That’s why I drastically changed her personality in my rewrite.

4. I aged up Morgan’s little sister Sofia to be 6 years old because I felt like it: One of the issues of Disenchanted that ended up being executed poorly, was Giselle having a new kid, Sofia. The downside why it didn’t work out was that in the film Sofia doesn’t really impact the story since she’s just a freaking infant that doesn’t do much. The problem with writing infant characters especially under one is that they don’t really have much agency in the story and end up becoming living props.  Heck, Mayday Parker from Across the Spiderverse was a more compelling character cause she was animated really well in her own movie. Oh yeah, Across the Spiderverse works so well as a sequel because it respects its characters. More infant characters that actually work in a story are Jack Jack (Incredibles), Sunny Baudelaire (A series of unfortunate events) and Grogu (The Mandalorian) In Disenchanted, Infant!Sofie existed as a plot device just to show how tough city life(well not really to me) got for the Philips and why Giselle decided to move her family to Monroeville.  She existed as a plot device just so knockoff Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather could find someone to babysit.  She existed as a plot device just so Edward and Nancy could give her a wand.  She exists as a plot device as a true Andalasian(oh yeah spoilers that doesn’t really touched upon in the movie) to make Morgan feel inferior in her own family. Maybe they should’ve had her be played by a child actor instead of twin infants. Not only would that have given us an interesting dynamic with her older sister Morgan, but it also could have subverted the mean step sister trope, (that whole trope subversion gimmick never happens in the sequel, that’s when you know this was gonna be disappointing.). Or if they wanted the evil stepmother personality shifts to make more sense, they could’ve just had Giselle be pregnant until the end of the movie (no wait, that topic would be too sensitive for Disney to show). Or just not have a new child to keep the focus the conflict between Morgan and Giselle, not much would change. That’s why Sofie is 6 in The Fairytale of my life, and I’m going to show her dynamics with her 3 family members.

5. I gave Morgan and Sofie a really good sibling dynamic because I had to: This answers the topic above. Disenchanted is one of the prime examples that shows why a sibling age gap between a teenager and an infant does not work. One of the positive traits I wanted to give Morgan was being a good role model for her new sister and it’s going to be shown throughout my fic.

Well, I hope this satisfies your ask. I’m going to be very busy finishing Ch 2 and writing the rest of my rewrite

[miscellaneousjay]

Bruh. Disenchanted was so freaking cuuuuuuuutttteee!!!!! Mom Giselle! Teenage Morgan! King Edward and Queen Nancy thee Royal Godparents! PIIIIIIPPPPPP!!!!🥹🙈😭💖💝

Language matters! If Giselle hadn’t unknowingly excluded Morgan from Andalasian tradition by not being her blood daughter, Morgan wouldn’t have started carrying it like Giselle low-key didn’t care about her and therefore acted accordingly: reciprocating that carelessness. But the thing is, they just lost sight of how to show that care as they grew and evolved as people. Giselle had no idea how to go about dealing with the sarcastic teen version of Morgan and it was disheartening for her that everything she seemed to do was the wrong thing. On the other hand, Morgan didn’t see how her turning into a soft Squidward and not using any other vehicle for communication than sarcasm hurt Giselle, who is very sensitive and upfront about her thoughts and feelings.

However, this part right here is definitely where Giselle made up for that initial carelessness:

And Morgan reciprocated again:

They reclaimed that mother-daughter relationship and lived happily ever after after learning “be careful what you wish for” and “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” the hard way.

Finally, I love how the “Enchanted” franchise is Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella all in one!

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Giselle: it's turning me into a wicked stepmother!

Pip: what? That's ridiculous

Giselle:

Pip: oh no yeah I can totally see it

Giselle:

[azural83]

Ironic how enchanted is popular for breaking cliche fairytale tropes and actually having a unique storyline yet it's sequel is the most generic family movie you've ever seen

[jamesmarsdenfan]

James Marsden attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

[gemsofthegalaxy]

I think the biggest flaws were truly not letting Morgan be enough of a character and focus, and having the magic change her whole personality.

If she was a realistic human being having to adjust to the fairytale world, she would have been going through the reverse situation Giselle had previously, and I think it could have been more interesting.

I also think, perhaps, she should have been lying about her disinterest in fairytale magic and acting more grumpy and frustrated on purpose.

If she had have been more adamant and cranky to the point that she was denying part of herself, being cynical, maybe forcing herself to fit in with other teenagers around her or something- and then, in the end, admitting she does care about magic and believe in it, the film could have had more to say about, like, yeah fairytale tropes are wild in the real world, but keeping a spark of magic alive in your life is Good, Actually, and that would have complimented the first film better.

just my onion. like, I really wish they had have taken the themes and ideas to much deeper places, is all.

[muffinrag]

worked my first 8 hour shift in two years. came home and took a 4 hour nap

[cogentranting]

“ Nobody ever would bother to tell A tale with Maleficent and with Cruella “ 

Firing shots at Once Upon a Time now are we? 

[lovelyjamesblog]

James Marsden and Kristen Schaal attend the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards on January 15, 2023 (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)

[yumnasfunblog]

I loved both the Barbie movie and Disenchanted both.

Though I do wish that they'd had a more in-depth resolution or an actual resolution when it came to the mother-daughter conflict, rather than having the daughter abruptly change her mind because it's convenient to the plot.

[kiralamouse]

Man, I’m glad to see people out here enjoying something, but it’s still a bit isolating to feel like the only one who disliked it.

[sidecharactersdomatter]

plus they turned morgan into max goof

Yep what an original personality… not! Morgan was done so dirty in the sequel, and her sarcastic personality felt so unoriginal, and the plot seemed a little too reliant on her schadenfreude before and after the wish such as her wardrobe getting barbecued as a sick form of cruel and unusual punishment and coffee was spilled on her her. We also don’t even know the reason why her relationship with Giselle became strained because ‘Nothing happens’ in Disenchanted.

That’s why I’m drastically changing her personality in Tftoml to make her feel like a more relatable and likable teenaged protagonist and what’s helping with shaping her character is her good sibling relationship with 6 year old Sofie and her love of fairytales (which I’ve kept in my fic) helps enhance her own perspective on her own growing interests. In conclusion, my whole strategy in writing The fairytale of my life is, “take everything Disenchanted failed to accomplish, and do them 10 trillion times better.” Here’s hoping that Gabriella Baldacchino gets a better acting career in the future and that she doesn’t have to keep playing an outdated stereotype. Heck if Disenchanted came out in 2017, maybe they would’ve kept Rachel Covey. Spoilers, for The fairytale of my life imagine Morgan being portrayed by a teenaged Rachel Covey.

Also as mentioned in the previous ask, this will be the last Tftoml related question I’ll answer since I’m going to be busy this November writing the remaining chapters before typing them out in Docs. I’ll update soon when I’m ready to answer once I’ve finished posting more tftoml chapters.

[emeto-film-critic]

Disenchanted - 2022

SAFE/Caution - A,V•

Approx. 49:00 - 49:37 •A,V• After Giselle realizes whats happening while talking to Pip, Pip starts turning into a cat. He burps and r* as his body changes. Audio and body language may be triggering.

[azural83]

So why does giselle still sing? In the original she stopped singing after staying in the real world for too long,even edward pointed it out

But here she's just back to being all cartoony?

[jamesmarsdenfan]

James Marsden, Catherine Martin, Austin Butler and Baz Luhrmann attend the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)