While “Once Upon a Time 2” will be available on Disney+ from November 18, (re)discover the original film directed by Kevin Lima in 2009 and worn by Amy Adams. An enchanted and musical journey for young and old!
Banished from her magical, animated and musical kingdom by the Evil Queen, Princess Giselle suddenly finds herself… in New York, in the middle of Manhattan. Immersed in this new environment which is far from functioning according to the principle she has always known (“they lived happily ever after”), Giselle discovers a strange world which desperately needs magic and enchantment.
Still engaged to Prince Charming, she then meets an attractive divorce lawyer. But can a fairy tale love survive in the real world?
Directed in 2009 by Kevin Lima (notably known at Disney for having signed Tarzan or Goofy and Max), Once upon a time succeeds in a particularly ambitious gamble: while fitting perfectly into the pure tradition of the enchanted studios, it manages to dust off the fairy tales and princess stories without distorting them.
Skilfully combining animation and live action, the feature film oscillates between romance, musical comedy and adventure film. Its scenario, certainly classic, but of formidable efficiency, can rely on an excellent cast (Amy Adams in the lead, but also Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden and Timothy Spall), and above all on one of the best soundtracks that we have heard in a Disney in recent years.
We bet that your children will come out of this little trip with stars in their eyes… and two or three melodies in their heads?
Walt Disney Pictures
What they will like:
- The songs, therefore, and their irresistible melodies. Draped in a magical score, they even made their way, at the time, into the aisles of Disneyland parks. And for good reason: they were composed by the great Alan Menken, legend of the enchanted studios to whom we owe, among others, the soundtracks of Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame or Rapunzel again. Just that.
- The choreographies that go with it. In a musical worthy of the name, Once Upon a Time elegantly dresses the beautiful music of Menken with dancing Broadway-style numbers.
- The romance between Giselle and lawyer Robert Phillip, worthy of the great Disney love stories. If you’re the type to let yourself be moved by dinner under the stars in Lady and the Tramp or by the flying carpet ride in Aladdin and Jasmine, this film is made for you.
- Humor, an essential ingredient in any production from Mickey’s studios, intelligently distilled within the film, and in particular to make fun (nicely) of Disney codes. To see a princess cleaning a New York apartment in the company of rats and cockroaches, this is where it happens!
Walt Disney Pictures
What may worry them:
- The Evil Queen, played by Susan Sarandon, sometimes animated, sometimes in the flesh. Even if she is not nearly as scary as the octopus Ursula (The Little Mermaid) or the Witch from Snow White, she could nevertheless impress the little ones.
- The Evil Queen’s final transformation into a dragon. Again, in pure Disney tradition.
(Re)discover the trailer for “Once Upon a Time 2”, available on Disney+ from November 18…