In 2008, Disney released Enchanted starring Amy Adams. The film, which stars Adams as Giselle, a young maiden sent away to New York by Queen Narissa, proved to be a massive success for the studio. It earned $340 million at the worldwide box office on a reported $85 million budget. And yet, despite the film’s success, a sequel to the film wasn’t officially announced until Dec. 2020. During a virtual press conference for the film, Adams was asked what it was like to return for the sequel.
Adams explained that there was a lot to consider when returning for Disenchanted. It was important for them to really think about where Giselle’s story ended off with Enchanted, a film that sees her undergo so much growth, and where she would be over a decade later.
“For me, it was interesting ’cause we were looking at where Giselle would be now. And, you know, when we leave her in the last movie, there’s been an evolution from the beginning of the movie of Enchanted to who Giselle is at the end of the movie,” she explained. “So sort of taking that evolution of who she might be after spending 10 years, but also making sure we keep her grounded in sort of the truth of her feelings, but without losing that joy and that naiveite and innocence and purity that makes Giselle so special.”
Adams continued, noting that she wanted to expand on what she loved about the character from the original film. She also enjoyed getting to work with the returning cast, as well as some of the film’s newest additions. “So that’s sort of where my launching place was, was taking everything that I loved about Giselle in the first movie, and then just getting this opportunity to spin it throughout this one,” she said. “It was really just such a pleasure, and getting the returning cast together. It was so fun to get to see everybody just step back into it, and that we were lucky enough to have everybody come join us. And I can’t thank them enough, and I’m very appreciative. And then for our new cast members, I was just so, so, so pleased to get everybody we have.”
Unlike its predecessor, Disenchanted will be skipping theaters when it releases later this week. The highly-anticipated sequel to Enchanted will instead stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning on Friday, Nov. 18th.
