When Enchanted was released in 2007, it’s safe to assume no one could’ve predicted just how popular the film would go on to become. The fairytale musical earned an impressive $340 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, and fans began to wonder when – and if – a sequel would come. It would take thirteen years for a sequel to be announced and nearly two more years for the movie to finally hit Disney+. A long wait for an enchanting sequel that director Adam Shankman was ready to make shortly after talking to Disney’s Sean Bailey.
During last week’s virtual press conference for the film, Shankman noted how the sequel eventually came to life. As he tells it, while talking to Bailey and discussing the sequel, he used Giselle’s newfound life as a stepmother as the jumping-off point for Disenchanted. “I walked in and I was talking to Sean Bailey, the president of Disney, and he was talking about how the project was sitting there, and as we discussed it, I said, “Well, basically,” I was like, “you know Giselle’s the stepmother. She’s Morgan’s stepmother.”
He elaborated by explaining that he wanted to use Giselle’s life as a stepmother to continue this fairytale story. Using a more mature Morgan, who would be incredibly different from the little girl who loved fairytales, was the “low-hanging fruit” according to the director. “And that for me became the absolute jumping-off point. I was like, “That’s low-hanging fruit.” This is perfect in terms of a continuation of that because she has this, you know, now-developed daughter who probably doesn’t believe in magic anymore. And then I was like, “Let’s go from there,” and it was just sort of a thrill ride from there. It just was a luge of finding stuff like that.”
Of course, while Morgan’s struggles with believing in magic and growing up might’ve been a jumping-off point, they weren’t the only thing Shankman had to consider with the sequel. Disenchanted, much like Enchanted, is still very much Giselle’s story and it was important Amy Adams was on board with the sequel’s plans, too. And thankfully, she was.
“But again, as Barry said, the whole thing starts with Amy and Giselle,” Shankman said. “I wanted to work with Amy for so long because we speak a very similar language. We’re friends. And we’re both musical nerds and Disney nerds. And I suddenly thought, I want to make a movie not with Amy, but for Amy as well.”
Disenchanted, the charming sequel to Enchanted, will hit Disney+ tomorrow.
