Yesterday, as I laid in bed with the annoying cold I always seem to get this time of year, too spaced out from meds to even want to watch new mindless crap on Tiktok, I finally resigned to my old standby: my comfort movies. We all have them. The movies (and shows) that we’ve seen over and over again, can recite word for word, and yet, somehow make you feel better just by being on. We tend to save these for when we’re sick, sad, having an anxiety attack…basically any time we need a distraction, but can’t stomach anything new. While my full personal list is something I may want to come out with a full article later about, one of my top go-to comfort movies will always be Enchanted. Problem is, I already watched Enchanted a couple of weeks ago to cope with some other personal issues! As luck would have it, Disney +, with impeccable timing, has released the long awaited sequel, Disenchanted. Is this really my sign to *gasp* try to find a new comfort movie? When I’m already sick!?

Ten years after the first film, Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) are living happily together with Robert’s daughter Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) and their newborn baby, Sofia. After living in Manhattan this entire time, they decide to slow down and move to a small town, Monroeville.  The move isn’t as storybook as they had originally planned.  Their new house is run down, and Morgan feels like an outcast at her new school. King Edward (James Marsden) and Queen Nancy (Idina Menzel) visit from Andalasia to present them with a wish-granting wand. Giselle meets Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph), the arrogant head of the town council, and learns that she is hosting a fairytale-themed ball. To help Morgan to fit in, Giselle tries to get her elected as the ball’s princess but ends up unwittingly embarrassing Morgan, resulting in a falling out between the two. Giselle decides to use the wand and wishes her family’s life to be a “perfect fairy tale.” By the next day, the town has transformed into a fantasy kingdom called Monrolasia. Morgan is happy with their new life and Robert believes himself to be a brave adventurer. Malvina is now the town’s evil queen with magical powers. Giselle also discovers uncharacteristically haughty behavior and finds pleasure in mistreating Morgan, realizing that she is slowly turning into a wicked stepmother.

This film has been rumored to be in the works since 2010, unofficially confirmed by the composer Alan Menken and James Marsden in 2011, but wasn’t officially announced until a decade later.  This sequel was directed by Adam Shankman (A Walk to Remember, Hairspray, Rock of Ages) and written by Brigitte Hales (her first feature film, but previously a story editor and writer on Once Upon a Time).

Sequels, especially if they come out over a decade in between the last installment can be…tricky. Either they play it too safe and end up being a carbon copy of the original. Or they make a point to be different and extra…complicated. Disenchanted definitely falls into the later category. I give absolutely props to it for not rehashing the plot of the original (a sin many have accused Hocus Pocus 2 of, for example.) And for the most part, I love the new, almost Wandavision-esque story this one has to offer. But added to that are the B,C, and D plots I’m having to keep up with. All of them being very cute and entertaining as well, of course. But unfortunately, not given the time to fully develop like they should. It’s almost as if this film were written as a 6 part mini-series, and then converted into a 2 hour movie. Given the limited time, I actually do feel like each element of the story developed about the best they could, (especially for a kid friendly movie), but nevertheless, felt a bit crammed and rushed.

Besides many of the original cast returning from the first film, quite a lot of new characters have been added — and I’m here for it. Maya Rudolph is always so fun to watch in everything she does, and she just chews the scenery as the would-be evil queen Malvina. While I don’t always love bumbling henchmen characters, I definitely loved Yvette Nicole Brown and Jayma Mays in their respective rolls as Rosaleen and Ruby. And as for Gabriella Baldacchino, who took over as the role of Morgan, (whom I honestly thought was the same actress as the first film), I felt she carried the film pretty well as practically the second lead. My only complaint is on the writing end, as I would have liked a bit more development from her, even though her character gets a lot of screen time.

I’m happy to say that besides side-plots, Disenchanted added quite a lot more of everything else that made the first film so magical for me. Musical numbers galore (epic ensemble pieces, ballads, villain song, they’ve got’em all!), animated sequences, gorgeous costuming, and of course, Disney callbacks. The songs, while not quite as good as the first, are still done by the legendary Alan Menken. I can tell most of them will grow easily into sing-a-long bait when I rewatch it. And added bonus, they let Idina Menzel actually sing this time!

Visually, this film was just as pleasing to the eye for me as the first. Instead of some rather glamorous shots of New York, this time we are treated to a much more colorful pastoral setting. It’s hard to describe, but it felt even more aesthetically like a musical than it’s predecessor. I’m also happy that the 2D world of Andalasia looks exactly the same. While I have begrudgingly accepted that 3D animation is the standard these days, my heart still longs for exactly what the Andalasia sequences look like, and this proof Disney still has it in them.

Here’s the thing about Disenchanted that convinces me it’s a good candidate for a new comfort movie. Despite me being sick and not too willing to watch new things, it still comforted me. Despite it even having some aforementioned problems, I was still smiling from ear to ear by the end. Should I have not taken the night time medicine so early? It doesn’t matter. This movie, while not being a perfect masterpiece, or even the best sequel in history, gave me exactly what I needed. A fun, magical escape from the drudgery of not being able to breathe through my nose.