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Disenchanted, the sequel to the 2007 fantasy fairytale Enchantment, premiered on November 18, 2022, bringing back familiar characters in a not-so-familiar format. Though the Adam Shankman directorial had many great themes, it failed to replicate the charm of the original film.
Set years after the events of the previous film, Disenchanted sees Giselle (Amy Adams) with her lawyer husband, Robert (Patrick Dempsey), and teenage stepdaughter, Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino), along with an infant kid. Her fairytale life does not feel very magical, and that sends her in a desperate direction to achieve her dream world, throwing the real world and the magical world of Andalasia in danger.
The ending saw quite a few twists and a sweet reconciliation.
Disenchanted ending explained: The power of memories
Disenchanted saw Giselle trying to achieve "happily ever after" by using an Andalasian magic wand to transform her world into a fairytale world. But this does not go exactly according to plan. She finds out that an evil Malvina Monroe (Maya Rudolph) has taken up the part of the evil queen, while she has been put in the place of the evil stepmother (even Pip turned into a cat).
This leads Giselle to try and change this outcome, but she is overcome by the magic that forces her to be evil to Morgan, who is the princess in distress in this world. In a moment of sanity, Giselle is able to send Morgan to Andalasia in search of a solution, failing which, the curse would turn permanent at the stroke of midnight.
With Morgan gone, Giselle completely embraces her evil self and goes on to fight the evil queen and take over her position. Morgan, on the other hand, discovers that the magic needed to transform the real world is being extracted from Andalasia. If the clock strikes midnight before the curse is broken, Andalasia and all Andalasians, including Giselle, will cease to exist.
Morgan figures out that she could use the memory tree to remind Giselle who she is. With the help of Nancy (Idina Menzel), she goes back to confront her stepmother. This works well, and Giselle realizes who she is, but by then, the evil queen refuses to step down.
The new stepmother-stepdaughter relationship
The evil queen captures Morgan and tells Giselle to give up. Giselle does give up, effectively sacrificing her life to save Morgan's. This shatters the stereotypes of the usual stepmother-stepdaughter relationships in fairytales, showing how Giselle cares about Morgan more than anything.
Robert, on the other hand, tries desperately to stop the clock from striking midnight. In the scuffle, Giselle tells Morgan that she is truly an Andalasain, as she is her daughter in the truest sense, implying that she should make a wish with the broken wand. Morgan wishes to go back to her normal life.
The next morning, Moran wakes up in her bed and realizes that only she and her mother remember this wild adventure, while the others consider it a dream.
Disenchanted is now streaming on Disney+.
