By Kynesha Robles
The Walt Disney Company launched their streaming service, Disney+, in the country last November 17.
The streaming service celebrated its highly anticipated launch with the concert show “A Night of Wonder with Disney+,” which featured performances of classic Disney songs by several OPM artists. Hosted by Catriona Gray and Robi Domingo, the star-studded lineup included Morisette, Christian Bautista, Zack Tabudlo, Stell of SB19, Janella Salvador, and Zephanie. Morisette also performed her newest single, “Imagine More,” an original song specifically composed for the launch of Disney+.
“Finally, I don’t have to fly to another country to watch Disney+,” Christian Bautista quipped during “A Special Disney+ Evening,” the launch party in Makati by Disney Philippines last November 17.
Disney+ contains thousands of hours’ worth of binge-watchable content, including films and shows by Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, and Star and a complete collection of the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. Among the long-awaited content on the streaming service is “Disenchanted,” which was released last November 18. The Walt Disney movie is a sequel to the 2007 movie “Enchanted,” with Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Idina Menzel, and James Marsden reprising their roles.
In “Disenchanted,” the beloved Disney classic gets a wicked twist 15 years after its original. What comes next after happily ever after? Ennui, apparently. Giselle (Adams) and Robert (Dempsey), along with their daughters Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) and Sofia, move away from New York City and to the suburbs in an attempt to recapture the fantastical life she misses in Andalasia. When this turns out to be an ill attempt, most especially for her teenage stepdaughter Morgan, she wishes for a “fairytale life.” However, she falls under a curse to fit the “wicked stepmother” trope.
Adams, who first enchanted viewers in 2007 with her flawless portrayal of wide-eyed naive Princess Giselle, was a delight on screen once again. In one scene, a villager greets her with a compliment. “Oh. Well, at least we look fine,” Giselle responds to herself with the notable deep voice and narcissism of a villain. She catches herself and gasps. “That is not important right now!” she chides her alter ego as she returns to her original, goody-two-shoes self, all in one beat. In an impressive feat, Adams continues with the back-and-forth between her character’s two contrasting selves for the rest of the movie.
The follow-up feature modernizes its predecessor by rebranding its heroine and shining a different light to her character, a trope that the Disney+ series “WandaVision” used in 2021. It seems as though fans are missing the creative originality that was present in “Enchanted,” which was celebrated for changing the face of fairytales by bringing a cartoon princess to the real world. Despite being lackluster compared to the first movie, “Disenchanted” is still quintessentially fairytale and is a nostalgic treat to its original fans, with some online users requesting for a Nancy (Menzel) and Edward (Marsden) spin-off.
With production companies and studios on a post-pandemic hot streak, fans have a lot to look forward to on Disney+, few of which include season 2 of “Loki,” “Agatha: Coven of Chaos,” “Peter Pan and Wendy,” and “Percy Jackson and The Olympians.”
Filipinos can subscribe to Disney+ for P159 a month for the Mobile Plan or P369 a month for the Premium Plan. In partnership with Disney, GCash and AliPay are also offering special packages for their users.
