Enchanted

Whenever Disney release a single-disc DVD these days, you can’t help but feel that a double-disc version is somewhere in the works.

That said, this edition, if not completely magical, has got quite a lot to get your teeth into. The bulk of the interest lies in the Fantasy Comes To Life set of extras, which picks apart three of the most complex scenes in the film: Happy Working Song, That’s How You Know and A Blast At The Ball.

It’s incredible to see the work that went on behind the scenes to create each of these elements of the film, particularly Happy Working Song – in which Giselle cleans the house with the help of some pigeons, rats and cockroaches. It comes as a surprise to discover that quite a lot of real animals were used in the making of the scenes and that much of the footage was acquired by mixing film shot the ‘old-fashioned way’ with sparing use of CGI. It’s also a treat to see how they choreographed the extravagant Central Park dance used in That’s How You Know, with one woman at the end of a megaphone wrangling several groups of differently skilled entertainers. Fact fans will also love learning which of the dancers seen here also had a part, many years ago, as one of the chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins.

A Blast At The Ball, which analyses the techniques used to turn Susan Sarandon into a dragon in the ballroom, is also informative and enjoyable. The cast certainly come across as real troopers and these extras have a similar warmth of tone to the film itself.

The deleted scenes come with handy introductions by director Kevin Lima, who explains why they didn’t make the final cut and the bloopers are enjoyable, if slight. Younger viewers might enjoy Pip’s Predicament: A Pop-Up Adventure – essentially, a ‘story book’ type addition to the package, which tells the tale of Pip coming to the rescue of the princess. Unlike several previous Disney stories that have appeared on packages like this, however, there is no interactivity, so whether it will stand up to repeated viewings is debatable – frankly, the kids are much more likely to want to see the main event again.

Rounding out the package is the Ever Ever After music video, performed by Carrie Underwood – which is fine, if you like that kind of thing – plus the usual trailer reels. Somewhat irritatingly for those who have just bought the DVD, is a sample of ‘look what you missed because you haven’t spent a fortune on a Blu-Ray player’ extras. Apparently, if you’ve made the step up, you also get treated to seeing which older Disney films provided the inspiration for various sections of this one. That said, they do cover a lot of ground in the teaser trailer, so perhaps DVD watchers aren’t missing out on all that much after all.

All in all a solid package – but it would have benefited from a bit more behind the scenes footage. More concerning the make up or costumes would have been particularly welcome.