Enchanted (lost deleted song from Disney live-action/animated fantasy comedy film; 2007)

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Enchanted Edward and Nancy.jpg

Edward and Nancy marry.

Status: Lost

Enchanted, Disney's 2007 romantic fantasy comedy, contains five songs written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (the songwriters of Disney's Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Three of them, "Happy Working Song", "That's How You Know", and "So Close", scored Best Song Oscar nominations. However, the title number doesn't appear in the final film.

Story

Enchanted tells of Giselle (Amy Adams), a woman who hails from the animated kingdom of Andalasia. She becomes engaged to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden), but the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) pushes her into a portal to contemporary, live-action New York City. As Edward searches for Giselle, the attorney Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey) helps her learn about life in the live-action world. At the Kings and Queens Ball, Giselle and Robert solidify their love with a dance, followed by True Love's Kiss. Meanwhile, Edward wins the affection of fashion designer Nancy Tremaine (Idina Menzel). After Giselle decides to stay in New York with Robert, Edward takes Nancy back to Andalsia, where she becomes his queen.

Background

According to Alan Menken, Edward and Nancy would have sung "Enchanted" after falling in love with the Kings and Queens Ball. Idina Menzel had previously worked with Stephen Schwartz on the Broadway musical Wicked. However, it became apparent during the production of Enchanted that it would not fit the story if Nancy sang a new song while still in New York. In the movie, none of the named New York characters sing their own numbers. Some nameless denizens accompany Giselle in performing "That's How You Know", while real-life singer Jon McLaughlin croons "So Close" at the Ball. (Robert does croon along to a bit of "So Close", but at a volume at which only Giselle can hear him.) As Giselle adjusts to the live-action domain, she also doesn't sing for the final half or so of the movie, and the final song ("Ever Ever After") comes from a voice (recorded by Carrie Underwood) completely offscreen. Menken's recollections that "Enchanted" would have played over a montage suggest that "Ever Ever After" replaced it, as it accompanies a montage of the main characters finding happiness in either Andalasia or New York, and works the word into the line, "Let yourself be enchanted...."

Cancelled DVD Release

When Alan Menken discussed the "Enchanted" song in interviews, he teased that it would appear on the Enchanted DVD. Unfortunately, when the first DVD came out in March 2008, this did not prove the case. Nancy appears in two of the six included deleted scenes, and still doesn't sing in either of them. One has her and her fashion assistant discuss Nancy's and Robert's romance issues and provides ironic foreshadowing for her marriage to a fairy tale prince. Another takes place after Narissa kidnaps Robert during the Ball, showing Nancy awaken Edward to follow after them and Giselle. Subsequent DVD re-releases of Enchanted used the same widescreen disc, so the song still remains unheard by the public.

Aftermath

Idina Menzel went on to star in Disney's animated adaptation of The Snow Queen, Frozen. As Queen Elsa, she sang three songs, written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The second of them, "Let It Go", earned a Best Song Oscar win.

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