Toon Tuesday: Wanna see what the first few minutes of “Enchanted” looks like?

Jim Hill

17 years ago

Given that “The Game Plan” was No. 1 at the box office for the second weekend in a row, I’d imagine that Oren Aviv (i.e. the president of production at Walt Disney Pictures), is feeling pretty happy right about now.

Of course, that’s probably because this Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson comedy was the very first thing that Oren greenlit when he first came to power back in July of 2006. And even though this Andy Fickman film got fairly miserable reviews (Rotten Tomatoes only gives this Walt Disney Pictures release a 30% freshness rating) … At this point, that doesn’t really matter.

Why For? Because — given that box office numbers for “The Game Plan” only fell off by 29% between Weekend No. 1 & Weekend No. 2 of its domestic release … Well, that means that this sports comedy has some great word-of-mouth going for it. That people who caught this film during its first week in release then went and told friends & family that “I really enjoyed that movie that the Rock just made for Disney. You should go see it too.”

Which was just the sort of audience reaction that Aviv was hoping for. Given that — in one of the very first interviews that he did after being elevated to president of production at Walt Disney Pictures — Oren was quoted as saying “… I want to make movies like ‘The Pacifier.’ ” … Well, it’s not like the guy hasn’t been upfront about the sorts of pictures that he pictures the Mouse Factory making from here on in.

Though — the way I hear it — Aviv isn’t actually using that 2005 Vin Diesel comedy as a template for what he wants to do at Disney in the future. From what company insiders have been telling me, Oren’s supposedly looking to replicate the sorts of pictures that the studio used to produce back in 1987 and 1988. You know? Lots of affordable family comedies like “Three Men and a Baby” as well as the occasional high profile, big budget project like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

Which brings us to “Enchanted.” Another project that Aviv personally put into production. All because Oren felt it was very important that Walt Disney Pictures show the world that it could still make movies like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty & the Beast” and “Aladdin” (Or — for that matter — like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty“).

Now it’s important to understand here that Walt Disney Animation Studios didn’t actually do any work on “Enchanted.” The eight minutes of traditional animation that bookend this Kevin Lima movie were produced by James Baxter Animation (Though — that said — WDAS veteran Andreas Deja did work on a few scenes for this film)

But given the limited amount of animation there is in “Enchanted” (More importantly, given how important it is to establish how the animated world operates before the action all shifts over the live action world), this Walt Disney Pictures release really hits the ground running.

As “Enchanted” opens, we discover Giselle in her cottage deep in the woods of Andalasia. Where this pretty young maiden is interacting with her animal friends.

These creatures bring her objects like acorns, flowers and twigs — even rare jewels …

… — just so Giselle can then create a statue version of her one true love. Literally the man that this maid has seen in her dreams.

Pip (i.e. Giselle’s talking chipmunk pal) isn’t entirely convinced that this statue project is such a hot idea. Which is why he asks the maiden “Honey, do you really think your ‘dream boy’ exists?” Giselle responds that “I know that he’s out there somewhere.”

And this heartfelt conversation would have probably continued. If not for the 20-foot-tall troll who first peers into Giselle’s cottage …

… and then rips the roof off of the building. All because this hideous forest creature now wants to consume the fair maiden.

Pip tries to fight off the troll. But he’s no match for this enormous beast.

Luckily for Giselle, Prince Edward (i.e. heir to the throne of Andalasia) is riding through the forest just as this troll is about eat this “girl yummy.” So Edward comes to Giselle’s rescue …

… And then … Well, if you’ve seen that great “Enchanted” trailer that Walt Disney Pictures put together, then you already know that Giselle gets pushed into a wishing well …

… Which then transports this fair maid to our world. Which (obviously) is very different than Andalasia. And yet — at the same time — seems very familiar to Giselle.

Look, if you’d like to learn more about “Enchanted” … Well, this film’s official website has just started to come to life this week. And if you head over there right now, you’ll be able to view two behind-the-scenes features. One that talks with the cast & the film-makers about the actual making of the movie, while the other is an interview with Susan Sarandon. Where she talks about how much fun it was to play “Enchanted” ‘s villain, Queen Narissa.

Anyway … That’s a quick look at the first few minutes of Walt Disney Pictures’ big holiday release for 2007. So what do you folks think? Could “Enchanted” really be Disney’s next “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”? As in: The film that gets audiences excited about traditional animation again.

POSTSCRIPT:

After this article was originally posted on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007, I actually got an e-mail from Oren Aviv himself. Which read:

Dear Jim:

Thank you so much for writing your story on “Enchanted” today. It’s a movie we’re very proud of, and is a perfect example of the types of films we will continue to make at Disney. You mistakenly gave me credit for greenlighting the film, however. The film was in fact greenlit by Dick Cook and Nina Jacobson in 2005. Special credit should also be given to the outstanding creative executive on my team, Jason Reed, who has been passionately and tirelessly shepherding this project over the last 4 years, and who deserves major props for his accomplishments on the film. Of course, the ultimate credit for the film turning out so well goes to an amazing group of individuals both behind and in front of the camera, specifically our very talented director Kevin Lima, who brought to life a fantastic script by Bill Kelly… to producers Barry Josephson and Chris Chase…to the perfect performances by Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon and James Marsden… to the amazing music from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz… and to the hundreds of exceptional people who are responsible for the film, which combines all of our company’s strengths with a mix of traditional 2-D animation, CG animation, live action and visual effects. We are truly privileged to be working with this high caliber of talent.

Thanks again for your “Enchanted” piece, and I’d appreciate it if you could set the record straight going forward.

Best regards,

Oren Aviv

An executive who — rather than hogging all of the credit for himself — insists on others receiving recognition for all their hard work?! That’s almost unheard of in Hollywood … But also kind of refreshing, don’t you think?

Anywho … I just thought that I’d share that e-mail with JHM readers. Just so you guys can then get some sense of the kind of guy who’s now driving the bus over at the Walt Disney Pictures.

Your thoughts?