There are some SPOILERS further on in this review...nothing really big, but if you didn't expect this to happen in the end already, you may not want to find out that it does...

Okay, this is (sorry) enchanting. It starts off as a wonderful Disney Cinderella-type cartoon, and then switches to live action when the venue changes to NYC. It's a treat to see Disney gently parodying themselves like this, and they keep it up all the way through, having fun with the stereotypes.

The princess (Amy Adams) is wonderful, looks perfect and (thank goodness) can sing. Ditto the prince, who does a lot of the 'gee, I'm so cool' stuff in a perfectly believeable way. The 'normal New Yorkers' whom they encounter are a great counterpoint.

But that's not all! Even though she's here in our world, she keeps some of her powers, which are the basis of the best scene in the movie, when she's cleaning the apartment. I thought I would fall off my seat laughing and yelling 'EW!'. Very nicely done. And the Evil Queen's minion, who is also pretending to be Prince Charming's sidekick, is played by Timothy Spall, an Otter Family Favorite Actor and perfect for the role.

As is Susan Sarandon, the evil queen.

And that leads us to the only problem in this movie: the big finale.

THE EVIL STEPMOTHER TURNS INTO A DRAGON-LIKE BEAST AND ATTACKS. Oh, how many times have we seen this one? and of course she also falls into the Gloating Bond Villain Syndrome trap, and the Cliche Police show up as she is nattering on and on about how she's taking her revenge instead of just going ahead and killing the people she's mad at. Sigh. Kinda disappointing, given the quality and inventiveness of the writing in the rest of the movie. We were hoping for better.

But otherwise? except for the dog of an ending (and it DID have kickin' special effects, I have to say) this was a very enjoyable movie. I don't think I need to own it, but I sure wouldn't mind seeing it again in a year or two.