A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day New York City in a story of that a princess, who is prepared to be wed, is sent away to New York by an evil queen, where she falls in love with a lawyer.
In the hands of Adams, the evolution elicits as much sympathy as it does laughter, largely because she grounds every pivotal moment in wide-eyed kindness and generosity, pushing us to care about her fate.
Happily, the leads carry the day: James Marsden as a prince of grinning vanity, Susan Sarandon as the wicked stepmother, and, above all, Amy Adams, who, in the role of a would-be princess, finds true momentum, not just sappiness, in the farce of innocence.
Though the film is full of allusions to the Disney canon, they are generally unobtrusive echoes rather than eager satires. This is a children's movie at which adults are also welcome, not a cartoon for grownups.
It's so sugary that the adults in the audience should beware of the dangers of Type 2 Diabetes, though overall this is a great film to take the kids to during the school holidays.
