In 2007 enchanted, Patrick Dempsey played Robert Philip, a New York lawyer and single father. He raised his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) on the principle that fairy tales don’t exist until he meets one in Giselle (Amy Adams), who he falls in love with and vice versa. Robert spent most of the film acting like a cynic, not as concerned with singing and dancing as the other characters. Until the recently released Disillusionedthat is.
“It was great fun going into the fairyland with Robert. For me that was the exciting part of returning to the movies.”
The sequel picks up ten years from when we last stopped. After their marriage, Robert and Giselle move their growing family out of town to the suburbs of Monroeville. However, the new location is not without problems. For Robert, it’s the realization that he’ll spend the rest of his life commuting to work by train rather than something more exciting like what Prince Edward (James Marsden) is up to in the enchanted land of Andalasia.
“At the beginning [of Disenchanted], they are making this major shift to improve the quality of their lives and the environment in which their children live. And with all that, it brings a lot of conflict and turmoil – individually and then collectively as a family. He’s not happy with that choice and he wonders if it’s the right thing to do and what he should be doing for the rest of his life.”
Giselle and a now-teenager Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) also have their own problems. So Giselle makes a wish with a magic wand to make Monroeville more like a fairytale. In Monrolasia, Robert is now a sword-wielding knight looking for adventure and monsters to slay. But without being too spoilery, Edward learns that adventure is a little more complicated than he thought.
Being vulnerable and the future
Speak with Weekly entertainmentDempsey revealed that when creating Robert’s story for Disillusioned, he and director Adam Shankman wanted to explore frustration. “The question is, is anyone happy in the family right now?” And for Robert specifically, Dempsey thought this moment of vulnerability was important for all of us.
“The real power in a man is being able to show your vulnerability. That doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means you’re connected and strong enough to go. This is what I feel, this is what I need. That It’s part of being heroic, saying you don’t know. That I’m in pain, that I’m sad. There’s a strength in that. There’s no weakness in that. And I think it’s been misinterpreted. I think changing , but it’s something we need to be a better role model.”
You can watch now Disillusioned and its predecessor, enchanted, on Disney+. When asked if he would sing and dance again soon, Dempsey said he would be ready if given the chance.
“When you’re doing a musical, there’s a real sense of companionship with the dancers and the singers,” says Dempsey. “I didn’t realize how much I was missing and really enjoyed it. If I was asked, I would definitely do it again.”