Analysis of the 'Enchanted' trailer

At the beginning of the trailer an emphasis on the authenticity of ‘Enchanted’ is displayed. However, the film clearly embodies aspects of previous Disney films. A kind innocent damsel that is aided by her animal companions is directly mimicking 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs'. In addition, the female protagonist portrays the conventional damsel in distress persona which portrayed throughout the film. Instantly Giselle (the princess) is depicted as innocent as her white dress connotes purity, stereotypical of Disney films.

Interestingly, despite the young female target audience a male voiceover has been selected. The deep authoritative voice relates to the idea of patriarchy as the man evidently dominates the trailer. Some Feminists may believe that this immediately encourages girls to be passive and subconsciously believe they are socially inferior.

Although Proppian theory is considered outdated, Disney still incorporate a princesses (Giselle), witch (Queen Narissa), a prince (Prince Edward) and many more Proppian characters. Therefore Disney remains tradition, but a study by Sue Sharpe in 1970s and 1990s highlighted that girl’s aspirations have changed immensely in the twenty years. The majority of girls consider their careers as vital and marriage as less important. Thus, the notion of a damsel in distress is outdated.

Prince Edward claims that 'Giselle I will rescue you’ as Giselle is 'lost'. The word 'rescue' manifests the princesses’ weakness, creating the idea that she needs a man to save her. He then bares his sword which is a phallic symbol; the sword is associated with violence. So weaponry is simply an extension of the male body and men are therefore stronger than women.

Giselle is shown as a domestic Goddess as she fulfils her household duties. In the scene where Giselle is cleaning the house she is ultimately displayed as the archetypical housewife, as she is participating in her household duties. Again this is a very tradition portrayal of women.

Unusually not all female characters are depicts as weak and passive, Giselle's character is juxtaposed with the strong black female bus driver. This conforms to Strauss’s Binary opposition theory as black women are opposed with white women. Despite being a women, the black bus driver stands her ground as 'nobody stabs [her] bus', proving that she does not fear men.

Conventionally Giselle is extremely beautiful, which appeals to young girls as they aspire to be like the princess. Disney attempts to create a character that displays perfection. However, this artificial persona has been criticised as it falsely brainwash young children into believing the notion of perfection, as it is non-existent.

In conclusion, 'Enchanted' clearly emulates its Disney predecessors through the storyline and the representation of women. The traditional fairytale idea is now outdated as it no longer relates to society marriage and a happy ever is not relevant to real society. According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of weddings in England and Wales in 2006 was 236,980, the lowest figure since 1895. Marriage doe not hold significance anymore.