'Enchanted' movie has message for adults, too

Recently my wife and I saw the Disney movie "Enchanted," and we were … well … enchanted! Seldom have I seen a film that works so well on both a child's and an adult's level.

Little girls love the theme of a Prince Charming and "happily-ever-after" romance. Kids of both genders love little animals who sing and dance and do good things. There is humor, and bad people get their comeuppance. The kids ate it up.

For adults, there are aspects of the film that most kids won't catch. "Enchanted" pokes fun at such movie classics as "Mary Poppins," "Cinderella," "Snow White," "King Kong," "The Sound of Music," "Sleeping Beauty," "101 Dalmatians" and probably others that I missed. Spotting them was an adult-level activity.

Also more appreciated by adults were the over-the-top, almost ludicrous, aspects of the humor. Kids may recognize the cleaning scene in Robert Philips' mid-town apartment as a parody of "Whistle While you Work," from "Snow White," but this one isn't done by dwarfs or even by Disney's other trademark: lovable forest animals. It's done by rats, mice, pigeons, and roaches. After all, what other kinds of critters can you call on for help in mid-town Manhattan?

And then there is the Broadway musical extravaganza song-and-dance number set in Central Park. The kids will say, "Wow!" Adults will think, "You've got to be kidding!"

Perhaps the most adult of all the sub-themes is that of the juxtaposition and conflict between the fairy tale world and the real world. When Giselle, the princess-to-be, is banished from the fairy tale world of Andalasia to "a place where there are no happily-ever-afters," it is to New York City.

Giselle keeps trying to live the Andalasian life in Manhattan, and Robert keeps telling her that this is the "real world," not a fairy tale one. Once, in a combination of amazement and confusion he says, "It's like you escaped from a Hallmark card!"

How do you bring together the world of Andalasia and the "real world" in which most of us live? That isn't a question kids are likely to ask, at least not consciously. It's a question adults live with frequently if they haven't completely given up their dreams.

For deeply religious people, it's a question that pops up regularly. Christians call the ideal world "Heaven" and project it into the indeterminate future, but that still leaves the question of how one lives now. Do we give up on the godly life and live the ethics of the secular world, postponing any attempt at "happily-ever-after" until some later time?

More significantly, Jesus said that "The Kingdom of God is within you." What does that say about my behavior right now if I live in New York City…or Chicago…or Peoria?

In the end, justice wins out. The evil characters are punished and all the good ones live "happily-ever-after," some in Andalasia but some in New York City. That's also the promise of the Christian gospel. We look forward to a time when the good and right will prevail, and Heaven will exist in reality, not just in promise and hope.

But we need to remember that there is a responsibility to live out that dream now, in our own New York City, wherever it may be.