When “Disenchanted” (2022) was announced back in September, I was ecstatic. I absolutely loved “Enchanted” (2007) as a child and I still listen to “That’s How You Know” on loop. Sequels are widely known to be unsatisfactory most of the time, but I tried looking on the bright side for the sake of nostalgia: the original cast is back, the old-Disney animation style was used and the sets and costumes were fun. However, my praise for this movie is limited to just these few things.

Set fifteen years after the end of the first movie, Giselle (Amy Adams) no longer feels like her city life is a happily ever after. She and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) decide to move to the suburbs along with Morgan (Gabriella Baldacchino) and their newborn in hopes of getting a fresh start at a happy ending. However, the first day in their new town ends up rough and Giselle wishes for a fairytale life again. This wish ends up going awry, setting the real-world and Andalasia, the fairytale world, off-balance.

While the plot’s premise does sound promising, the actual execution was short from sloppy. First of all, Giselle should have already grown accustomed to the New York City life, so there is already a problem within the problem of the movie. It doesn’t make sense that after fifteen years she hasn’t matured. Aside from that, I found the plot messy and unfocused with the introduction of two antagonists. Characters like Robert and Prince Edward (James Marsden) hardly did anything for the plot but provide comic relief and nostalgia-sourced dopamine. Most of the time, it felt like the writers didn’t know what to do with their characters. There were also multiple plot holes and character development was swept under the rug through the excuse of “magic.” It was a movie with a slow start and an inadequately fast ending.

Another aspect of this movie that underwhelmed me was the soundtrack. I was hoping for another catchy song to come out of this franchise, but I couldn’t find one in this movie. Part of the reason may be because I’m too attached to “That’s How You Know,” but another reason may also be that there are too many songs in the sequel. It’s practically saturated with them to the point where it’s overkill. The songs are still good, but because there are so many, none can really stand out.

“Disenchanted” doesn’t have anything new to show. The first movie made fun of fairytale stereotypes in a refreshing way and the sequel undid all of that. Watching the sequel felt like playing “Where’s Waldo” with fairytale story character cameos, which “Shrek” (2001) already did and does better.

Overall, I truly think this movie could have been written better. While I’m glad that this movie was an attempt at reviving the franchise, I think that’s all it will ever be in my book: an attempt.