Last night, we were watching Enchanted on television and it’s one of our favorite Disney films. It’s also a fun movie to watch and see if you can spot all the references in the film to other Disney movies. The Oh My Disney blog recently put out a blog listing 57 references in the film.
We are all called to do great things and change the course of history. Since someone already mapped the human genome, our contribution is compiling this list of every single Disney reference in Enchanted.
Equal parts self-parody and love letter to Disney animated classics, this film is chock-full of winking nods to other Disney movies… so chock-full, in fact, that the entire movie is arguably a 107 minute-long winking nod. It goes without saying that creating an exhaustive list was a Herculean endeavor, but we did it because we love you. Take a look, make some popcorn, pop in Enchanted and see if you can spot these all yourselves:
***Be ready, there are really 57 references***
Wasting absolutely no time, the very first shot is a nod to the castle design in Sleeping Beauty
Enchanted proceeds to smack us hard in the face with the reference stick via a storybook opening sequence reminiscent of those in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Pinocchio, The Sword in the Stone, and Sleeping Beauty.
If that narrator’s voice sounds familiar, that’s because she’s Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins herself.
The filmmakers essentially played Dr. Frankenstein with Giselle’s personality, making her a mash-up of Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, and Aurora.
The troll in the opening sequence is sporting a trendy loincloth consisting of remnants of Cinderella’s maid get-up, Aurora’s Briar Rose dress, Belle’s village dress, and Snow White’s rags. His earrings are also made of Ariel’s shell top.
There’s a story here, and we want to know what it is.
Also, as the tree flings him away, he does the Goofy holler. Lots going on with our troll friend here.
“True Love’s Kiss” pays homage to the scene in The Little Mermaid where Ariel sings to the statue of Eric.
This little frog prince is a reference to The Princess and the Frog, which was in development at the time of Enchanted.
Giselle holds diamonds up to her eyes just like Dopey does in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Belle’s provincial town must be nearby. What are you doing with that enchanted rose on your desk, Giselle?
Giselle and Edward ride into the sunset together the same way Snow White and her Prince do.
Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage inspired the design for Giselle’s carriage. It’s unclear, however, if the horses here are undercover mice.
Narissa’s lair is similar to Ursula’s lair.
Like the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Narissa disguises herself as an old hag and chooses poison apples as her weapon of choice.
The same way that Alice falls through the rabbit hole and lands upside down in Wonderland, Giselle falls down through the fountain and ends up climbing up through a manhole, which hurts if you think about it too much, so try not to.
Giselle accuses a random guy of being Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Robert’s law firm is named after Snow White and the Seven Dwarf’s songwriters: Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, and Paul J. Smith.
Speaking of his law firm, Robert’s secretary Sam is played by Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Robert’s last name is Philip, a reference to Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty, whose trusty steed also happens to be named Samson.
The filmmakers pay homage to Snow White’s “Whistle While You Work” with “Happy Working Song.”
Some friendly pigeons tie up Giselle’s dress into an apron the same way birds tied an apron on Cinderella.
In this song, Giselle cleans up Robert’s apartment with the help of the local wildlife, similarly to how Snow White cleaned up the dwarfs’ cottage.
One shot shows Giselle’s reflection in bubbles as she scrubs the floor, just like the scene in Cinderella.
Nancy’s last name is Tremaine, a reference to the wicked stepmother in Cinderella.
Morgan has a plush Max (Eric’s sheepdog from The Little Mermaid), and this chair is where Giselle’s animal friends apparently thought he belonged.
In another Cinderella reference, Giselle resourcefully fashions some dresses from Robert’s curtains and Morgan’s rug, just like Cindy’s mice friends helped her make her dress out of things her stepsisters weren’t using.
The pink flower pattern on Giselle’s dress is really a bunch of hidden Mickeys.
This bus driver rocks a Mickey Mouse-style ‘do.
As Giselle studies the fish tank in Robert’s office, an instrumental version of “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid plays.
Robert is the divorce attorney for a woman with the last name Banks, like the family in Mary Poppins.
In a nod to Mary Poppins, Giselle bumps into a woman feeding the birds (tuppence a bag?) and gives her money.
The poison caramel apple Nathaniel tries to feed Giselle has the same skull pattern as the poison apple in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which you’d think would be a red flag, but what can you do.
The calypso beat in “That’s How You Know” is intended as a nod to “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl” in The Little Mermaid.
And while we’re on the subject, this shot is a direct reference to “Kiss the Girl.”
In one shot Giselle runs epicly up a grassy hill, just like Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
One of the men dancing in this shot appeared in Mary Poppins as a chimney sweep.
Giselle jumps onstage during a production of Rapunzel, a nod to Tangled (which was in development when Enchanted premiered).
Prince Edward and Nathaniel stay at the Grand Duke Hotel, named for Cinderella’s Grand Duke.
Prince Edward, bless him, refers to the tv in his room as a “magic mirror.”
Whilst flipping through channels on his “magic mirror,” Edward stumbles upon references to Robin Hood, Dumbo, Fun and Fancy Free, and the Spanish dub of Mickey and the Beanstalk. The most elaborate reference is the soap opera he watches for a moment with Nathaniel— the female soap star “Angela” (so named for Angela Lansbury, who voiced Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast) is played by Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle. “Angela” is arguing with a man named “Jerry” (Jerry Orbach voiced Lumiere) because she’s having an affair with a man named “Ogden” (David Ogden Stiers voiced Cogsworth). This soap opera scene is scored with music from Beauty and the Beast. We’ll give you a minute to recover from this.
Later, Edward watches a news segment anchored by a reporter named Mary Ilene Caselotti, which is a reference to Mary Costa (the voice of Aurora), Ilene Woods (the voice of Cinderella) and Adriana Caselotti (the voice of Snow White). Like Edward below, we hugged our tv when we realized this.
Morgan has a copy of Cinderella on her bookshelf.
Robert, Morgan, and Giselle eat at an Italian restaurant called Bella Notte, which references the song in Lady and the Tramp.
Judy Kuhn, the singing voice of Pocahontas, makes a quick cameo as one of Robert’s neighbors.
Edward checks out his reflection just like Gaston does in Beauty in the Beast.
Giselle asks Morgan for help preparing for the ball, because she doesn’t know “where to find a fairy godmother at this late hour.”
Giselle catches Robert’s eye from the staircase the same way Cinderella catches Prince Charming’s.
Robert and Giselle dance to a song called “So Close” at the ball. That song was inspired by the title song from Beauty and the Beast.
There’s also a sweeping overhead chandelier shot, like in that iconic scene with Belle and Beast.
Narissa poisons Giselle with an apple like in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the shots of both Snow White and Giselle’s hands dropping it after taking a bite are identical.
After Giselle is poisoned, she must be awoken before midnight (just as Cinderella must leave the ball before midnight). She can only be awoken by true love’s kiss, just like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.
Narissa turns into a mean purple dragon, like Maleficent.
Giselle pulling the sword out of the ground is a reference to The Sword in the Stone.
And the shoe she leaves behind is a reference, of course, to Cinderella.
The final, lightning-struck battle is a homage to the battles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast.
Prince Edward places the left-behind shoe on Nancy, in reference to Cinderella, and naturally it’s a perfect fit.
At the end of the movie, we see that Giselle’s mice pals are helping her out with the sewing in her new store, just like Cinderella’s mice friends help her make a dress.
And there you have it: a veritable treasure trove of Disney easter eggs. Have you spotted another that we didn’t include here? Tell us in the comments!
As co-owner and co-creator of The Main Street Mouse.Working in a technical support position for 18 years, it was time for a change.As the Webmaster and Project Planner, I spend most of my time researching everything from the latest Disney News, technology advances and of course keeping up on all the Marvel news that comes out.I never considered myself a writer but I’ve come to like blogging and sharing news with all.I feel blessed everyday that I get to spend my days working with my best friend and love of my life while we continue to grow and expand what started as a hobby all those years ago.
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Don’t you just love how there are no Aladdin references?
And of course, Nancy is played by who would become Elsa. It’s not an intentional Easter egg since “Frozen” wasn’t in development and she wasn’t cast yet, so you’re right to not include it in the list.
I’m surprised you guys didn’t mention that Robert’s coat was inspired by Beast’s outfit in “Beauty and the Beast” They mentioned that in the first edition DVD, either the commentary or making of, portion. The goal was that scene was for Giselle what the ballroom scene was for Belle… That “there may be something there that wasn’t there before” and he’s not such a beast after all.