Disenchanted's Official Trailer Has Fans Excited To See An Evil Side Of Giselle

This Thanksgiving, Disney will put its compulsory need to reboot its own animated classics on hold for a moment and treat audiences to "Disenchanted," the aptly named sequel to Kevin Lima's "Enchanted." In the beloved 2007 film, animation and live-action collide when the magical realm of Andalasia meets New York City, and Amy Adams' fairy tale maiden Giselle meets and falls in love with Patrick Dempsey's Robert Philip — a lawyer from the non-magical world. 

Ten years later, Giselle is finding that happily-ever-after is a lot harder to come by than she'd imagined. In search of an elusive, singing-birds-and-sunshine happiness, Giselle and Robert move their growing family out of the city and into the burbs. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, life's no easier for Giselle in her new home of Monroeville, in part thanks to Maya Rudolph's Malvina Monroe. Desperate to make the move a success, Giselle turns to magic for a quick fix, and makes the worst kind of wish a fairy tale character can make: a vague one (via Disney Media). 

"I wish for a fairy tale life," she says, and as the "Disenchanted" trailer reveals, that's exactly what she gets. Things go from bad to worse as Andalasia once again leaks into Giselle's reality, and while the wide-eyed protagonist of the first film may not be pleased to find she's turned into an archetypal wicked stepmother, fans couldn't be more excited.

"Watching Giselle as an evil stepmother is both terrifying and giving me an absurd amount of serotonin," reads a top trailer comment on YouTube, while another points out the simultaneous obviousness and brilliance of the premise: "Whichever writer noticed that Giselle had become a stepmother and put 2 and 2 together with their traditional role in fairy tales deserves a raise," they wrote. 

Over on Twitter, fans are similarly enthused to see the goody-two-shoes go dark. "Evil Giselle? I need this in my life pls it's gonna be so good," wrote @Blockbustargirl, a sentiment echoed by @WassermanReview: "this is looking way better than I expected in terms of sequel premise. And who can say no to evil Amy Adams?" 

The question may be rhetorical, but as fans on both Twitter and Reddit have demonstrated, even those who are skeptical about yet another sequel can't resist Adams' upcoming shift. "I still think it's unnecessary and it will be impossible to top the pitch perfect original," wrote u/eggzachtly, adding "If nothing else, I'm personally down to see Amy Adams chew scenery as an evil stepmother witch queen."

YouTube user Louis Berry agreed: "This is looking better than expected. Love seeing Amy play Giselle as A Villain in this."

As the comments continue to roll in, many suggest fans are putting the majority of their golden eggs in the basket that is "evil Giselle," but is that enough? 

That Amy Adams, a six-time Oscar nominee (via IMDb), will be able to deliver does seem like a given, but if the film has any chance of living up to the original, it will have to bridge the needs of two audiences at once. Unlike so many of Disney's recent films, "Disenchanted" is a bonafide sequel. And like the divisive "Hocus Pocus 2" before it, it shoulders the burden of having to honor a much-beloved original whose core following has grown up, and now comprises just one part of the film's likely demographic. "I feel fifteen years older watching this trailer," writes Forbes' Erik Kain, a sentiment that will undoubtedly ring true for many. "The fact that I was a kid when I saw enchanted makes me feel old," wrote another fan on YouTube.

And that might be where the true genius of "Disenchanted's" premise lies. 

Evil Amy Adams will certainly delight many, and leaning into the wicked stepmother trope is, as @Santelli4days writes, "very clever honestly," but pitting its princess-esque protagonist against the scariest villain of all — disillusion with one's life and choices — will allow "Disenchanted" to speak to directly its 15-years-older fandom without having to sacrifice the charm, wonder, humor, and magic that saw the original reel in so many young dreamers in the first place.