Idina Menzel’s most underrated role is in the 2007 filmEnchanted. Surprisingly, this is one of the very few screen roles where Menzel doesn’t sing.Menzel is most famous for her musical roles as Maureen inRentand Elsa inFrozen,as well as her groundbreaking Broadway career. Meanwhile, inEnchanted,Menzel plays Robert’s (Patrick Dempsey) girlfriend, Nancy Tremaine. However, when Giselle (Amy Adams) ends up with Robert, Nancy leaves with Prince Edward (James Marsden) and lives happily ever after in Andalasia.
Although she doesn’t sing inEnchanted, Menzel returned for the film’s sequel,joiningDisenchanted’s cast.As well as getting the chance to sing in this installment, Menzel is reunited with most of the original cast from the first installment and expands upon her role as Nancy, now the queen of Andalasia. Nancy’s role in the sequel is a lot bigger, with more effect on the plot’s outcome inDisenchanted’s ending, while showcasing the aspect of her career she is best known for.
Idina Menzel Was Happy To Be Just An Actress In Enchanted
Menzel Didn’t Have To Sing In The First Enchanted Movie
In an interview withPEOPLE,Menzel revealed that she was happy to have been cast inEnchantedbased on her acting ability alone.The Broadway actress is usually cast in singing roles, and it is interesting to see her only have to act. Nancy’s character contributes to the movie’s overall theme of believing in happy endings, wanting her own fairy tale romance, and she is the opposite of Giselle. Whereas Giselle comes from Andalasia to the real world, by the end of the film, Nancy has gone from this world to live with Edward in Andalasia.
Menzel’sEnchantedcharacter’s name, Nancy Tremaine, is a reference to Cinderella’s evil stepmother, Lady Tremaine; Nancy was also about to become Morgan’s stepmother.
It makes sense for Nancy’s role to only consist of acting. As a real-world character, she is portrayed as a regular human who doesn’t randomly break into song. Additionally, she is a realistic version of the stereotype of the evil stepmother. Morgan (Rachel Covey) looks up to Giselle and wants to be a princess like her, while Nancy (understandably) doesn’t like the fact that Giselle is staying with her boyfriend and his daughter. The way she has a different worldview than Giselle shows where the conflict with Morgan comes from.
Most Of Idina Menzel’s Screen Roles Are Singing Roles
Menzel Usually Has To Sing Because of Her Broadway Experience
Since she originated the role of Elphaba inWickedon Broadway, Menzel has been in high demand for musical rolesboth on stage and screen. She has appeared on-screen inRent, Frozen, Cinderella, Beaches,andGlee, in all of which she had to sing. Most of her on-screen singing roles are iconic in one way or another. The obvious example is her singing “Let It Go” inFrozenas it has become one of the most well-known Disney songs of all time, as well as thematically and stylistically recalling theWickedpower ballad “Defying Gravity.”
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Menzel has been delivering iconic on-screen musical numbers for decades, from “Take Me or Leave Me” in the 2005’sRentto a cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl” in the 2021 musical film remake ofCinderella.Menzel’s powerful belting vocals and dynamic persona make her amazing to watch in movie and TV musicals. However, her performance inEnchanteddemands even more respect as she can play the role of the evil stepmother without being perceived as evil, and without depending on her singing talent.
Idina Menzel Did Get To Sing In The Sequel Disenchanted
Nancy Returns From Andalasia Delivering New Songs In Disenchanted
Menzel was given two songs to sing in the sequelDisenchanted.The first is a chipper duet with Marsden as Edward called “The Magic of Andalasia.” However, Menzel’s second is a solo called"Love Power," deferring to her famous belting style of singing and widely advertised as part of the movie’s branding. When she was asked about how she felt about singing in the sequel toEnchanted, Menzel said:
“I was happy to be hired as just an actress, but now I’m really excited because these songs, Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken wrote, the songs are incredible. But there’s so much music, and Amy [Adams] singing her butt off, and it’s just Patrick [Dempsey] singing and tap dancing. It’s really glorious and joyful and people are going to love it.”
Although it was great to see Menzel simply act in the original film, it makes perfect sense for Nancy to sing inDisenchanted.Nancy had been living in Andalasia for 15 years, meaning that elements of the magical, animated land have been imprinted on her,and she is now able to break into song and dance. The fact that she sings in the sequel allows the character to change and adapt from her depiction inEnchanted, and she can help save the day through song.
Enchanted
Cast
Starring Amy Adams as Giselle, Enchanted follows its heroine as she is cast out of her animated fantasy world by an evil queen, ending up in the middle of New York City where she meets Robert, a jaded lawyer who reluctantly takes the clueless Giselle in. As Giselle begins to adjust to life in the real world, and her relationship with Robert deepens, she must reconcile what she thought she wanted with where life has taken her. Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Idina Menzel, and Susan Sarandon also star.
