Even if you are not bothered as much as I am by all the body-function gags in children's movies these days, you have to admit that a dog urinating on someone's leg is a tired cliche.
How many recent movies have trotted out that gag? Can't we get a moratorium on things like this when they've appeared in, say, five movies in a two-year span? Much less 10 or more, as I'm sure has been the case with this one.
It's gotten to the point that whenever there's a shot of a dog on a sidewalk next to a stranger, I start anticipating the moment.
And that includes a picture as innocent, cheerful and charming as "Enchanted."
When the dog shows up, I'm thinking, "Oh, no — don't go there."
And when it happens, I'm doubly dis-"Enchanted."
There's also a gag involving chipmunk poop — which we really didn't need, because we had just seen a different chipmunk-poop gag in a trailer that preceded "Enchanted" (for the upcoming "Alvin and the Chipmunks").
Aside from those two scatological bits of business, however — and an out-of-whack climax: "Sleeping Beauty" meets "King Kong" — "Enchanted" is a real surprise.
If you've seen the ads ... and how could you not? ... you may have thought, "Oh, this could be a nice children's movie." But, trust me on this, it's not just for children.
I went in with a bit of cynicism on my sleeve, I'm sorry to say. I expected it to be OK, but I wasn't expecting much more.
But in the opening scenes, during the film's extended animated sequence, I suddenly found myself smiling and then chuckling, as "princess" Giselle sings with woodland creatures and yearns for a charming prince so they can marry and live happily ever after.
And later, I laughed a lot. I really didn't expect it to be this funny.
Somehow, "Enchanted" manages the seemingly impossible feat — especially in a film with the Disney label — of performing a delicate balancing act between irreverent spoof and embracing homage.
Even in the earliest scenes, when the comedy is at its most sly and subtle, you can see that "Enchanted" is interested in turning the genre's conventions on their ear, but without doing so in a mean-spirited or nose-thumbing way.
Really, when's the last time you saw a movie without any guile? Well, OK, except for "Lars and the Real Girl"?
"Enchanted" works because it recognizes that if you approach this material in a sarcastic way, it's just "Shrek" all over again.
Eventually, as the film shifts to (mostly) live-action, Giselle, her prince, a servant and the aforementioned chipmunk all find themselves in New York City, where assimilation ain't easy.
Only the evil queen fits in right away. She literally stops traffic and causes gawking Manhattanites to cower in fear. (Don't tell me that gag's not by design.)
The writing and direction are smart, the humor is a bit loopy — but never too loopy — and the casting is perfection. Amy Adams shines as ever-cheerful Giselle, James Marsden is just right as the obtuse prince, Susan Sarandon is full-throttle as the Queen, Rachel Covey is very sweet as the little girl, Patrick Dempsey is a solid leading man with a bit of a twinkle in his eye, and Timothy Spall is a fine comic foil as the servant in disguises who tries to trap Giselle.
But the real scene-stealer is the very funny computer-animated chipmunk, scatological jokes notwithstanding.
And the wonderfully choreographed production numbers are a real treat, especially an outdoor musical sequence that grows and grows and just gets more delightful.
True, the film falters in the end when the queen turns into a dragon — an action-packed conclusion that seems out of place. But by then, it's hard not to forgive most anything.
This is what family movies should be — satisfying entertainment for every member of the family, not just the kids.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com