Susan Sarandon Finds Enchantment As Evil Queen
Oscar-Winning Actress Gets Wicked Playing Evil Queen/Stepmother
Balancing Humor, History
What separates "Enchanted" from the previous Disney fairytale productions is the source of the humor in the film. Under the direction of animation ("Tarzan")-turned-film ("101 Dalmatians) filmmaker Kevin Lima, the seemingly out-of-touch characters from Andalasia swing the door wide open for some decidedly tongue-in-cheek moments -- an approach that took Sarandon by surprise at the beginning of the production."At first, I thought to myself, 'Did I understand what they want to do here?'" Sarandon said. "But I have to say it did make me feel great that Disney had a sense of humor about itself. They really went for it on this with everybody's characters."At the same time, though, "Enchanted" wasn't made to belittle the memory of Disney's classic animated past: it's merely testing whether fairytale themes like true love can prevail in a cynical society where dreams of love don't always come true."It's really nice that the film plays on all of the genre's expectations, but when it goes there, something cuts across it," Sarandon observed. "'There's a scene where Amy starts to sing and Patrick says, 'Let's not.' But when she does finally sing and everyone joins in like in those big Disney musical numbers, he says, 'How do they know that song?' That's fun. If you're 15 years old and you've grown up on these cartoons, you can feel even smarter than they are because now you're kind of making fun of them yourself -- but they're still close to your heart."One thing we don't get from Sarandon in "Enchanted," unfortunately, is a song, but that doesn't mean she can't keep dreaming."I was hoping for one of those Captain Hook-like talking evil songs where talk about how much they love to do bad things," Sarandon mused.Mousing Around
Of course, Sarandon wasn't a stranger to Disney's animated classics when she began studying them for the role. But if you think her favorite is one with a princess and an evil queen, get ready to perk up your ears."It's 'Dumbo.' It just moved me and I really never identified with princesses, and neither did my daughter," said Sarandon, who has a girl from a previous relationship and two sons with her longtime partner, actor-director Tim Robbins. "We like the music for some of those cartoons, but there was something about 'Dumbo' and believing that you could do something. There's also his whole journey and being separated from his mother. My kids and I always loved 'Dumbo.'"Getting a little deeper into the psychology of the film, could "Dumbo" also be the reason that Sarandon picked a partner named Tim, a la the movie's sidekick with the magic feather, Timothy the Mouse?"I have to admit, that's the first time anybody has asked me that question," Sarandon said, laughing. "I don't know. I'll have to look into that. I'm scared of that thought now."Copyright 2008, Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The story Susan Sarandon Finds Enchantment As Evil Queen is provided by LifeWhile.



















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