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Disney has the magic touch

Kim Hollis: Enchanted, the box office underdog story about a fairy tale become reality, grossed an astonishing $50 million over five days, making it the second biggest Thanksgiving opener ever behind Toy Story 2. How did this happen?

Reagen: Disney has truly rediscovered its mojo this year. They've got that trusted name, and continually bring interesting concepts to the screen. I think it also helps that people having a collective grade of "meh" to the family offerings in the last couple of months, so when something different comes along like this, they jump on it.

Pete Kilmer: Like Reagen said, Disney has rediscovered what to do right. Plus has there been a movie that captured the audience that Princess Diaries had when it was hot?

Max Braden: Not only for Thanksgiving, this was an impressive showing for a romantic comedy. I think Hitch holds that record for $43 million over a three day weekend. I heard mixed sentiment when I asked people before Thanksgiving if they'd see it. Some thought it looked funny, some said "too cheesy." I assume most audiences looked at it as harmless fun, and I think Disney struck the right tone, which was appealing to both young audiences and had a tongue-in-cheek kind of tone for older audiences at the same time. And then you have it standing out as the most family-friendly movie of the family-friendly holiday weekend. Love Actually scored the same way.

Kim Hollis: It's different from Love Actually, though, in that Love Actually was an R-rated film (it had the porn actors, remember) whereas Enchanted is really an entire family kind of film. It fits right into Disney's "princess" stuff that they push - they can add Giselle to their product line if they're so inclined now. Also, it always looked like it had just a marvelous sense of humor about it. If I had a little girl, it's definitely a film I would happily take her to see.

David Mumpower: I am of the opinion that Disney brand loyalty has regained much of its lost luster in recent months. Due to the successes of High School Musical and the dominant Hannah Montana brand, the company has earned a degree of trust with consumers that had been lacking in recent years about family-friendly entertainment. This allowed Enchanted to offer exactly the same sort of surprising, explosive Thanksgiving opening that 101 Dalmatians managed 11 years ago.

If you haven't, go watch Junebug. What are you waiting for?

Kim Hollis: With Enchanted, Talledega Nights and an Academy Award nomination on her resume, is Amy Adams on her way to being a superstar?

Tim Briody: With a few more solid choices, sure, but I still wouldn't recognize her if I passed her on the street.

Reagen Sulewski: I think you'd recognize her as the woman so pale, she's clear. I don't think she'll ever be a Julia Roberts-type star - I see her with a Hilary Swank kind of career.

Pete Kilmer: Uhhh....who? Amy Adams is gonna have the career of a utility player. She can do anything...but no one will remember her name right off the bat. I'm probably wrong on that, though.

Max Braden: I see her as a highly effective actress in different types of roles, but I have a hard time seeing her name above the title as prominently as Reese Witherspoon and Julia Roberts. She'd need to go the extra step of becoming a brand, and I don't feel that her personality is that upfront enough.

Kim Hollis: I'll go against the grain here and say that I think this is the role that helps her break out in a big way. She's pretty, funny and talented and there just aren't many actresses in Hollywood who can be that reliable.

David Mumpower: I'm with Kim on this one. I have been saying for a while now that the market is ready for someone to fill the void left by Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan and Ashley Judd's recent struggles at the box office. Adams has just the right touch of indie credibility and mainstream movie appearances to be the new Sandra Bullock I've been expecting to ascend for the past few years. Her ability to handle mainstream comedy is a huge plus. She could be the go-to woman in the Apatow fraternity.

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