Is Disney Disenchanted with Enniskerry?

The whole of Ireland basically lost its mind late last year when the cast of the Disney movie Disenchanted descended upon our humble shores. Here for several weeks to shoot scenes for the upcoming sequel to the original favourite, Enchanted, most of the action took place in Enniskerry, Greystones and parts of Louth too. 

For those of you who somehow managed to sidestep the hype, it was quite a big deal actually. The entire town underwent major renovations. Local shops got a special Disney makeover, with adorable handwritten signs, new pastel paint jobs and colourful flower trellises seen climbing their walls. 

Hundreds of local extras were brought on for the project. Patrick Dempsey did his best to assimilate into Irish culture and donned an Aran knit and a Paddy cap for every tourist outing. Jedward revealed that they had a personal connection to Amy Adams. As I said, it was kind of a big deal. 

Shooting officially kicked off in July with several photos of the newly Disney-fied villages being shared online and safe to say, we were only thrilled to be involved. Any Hollywood connection is worth shouting about in our eyes, and between that and Matt Damon and his SuperValu bag, there was lots to be proud of. 

So, imagine our disappointment at hearing that producers have supposedly decided to reshoot many of those scenes… over in the UK. Shock! Horror! Outrage!

According to reports, the cast is currently over in the UK where “significant reshoots” are underway on scenes that were believed to have initially been filmed in both Enniskerry and Greystones last summer. Why? Because original shots seemingly received mixed reactions during a recent test screening. 

Taking place in the Buckinghamshire village of Hambleden in southeast England, the principal cast – which includes both Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams – are involved in the reshoots and the village has apparently undergone a similar transformation to the one their Irish counterparts were given around this time last year. 

Reshoots are also scheduled to take place in New York City and are expected to last until the end of this month, as per The Independent. “They (the production team) did have to reshoot some scenes,” an industry source said when pressed on the matter. “As of March 28, reshoots have been underway in Buckinghamshire, England due to mixed reception at a test screening. Reshoots will also take place in New York City and are expected to last until April.”

The sequel is a massive-budget production and will pick up 15 years after the first movie left off. Adams will reprise her role as Giselle, while Dempsey returns as lawyer Robert Philip. It still remains to be seen whether the story itself will have to be reworked in light of the audience’s response, which could potentially lead to a delayed release if so. 

Either way, we’ll be first in the cinema to see if Enniskerry made the final cut or not.