Enchanted: Fairy Tale or Spiritual Parable?

Like many of us, Giselle seeks to become the best version of herself. The deepest desire of her heart, although she’s not aware of it at first, is to discover her place in the world.

Enchanted writer Bill Kelly purposefully created this fairy tale princess that way. He’s the inspiration behind her emotions, capacity to dream, and penned the details of her “happily ever after.”

In a similar way, God has created us from scratch. He knows our names, our dreams, the conflicts that trip us up. He gave us free will, the chance for us to decide what to make of our lives. But, He’s there ready to help us write our story, if we allow Him access.

Giselle’s Story Meets Real Life

It’s so neat how the lessons learned in Giselle’s story complement biblical principles we hold dear as Christians. Here are a few found in Enchanted:

• Creator causes good to come from bad.

The writer allowed evil Queen Narissa to push Giselle out of the animated kingdom. Giselle is initially distraught, but realizes that she’s found her destiny – in our world. If Narissa hadn’t disrupted Giselle’s plans, she would have married Prince Edward. Maybe she would have been content with that. But, she wouldn’t have experienced her dream coming true.

Our walk with God is like that sometimes. It says in Romans 8:27-28 that He works in our lives even when everything may seem to look hopeless.

He knows us far better than we know ourselves... That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (The Message)

You might think your circumstance is too grim to turn out well right now. Just hold on to God’s promise that He will never leave you in that place. The Lord has great plans in store for us all. We just have to open our eyes and recognize the blessings that are disguised as trials when they come along.

• Weak can be made strong.

When Narissa transforms into a fire-breathing dragon, she towers over her foe, little Giselle. Then, the writer empowers Giselle to upset the evil queen’s plans. Kicking off her heels, Giselle grabs Prince Edward’s sword chasing after the dragon. Showing no fear, she climbs the outside of a building to save her true love. In this updated fairy tale, he’s the damsel in distress whom she must rescue.

No matter what we face in life, one constant we can always rely on is God’s strength. And He gives us what we need to overcome. In II Corinthians 12:9-10, we are reminded that God is in control.

My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.... I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (The Message)

Evil will never win.

Pure evil is in the form of Prince Edward’s wicked step-mother in Enchanted. She uses sorcery to destroy Giselle and protect her claim to the royal throne. The writer created Narissa with a devilish desire to steal Giselle’s dreams and kill her in the end. Remind you of anyone?

Let’s establish one truth right now. Satan is real and mostly certainly uses his power to destroy us. He’s a liar and a murderer. In I Peter 5:8, it says:

Your enemy, the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (New International Version)

The Devil definitely has power, but it’s limited; God’s is limitless. Just as Narissa’s plans fail, ultimately Satan will meet his demise. Evil doesn't triumph over good – isn’t that the essence of Disney fairy tales and God’s Word.

As we live our stories, let’s keep these important lessons in mind. Remember that God is never caught by surprise. He knows how to turn awful situations into great testimonies. Evil will never prosper and through Christ we can conquer our greatest fears and the worst looking trials.

Allow your Creator to help you write your fairy tale. Believe me, your story will be a great read. He’s good at what He does.