In defense of Enchanted's (2007) Robert.
So, Enchanted is probably one of my favorite Disney movies. I love how it blends classic 2D animation with live action, the great soundtrack, and memorable characters.
And about the characters, I love them. Giselle, Robert, Nancy, and Edward. I especially like Nancy and Edward, and am so glad they returned for the sequel Disenchanted (2022).
I'm glad they had each other in the end. And who would pass up the opportunity to live in a fairytale land, where your biggest problems are the occasional trolls or dragons? And you don't have to worry about student loans or nuclear warfare!
Because I want to see more of Nancy and Edward, I look for fanart and fanfiction of them. This brings me to their pairing tag on Archive of Our Own. There are some great fanfics about them, but while browsing the tag, I came across a fic that I wanted to discuss now.
By all means, there was nothing mechanically wrong with it. Spelling, grammar, etc. And there's some fascinating ideas in there, like the "return" (?) of Queen Narissa in Nancy's dreams to tempt her and persuade her to learn magic. But I take issue with the author's depiction of Robert.
In Enchanted, we never know the ages of the characters, and nothing has been confirmed by the writers/directors/etc.
The fanfic author seems to think that Robert is 40 however, and Giselle is 18. So of course the author has Nancy react with shock (which makes no sense because she has met Giselle and can judge for herself how old she is), and the author basically drags Robert's name through the mud, saying how "he didn't want a woman who could challenge him".
I could just leave this at that, since this is "fan"-fiction after all, and it's not supposed to be entirely accurate. But I was quite surprised to discover that there is a portion of Enchanted's viewers, who have similar opinions on Robert. Even going as far back as 2007-2008.
Therefore, I would like to use this post to refute a couple of the most common claims against Robert's character.
Like I mentioned before, there is no official confirmation from either the movies, or staff who worked on the movies, on the character's ages (other than Morgan, Robert's six year old daughter).
As such, it is not fair to assume things about the characters, reflecting their actions in respect to those "ages". It is not fair to villainize Robert for being in a relationship with a woman "younger" than him, when we don't even know their actual ages.
I assume the aforementioned fanfic writer thought that Robert was 40 because of the actor, Patrick Dempsey's age. He was 40 years old when Enchanted came out.
If you're using the actor's age to estimate the character's ages, than let's be impartial here, okay? Amy Adams was 33, Idina Menzel was 36, and James Marsden was 34, when Enchanted came out.
On the topic of age differences in relationships however, let's step back from Enchanted for a moment and discuss it.
An age difference is fine. If both parties are consenting adults, then they are allowed to be in a relationship. As an outsider observing that relationship, you may have problems with it because it is not what you personally agree with, but this is not about you. This is their relationship, and thusly, no outside party should interfere with the wishes of two capable and consenting adults.
Therefore, responsibility for the age difference in relationships should fall on the parties involved. Both parties should be prepared for the differences in maturity and life experience compared to their partner.
Back to Enchanted, I believe that the four main characters are similar in age to each other. Giselle and Edward, the reason the audience may be led to think they are younger than they actually are, is because of their animation in Andalasia, and the way they act.
The animation style/art style of the fairytale land of Andalasia is very ambiguous. It is not clear how old Giselle and Edward are from the art style alone. Even Nancy, when marrying Edward at the end of the movie, looks younger than she was when she was in live action.
If you observe Nancy and Edward in Disenchanted, which takes place ten years later, Edward has hardly changed at all in the 2D art style. Nor has Nancy, other than changing her hair with bangs.
Giselle acts immature because she was an orphan woman living by herself in a magical forest. Her only company in the forest is the animals who raised her.
Similarly, Edward only acts "immature" because of the environment he was raised in. Queen Narissa definitely did not educate Edward as a prince, since that would make him more capable of going against her. Edward's father, the King, is not there to raise him either.
Their immaturity comes mainly from their backgrounds, not really because of age differences with their partners.
Plus, as shown in Disenchanted, Giselle and Robert have a baby ten years after Enchanted. Even if Giselle was inexperienced in "sexual relationships", it took them ten years to have a baby. Robert clearly did not rush things with Giselle, on account of her immaturity. Nor did he take advantage of her immaturity.
#2. Robert's interactions with Giselle
When Robert first meets Giselle, she is someone with nowhere to go and who has no idea of the world around them. He is justifiably wary of her, and yet he stills allows her to rest in his home.
He is not heartless, and what he did was incredibly kind compared to what someone else would do in his shoes.
Nor does Robert "put Giselle down" and deliberately make her out to be someone she isn't. His attitude towards her throughout the movie does not stem from maliciousness, but practicality. After all, people in New York do not spontaneously burst into song everyday, or act the way Giselle does.
Robert is concerned for her, which is why he tells her not to sing, or to not believe "Prince Edward" is coming for her. He views her from the lens of someone from Earth, not Andalasia, which is why he didn't believe she was from a fairytale world.
In conclusion, Robert doesn't have to be your favorite character. But please don't accuse him of being a criminal, nor an evil person!
