Giselle

"Morgan, just because she’s got on a funny dress doesn’t mean she’s a princess. She’s a seriously confused woman, who’s fallen into our laps."

- Robert Philip, talking to Morgan about Giselle

Giselle Philip is a young woman originally from the animated world of Andalasia. She now lives in the live-action world, in New York City, with Robert Philip and Morgan Philip. She was originally engaged to Prince Edward, stepson of Andalasia’s Queen Narissa, but upon arriving in the real world she fell in love with Robert. She’s notable for being very sentimental and positive. Now she’s married to Robert and became a stepmother to his daughter Morgan who she loves very much.

She was voiced by legendary actor Amy Adams who also played Amelia Earhart from Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Susan from Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby and Polly from Underdog,

Biography
One day in Andalasia, a beautiful young woman named Giselle, who lived by herself in a small treehouse in the forest, was collecting pieces to build a makeshift statue of a Prince she had recently met in her dreams. Helping her were various animals, including her closest companion, a feisty chipmunk named Pip. Upon noticing that she had forgotten to give the statue lips, Giselle proceeded to explain the importance of this item through the song “True Love’s Kiss.” Then, realizing that she would need more help to find a perfect pair of lips, Giselle put her head out the window and summoned more animals to gather possible lip options.

After they finished putting together the statue, Giselle sat by the window, daydreaming about her true love. When Pip asked her if she truly believed that there was someone out there made for her, she confirmed her faith. Just then, a large troll appeared at the window and Giselle failed to notice him at first, misinterpreting the animals’ warning as them addressing her. But when the troll attempted to snatch Giselle, she managed to jump out of another window and onto a nearby tree. Fleeing up the branches, she was followed by the troll and just as the troll was about to grab Giselle and eat her, the dashing Prince Edward appeared.

His arrival distracted the troll for a brief moment, though long enough for Giselle to slip off the branch. With the loss of her and Pip’s weight, the branch whipped back, sending the troll flying away. Soon, Giselle lost her grip on the branch. Pip tried to save her by hanging on to her toe but was unsuccessful and she tumbled through the trees to the ground below. Luckily, however, she landed on Edward’s horse and Giselle instantly recognized the Prince from her dream. Upon telling Edward her name, the two instantly fell in love, both singing a new version of “True Love’s Kiss”, as they rode off into the sunset.

The next morning, Giselle arrived in a carriage at the castle, dressed in a beautiful wedding gown. She was so impatient to meet Edward that she only accidentally bonked her escort, Queen Narissa’s loyal servant Nathaniel, on the nose but also ran off before her dress was fully put together. As both Giselle and Nathaniel made their way through the garden, an old hag suddenly appeared, startling the princess-to-be. The woman brought Giselle to a nearby “wishing well”, where the hag pressured her to make one last wish before getting married. Giselle was in the process of saying “and they lived happily ever after”, when the woman pushed her into the well.

Giselle fell into some kind of interdimensional limbo, where she was transformed into live-action and teleported to the sewers of Manhattan, New York City. Astounded at her three-dimensional appearance, Giselle climbed out of a manhole in the middle of Times Square, where she was startled by man’s technology. Deeply confused and scared, she at one point encountered a little person, whom she mistook for “Grumpy”. She tried to follow the disgruntled man through the thick crowd, but soon got lost in the subway tunnels.

Later that night, she appeared back above ground, in a new neighborhood. She approached a Homeless Old Man, hoping to receive a small bit of kindness, only for the man to steal her tiara and run away. Greatly upset, Giselle could only stand and watch the man retreat as it began to rain. After a little while wandering through the streets, Giselle came across a billboard with a castle on it. Mistaking this for an actual castle, she climbed onto the billboard and pleaded to be let inside. Meanwhile, on the ground nearby, a taxi had stopped at the intersection. Inside was a man, Robert Philip and his six-year-old daughter, Morgan, who noticed Giselle vainly trying to get “inside” the billboard. The girl ran out of the car and her father followed. The two both addressed Giselle and she was distracted enough that she lost her footing.

She stumbled, and was left dangling many feet above the ground, just like in Andalasia. When Giselle lost her grip, Robert tried to catch her, sending them both to the ground. Giselle wasn’t injured, thanks to her poofy dress, and when the man sarcastically said “Welcome to New York,” she misinterpreted this as a genuine welcome. Robert then offered to “call” somebody for her, and Giselle again misunderstood what he meant. Later, the three arrived at his apartment, where Giselle tried to explain what had happened to her. As Robert and Morgan argued about whether or not to let Giselle stay for the night, she had already fallen asleep on their couch. In the end, Robert gave in to sympathy and let Giselle stay.

The next morning, Giselle awoke to notice, for the first time, how messy the apartment was. Using her angelic singing, she summoned a variety of different animals native to New York City to help Giselle clean up, who the entire time sang to herself the “Happy Working Song.” When they were finished, Giselle found the bathroom, and was able to somehow work the shower properly enough to clean herself off. As she was getting out, Robert, who had been awakened by Morgan to help clear out the animals, accidentally entered the room before Giselle was dressed. Wrapped in a towel, she wondered aloud about the nature of the shower.

As Robert started to wipe the bathroom floor, Giselle tried to again summon her new friends to do the work instead. This caused a pigeon to hit Robert, making him stumble into the hallway, accidentally dragging Giselle on top of him. As they lay on the floor, Robert’s girlfriend, Nancy, who had just moments ago arrived to take Morgan to school, saw the two in what appeared to be an intimate position. Giselle tried to introduce herself, but Robert failed to explain the situation to Nancy, who left the apartment in a huff.

While Robert ran outside to stop Nancy, Giselle was able to rapidly make a new dress out of Robert’s living room curtains, constructing it in the bathroom. When she reappeared, wearing her creation, Robert was appalled at what she had done. Confused at his displeasure, Giselle revealed that she wasn’t very familiar with the concept of anger, and was subsequently horrified when Robert revealed to her what Nancy had thought upon seeing them together.

Giselle insisted that Robert should sing to her, in order to reassure Nancy of his feelings, causing Robert to stare at her awkwardly. The three then had to rush to drop Morgan off at school and since Giselle had nowhere to go, Robert had no choice but to bring her along to work, Churchill Harline & Smith LLP, where he was a divorce lawyer. There, Giselle learned for the first time the concept of a divorce, becoming heartbroken for a feuding couple she met there.

Feeling embarrassed, Robert dragged Giselle to Central Park, where he gave her some money and told her to leave. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Giselle willingly walked away. But she soon encountered an old lady feeding pigeons and Giselle stopped to ask her if she had seen Edward anywhere. Giselle was delighted upon hearing that Edward indeed was somewhere in Manhattan, searching for her, but a second later Robert reappeared to chastise her for giving away money to the woman. As they walked through the park, Giselle and Robert talked about their different perceptions of love.

Suddenly a man with a thick Russian accent offered Giselle a free caramel apple. Not bothering to be cautious, Giselle accepted it without question, before she and Robert continued on their way. Unknown to her, this man was Nathaniel in disguise and the apple was in fact poisonous. Luckily, though, before she could take a bite Giselle accidentally threw the apple away. As the two continued talking, Giselle tried to convince Robert about her idea on love through the elaborate song “That’s How You Know”, in which she used her influence to make random bystanders join her in singing. During the performance, Giselle got invitations to the Kings and Queens Ball for Robert and Nancy to attend, along with a bouquet of flowers to reconcile with her. Later that day, they went to Nancy’s fashion design studio, where Giselle became fascinated with the sheet of silk.

Later that night, Robert, Giselle and Morgan went to a Italian restaurant right across the street from the apartment building. There, while eating pizza, Giselle was delighted by a magic trick of Robert’s, and she got him to reveal a little bit of his past, concerning his failed first romance. They were suddenly interrupted by an Italian waiter (again, Nathaniel in disguise) who gave Giselle a free “apple martini”. But before she could take a sip, her friend from Andalasia, Pip, appeared to knock the glass away. Overjoyed to see Pip again, Giselle understood him when he communicated that Edward was here, looking for her. But then Nathaniel took the pizza that Pip was hiding in and threw it into an open oven, supposedly killing Pip and devastating Giselle. However, a search of the oven later revealed that Pip’s remains weren’t found and Giselle was relieved that her friend was still alive somewhere.

Back at Robert’s apartment, Giselle told Morgan a different version of Little Red Riding Hood, before getting a kiss goodnight. Later, dressed in pajamas, Giselle was reading Morgan’s book about famous women, when Robert tried to convince her that, in all likelyhood, Edward wasn’t coming. But she refused to believe this, insisting that he was looking for her because Pip told her so. Eventually, Giselle lost her temper at Robert’s pessimism and found herself suffering mixed emotions. On the one hand, she was upset at Robert and yet she was thrilled to be feeling anger for the first time. Then, as she noticed Robert’s bare chest, Giselle was starting to find out that she was attracted to him.

The next morning, Giselle had made a new dress, this time out of Morgan’s bedroom carpet and had also made breakfast. As the three sat at the table, the doorbell rang. It was Prince Edward, who had finally found Giselle. She seemed very torn concerning Edward’s appearance, appearing nervous and “stunned”. And when Edward began to reprise yet another version of “True Love’s Kiss”, Giselle failed to join in. It took her a moment to notice the strangeness of this and claimed that she had been thinking instead. Giselle requested that, listening to the advice from Robert a day ago, she and Edward should go on a date, to see if they really liked each other. This confused Edward, who was unfamiliar with the idea decided to go.

After a bittersweet goodbye to Robert and Morgan, Giselle and Edward began touring New York, at one point buying hot dogs. When Edward requested that they return home, Giselle seemed reluctant to leave the real world, claiming that dates can last as long as you think of things to do. It was then that she remembered the Kings and Queens Ball that was to happen that night and both she and Edward agreed to attend. But Giselle wanted to look right for the ball, and so she met up with Morgan. Together, they went shopping and visited a hair salon. There, Giselle tried to reassure Morgan that having a stepmother wasn’t so bad.

That evening, Giselle and Edward arrived at the ball, where they encountered Robert and Nancy, both also dressed for the occasion. When the ball’s host requested that a man ask a lady that wasn’t his date to dance, Nancy and Edward paired off, while Robert asked for Giselle to join him. Together, they danced to Jon McLaughlin’s “So Close”, during which their feelings for each other truly began to blossom. But they were soon interrupted by Nancy, who wanted to be with Robert again and Giselle, realizing that she had gone too far, decided to leave the ball with Edward. But when they reached the elevator, Giselle couldn’t help but look at Robert one more time and this brought her to tears.

Just then, the hag reappeared, claiming that it had been an “accident” when Giselle fell into the well. She noted how Giselle would never be able to be with Robert if she returned to Andalasia, and offered a magic apple that would remove all her memories of being in the real world, including the heartbreak of not being with Robert. Giselle was hesitant to forget her true love forever, but when the hag insisted that the spell would only work before the clock strikes midnight, she finally gave in and bit the apple. She instantly fell unconscious. The hag, revealed to be Queen Narissa in disguise, tried to make off with the comatose Giselle, but was confronted by her stepson.

All of Narissa’s lies were revealed by Nathaniel, who had a change of heart and Robert understood that the only way to revive Giselle was with true love’s kiss, “the most powerful thing in the world.” After Edward’s kiss didn’t work, Edward realized that it was destined to be Robert. This time with Robert kissing Giselle, it worked and she came back to consciousness, admitting that she had always known Robert was meant for her, before embracing him.

Furious at the failure of her plan, Narissa transformed into a fire breathing dragon and when Robert tried to protect Giselle, Narissa decided to take him hostage instead. With Robert in her grasp, she began climbing the building. Giselle, knowing what she had to do, took Edward’s sword and went in pursuit. She even managed to stab Narissa’s tail at one point. But it was only after Pip appeared, using his extra weight to make Narissa topple over and fall to her death and the Queen was defeated.

But before falling, she had tossed Robert into the air and Giselle was able to perfectly skewer his sleeve to the building’s mast, halting his fall. When the sleeve tore and Robert was sent falling onto the roof, Giselle tried to catch him, and the pair both slid down the roof before halting right at the edge. The two then finally embraced, kissing passionately. With Narissa gone, Giselle decides to stay in the real world to be with Robert and Morgan. Together, they turned Nancy’s fashion design business into a boutique called Andalasia Fashions, which became very popular with young girls. Meanwhile, Nancy and Edward had fallen in love, returned to Andalasia and got married in his castle, along with Pip. Giselle was now free to live her own life with her new family.

Appearance and Personality
In Andalasia, an animated fairy tale universe where animals can talk and characters frequently express themselves through songs, Giselle is a beautiful young woman with long strawberry blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Upon appearing in the live-action world of New York, she retains these traits.

Though naïve and innocent, Giselle is also kind, sweet and extremely outgoing with endless optimism. When she accidentally ends up in New York, Giselle begins to slightly mature as she learns more about the harsher and darker nature of real life, but retains her trademark sunny disposition.

Behind the Scenes
Giselle was portrayed by Amy Adams in both animation and live action, and also did all of Giselle’s singing parts herself. She was cast despite being a relative unknown, because director Kevin Lima admired her dedication to the character. Her performance was very well received by critics and audiences, so much that Adams is now considered a viable movie star. Adams was even nominated for Best Actress at both the Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, Satellite Awards and Saturn Awards, winning the Saturn.

Selected Quotes (Excludes Song Lyrics)
"Oh, Pip, it was such a lovely dream! We were holding hands, and dancing…"

- Giselle to Pip, about her dream

"Oh, my gosh! It’s you!"

- Giselle to Prince Edward, at their first meeting

"Oh, excuse me. I am so sorry! Oh, am I late? I do hope I’m not late. Oh, thank goodness!"

- Giselle, after bonking Nathaniel on the nose as she heads to the wedding

"And they both lived happily ever aft-"

- Giselle makes a wish, before being pushed by Queen Narissa in disguise

"Hello! It’s me, Giselle, from Andalasia! Hello! Hello! Is there anybody home? Hello, please open the door. It’s very cold out here. […] Is anybody there? Do you know Edward? Oh, please be home!"

- Giselle, as she knocks on a castle billboard