Idina Menzel is known for her powerful voice and is a huge broadway star. From playing Elphaba in Wicked to Queen Elsa in Frozen, Menzel has made a huge name for herself. So it’s no surprise when fans learned that she would finally sing in the 2022 sequel film, Disenchanted.
Despite being known for her amazing voice, Menzel didn’t sing in the Enchanted. And while the easy answer to this was that “she was only the side/supporting character,” they should have given the position to someone else. But rather than giving it to another actress, the role landed in Menzel’s lap.
So why didn’t this broadway star have a singing role in Enchanted?
Why didn’t Idina Menzel sing in Enchanted?
Menzel played Nancy Tremaine in Enchanted and Disenchanted. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a single singing line in the 2007 film. According to The Lost Media Wiki, there was a deleted scene where Nancy and Edward would have sung in the end credits but that particular scene never saw the light of day, even during the DVD release. So what happened?
Enchanted‘s composer, Alan Menken, told Sci-fi wire that he and Stephen Schwartz tried to give Menzel some singing roles but couldn’t make it work. They did confirm the aforementioned deleted scene and that the reason why it wasn’t added was that it wasn’t “practical.”
“Stephen was really pushing for concluding the film with a song sequence and something new, not just a little reprise moment. And we wrote a title song called ‘Enchanted,’ where Edward and Nancy first connect, and then it opens up into a montage. Really, on practical terms, it was just really extremely difficult that late in the game to deliver that kind of song.”
In an interview with People Magazine, Menzel told interviewers her character never intended to have a singing role in the 2007 film. She took the role because she was happy that “she was hired as just an actress” and didn’t see her for her voice.
“I was happy to be hired as just an actress, but now I’m really excited because these songs, Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken wrote, the songs are incredible. But there’s so much music, and Amy [Adams] singing her butt off, and it’s just Patrick [Dempsey] singing and tap dancing. It’s really glorious and joyful and people are going to love it.”
Looking back, it made sense why Menzel didn’t have a singing role in the original film. Nancy was only a side character and was Robert’s love interest before he fell for Giselle. And her receiving her singing role in Disenchanted fits with her character since she moved to Andalasia and became queen of that kingdom. Regardless, Nancy did receive the happy ending she deserves.
Enchanted is available to stream on Disney Plus.