As filming for Disney’s hit Disenchanted gets underway, Fr Bernard Kennedy of Enniskerry said the fantasy setting is “lifting people’s spirits” in his parish.
“It’s attracting quite a large turnout of people, particularly over the weekend. It’s like a local Disneyland,” Fr Kennedy told The Irish Catholic.
The town has been transformed for shooting of the much-anticipated follow-up to Disney’s 2007 movie Enchanted, with shopfronts redesigned and renamed, cobblestones painted onto the streets and buntings adorning the village skyline.
Shops names have been paraded on social media, with the local establishments being renamed ‘Potions, Notions and Lotions’, ‘Painting, Painting on the Wall’, ‘Le Chapeau Magique’ and ‘Beauty and the Book’ among others.
Fans have been flocking to the village, with Free Now taxi company revealing that taxi requests have been up 142% since the area reopened.
They attribute the rise in the demand to people’s desire to see both the sets and the stars, with Hollywood’s Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey enjoying both Enniskerry and the surrounding landscape.
Posting a picture of Powerscourt Waterfall on Instagram, Patrick Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy fame said “This was one of our locations this week. Truly grateful to be working in this beautiful country!”
Speaking of all the renewed interest in the area, Fr Kennedy said, “It is attracting crowds and I suppose it lifts people’s spirits, it’s something hopeful”.
“Fantasy is always interesting,” he added.
The first round of filming has been completed, with the town set to close to traffic again between 5-7pm, July 6-9 and from 7am-10pm July 21 and 22.
