Robert Philip is the deuteragonist in Disney's 2007 animated/live-action film Enchanted and the tritagonist in its 2022 sequel, Disenchanted. He is a divorce attorney who doesn't believe in fairy tales or love after his ex-wife left him and his daughter, Morgan, but is now engaged to Nancy. After meeting Giselle on a billboard, he lets her stay in his apartment until they find a way to get her home, despite believing that she is crazy, worrying about the safety of his daughter and dealing with relationship problems with Nancy, who thinks he’s cheating on her with Giselle. Eventually, Robert falls in love with Giselle and they both get married and have a daughter, Sofia Philip.
Background[]
Personality[]
Robert Philip is a no-nonsense, forthright, and sometimes pessimistic divorce lawyer whose occupation and the divorce of his first wife has led him to adopt a rather melancholy outlook on life. Robert can sometimes be aloof toward the emotional output of other people and any departure from logic and sensible thinking. At first glance, he is Giselle's opposite, choosing not to sing or dance or indulge her fantastical stories of Andalasia. Therefore, when he first meets Giselle (though he chooses to help her) he wastes no time in finding out where she is from and initially is planning on sending her on her way. However, he nevertheless shows her kindness and compassion.
Nevertheless, he is not incapable of showing his love and loosening up. He is a well-meaning and providing father, hoping to bring his daughter Morgan up with a loving mother and a sensible take on life. He also doesn't encourage "fairy-tale nonsense" wanting Morgan to be able to face the world for what it is, much like George Darling in Peter Pan and George Banks in Mary Poppins. Despite Morgan's apprehension, he does his best to encourage a bond between her and his fiancée Nancy, but Morgan is drawn to Giselle's warmth and kindness.
While Robert teaches Giselle that no relationship is ever perfect, she teaches him not to take the one he loves for granted and that he must show her that he loves her. By exchanging their ideals honestly, Giselle starts to bring him out of his shell after they spend a day in the park and have a meal that night. Robert is sad to see her go when Edward comes for her and encourages her to find him if she ever visits New York again.
At this time, his feelings for Giselle have changed him. As they dance together at the King and Queen's ball he softly sings "So Close" to her and is later willing to step in front of Giselle to keep Narissa from hurting her. Robert experiences a wave of emotion as he finally reconciles with Giselle and they share their feelings. By the end, he is dancing happily and carelessly with Giselle and Morgan.
In Disenchanted, ten years later, he and Giselle give birth to a baby girl named Sofia, and they feel as life in New York had become too exhausted. So he, Giselle, Sofia, and Morgan move to the suburbs of Monroeville to a fairy tale like house. With Morgan now a moody teenager, he is very patient with her sarcasm. After moving to the suburbs, Robert still commutes back to the city to his law firm. He reluctantly takes Edward's sword to help with his "battles". After many different things go wrong and he finds out that Morgan snuck back to New York, she snaps at Giselle, and he tells her not to speak back to her mother, but Morgan just says she is nothing but her stepmother.
When Giselle makes a wish on the Andalasian Wand of Wishes for a fairytale life, Robert becomes a hero desperate for a quest. He attempts dragon-slaying and giant-tripping, but to no avail. He does not take notice of Giselle's transformation into a wicked stepmother at first, but when she makes snide comments about Morgan, he gets out of the carriage and finds Morgan with Tyson and Nancy, and finds out Giselle had been cursed and they have to save her. With the Monrolasia castle covered in thorns, he and Tyson break them down with their swords. He and Tyson attempt to stop the clock from striking midnight to make Giselle's wish permanent by sticking their swords into the gears of the clock, but Malvina Monroe catches them and stops them with her magic.
When Morgan makes her wish to be at home with her mother, Robert wakes up thinking the previous day was all a dream. Some time later, he opens up his own practice in Monroeville and never commutes to New York again.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Robert is Patrick Dempsey's second role in a Disney film, his first was Kenai in Brother Bear 2 replacing Joaquin Phoenix.
- Robert's last name is a tribute to Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty, whose kiss awakened Aurora.
- The way he runs his family is akin to George Darling and George Banks. All three try to make their children grow up without fairy tales and make-believe in attempts to prepare them for the real world.
- Robert wears a similar suit to the Beast's during the ball scene.
- Robert has a same personality as Eddie Valiant.
- Robert is the only major character in the film who doesn't have an animated counterpart. However, some memories of Giselle's memory tree on Andalasia showed him as an animated character.
- His personality contrasts that of Narissa's. Both believe that there are no happily ever after in New York City, but while Narissa only truly thinks of herself, Robert refuses to put his own happiness above that of Giselle’s.
- Robert represents the Aesop that people change for those they love, as with Giselle herself.
- Robert ending up with Giselle is foreshadowed at the very start of the film. During "True Love's Kiss", Giselle's prince creation looks a lot like Robert.
- During the casting audition, Ray Romano portrayed as Robert. Romano was focused to voice Manny in Ice Age: The Meltdown and replaced by Dempsey.
External links[]
- Robert on Enchanted Wiki
- Robert on the Heroes Wiki
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