MoviesOnline sat down with Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams at the Los Angeles press day for her new film, "Enchanted,” directed by Kevin Lima ("Tarzan,” "Eloise At Christmastime”) from a screenplay written by Bill Kelly ("Blast From the Past”) and featuring original songs from acclaimed composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz ("Pocahontas,” "Hunchback of Notre Dame”).

A classic Disney animated fairy tale meets with the modern, live-action romantic comedy in Walt Disney Pictures' "Enchanted.” Featuring an all-star cast, the film follows the beautiful princess Giselle (Adams) as she is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid -- even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden) back home - she has to wonder: can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

Amy Adams has built an impressive list of credits, challenging herself with each new role. She will star in Mike Nichols’ "Charlie Wilson’s War” opposite Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Adams will also star in Christine Jeffs and Karen Moncrieff’s dark family comedy "Sunshine Cleaning” opposite Emily Blunt. She recently wrapped production on Bharat Nalluri’s "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” opposite Frances McDormand and will soon start production on John Patrick Shanley’s "Doubt” opposite Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Adams’ role in Phil Morrison’s "Junebug” in 2005 earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a SAG Award. She won an Independent Spirit Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, National Society of Film Critics Award, a San Francisco Film Critics Society Award, as well as the Breakthrough Gotham Award. Adams also won the Special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival for her role as the pregnant, childlike ‘Ashley,’ who is awe-struck by the arrival of her glamorous sister-in-law.

Adams’ other film credits include Adam McKay’s "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” with Will Ferrell, Clare Kilner’s "The Wedding Date” with Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney, Steven Spielberg’s "Catch Me If You Can” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Reginald Hudlin’s "Serving Sara,” Anthony Abrams’ "Pumpkin,” and Michael Patrick Jann’s "Drop Dead Gorgeous.” Adams’ television credits include a guest starring role on "The Office” and "The West Wing.”

Amy Adams is a terrific actress and singer and we really appreciated her time. Here’s what she had to tell us about her latest film, "Enchanted”:

MoviesOnline: How did you get comfortable with this character and know who she was?

AMY ADAMS: Well, when I first read the script, I felt like I knew who she was and I felt that it was something I understood, oddly enough. I think that I've always been attracted to characters who are positive and who come from a very innocent place. I think there's a lot of room for discovery in those characters and that's something I always have fun playing. And I didn't treat it like it was a joke. I treated it like it was Chekov and maybe they sensed my sincerity.

MoviesOnline: What were the challenges of shooting out of continuity and finding your place?

AMY ADAMS: It's always challenging when you're shooting a film. Shooting things out of order and keeping continuity on all levels is always for me the most challenging thing. In this character in particular, we paid really close attention to how her emotions tracked and her different levels of vulnerability and her physicalness was something we tracked very closely.

MoviesOnline: Did you watch every Disney animated film since 1937 to get this character right?

AMY ADAMS: Well, I wish I could say that I spent hours in front of them but the truth is that I had done so much of that in my childhood and my teenage years that I already knew them so well. There was no need to study. So if anything, I kind of tried to avoid them because I didn't want to do an imitation of one of the previous princesses. I wanted to create a new character. Kevin had done such a wonderful job. He did art and he had it all along the walls of Disney. He had us come in and prerecord our voices so that he could storyboard out the whole film. So for each scene, I knew exactly what he was looking for in the physical nature of the character and the emotional nature of the character, what shots he intended to use. It was really helpful for me in this world .

MoviesOnline: What did you think of the cartoon version of yourself?

AMY ADAMS: I was flattered. I was a little intimidated, her waist is a lot smaller than mine so I thought there'd be no late night Mexican food binges while shooting this. But I thought they did a really good job at capturing some of my quirks and my movements. I run pigeon toed and she does too. Sometimes you get self-conscious because you know they're looking for what will define this character. I just think they're so wonderful. Like I said, I grew up watching those films and James Baxter's animation so it was a huge compliment to me to be animated by him.

MoviesOnline: Did you provide footage for the animators?

AMY ADAMS: We did, we actually recorded the scene of me arriving to the wedding. We treated it as though we were shooting a film and recorded that scene so that they would have it for reference for the animation.

MoviesOnline: What was the biggest challenge, the rain or the big white dress?

AMY ADAMS: I think it's a toss up. Any scene where I had the white dress was grueling. It weighed about 45 pounds and the entire weight was on my hips so occasionally it felt like I was in traction. But also doing the last sequences with the dragon, it initially was a much longer sequence which I guess terrified the kids too much so it was a much longer sequence so I spent a lot of time wet in the rain in a harness hanging off with the sword trying to climb. I did not look very graceful so that was somewhat grueling but it was also fun and challenging.

MoviesOnline: Was the best experience singing and dancing in Central Park?

AMY ADAMS: Yeah, I recommend to all of you to go sing- - you might not get the same results as Giselle but there's something so freeing about it really. No, that scene was just exhilarating. I think when we come around the Bethesda fountain, I remember arriving on that day and just really remembering my first time visiting New York and seeing the Bethesda fountain and to realize that I'd now be doing a musical number around it which for me is fantastic, I just really had a really wonderful time.

MoviesOnline: What could you not do in the big white dress?

AMY ADAMS: [Laughs] I know what you're getting at and I'm not going to. I'm a lady.

MoviesOnline: Could you even sit down?

AMY ADAMS: You know, to allow me to sit down, they had to get these big sort of crash mats is what they're called, these big blankets and lay them out in the middle of the street. I would basically fill up the whole street and then I would lie back. I often played- - I acted weird. [Laughs] I would lay back and then sit up as though I was rising from the dead. It was fun.

MoviesOnline: Was it challenging to find the right balance in the character?

AMY ADAMS: It was. That was one of the things that interested me about taking this role was that challenge of making her fun and coming from the animated world so you would believe that, but also that she was grounded and human and based in enough emotion that she would resonate. That was a really big challenge and something that I was very conscious of.

MoviesOnline: How do you follow up this gig? Is it hard to find something as challenging?

AMY ADAMS: I think every role is challenging in its own way. I've already done a couple movies since then and they've had their own challenges and wonderful moments. I'm getting ready to go work on a film called Doubt. That's a challenge in itself, acting opposite the great Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

MoviesOnline: How different is it to the play?

AMY ADAMS: I'm not sure. I'll see. I hate to make definite statements before we've begun rehearsals.

MoviesOnline: What are the other films?

AMY ADAMS: I did Ms. Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Frances McDormand where I play a 1930s cabaret singer, a very ambitious girl who Frances McDormand's character sort of, we meet each other and have this fantastic day together. And then I did Charlie Wilson's War which is being released soon. I play a congressional administrative assistant to Tom Hanks's character, so she's sort of his gal Friday.

MoviesOnline: How fun was that?

AMY ADAMS: It was so much fun. Just to be on that set and learn from these people and get to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tom Hanks do these amazing scenes together, directed by Mike Nichols, it was for me like going to school.

MoviesOnline: Did you work much with Julia Roberts?

AMY ADAMS: We had a scene together. One very fun scene.

MoviesOnline: Are you prepared for this movie to be a huge success and catapult you to a different level of stardom?

AMY ADAMS: I haven't thought about it.

MoviesOnline: You should start.

AMY ADAMS: [Laughs] You know, what can you do about it? It's sort of like I honestly have had so many- - I've been nominated for an Oscar and still managed to live in relative anonymity and did Catch Me. Right now, I guess I'll have to deal with it all as it comes.

MoviesOnline: Did your Oscar nomination for "Junebug” open a lot of doors for you?

AMY ADAMS: I don't know if it's the nomination or the attention that it brought to Junebug, but it also I think brought people's attention to my previous work. I’d gone a long time without people making the connection to all of my different films and all of my different acting things so I think it's the first time where I was really identified. I think it absolutely has brought amazing opportunities and introduced me to so many people and it was just a really wonderful experience.

MoviesOnline: How does it feel to have a doll of yourself?

AMY ADAMS: [Laughs] It's pretty surreal. My mom called yesterday morning and was like, "I keep looking at that box and that picture looks like I dressed you up for Halloween as a princess." Leave it to your mom to put it in perspective. "It's just so unreal."

MoviesOnline: Is she still at the coffee shop in Colorado?

AMY ADAMS: No, she's not. She's not working at Starbucks anymore.

MoviesOnline: How do you stay grounded at this point? Do you find it easy to ignore all the hype?

AMY ADAMS: Yeah, I feel- - I'm so busy. I also just surround myself with people who are pretty honest with me. I'd like to believe they're honest with me. They're not afraid to tell me no and that's to me the most important thing or to let me know when I've stepped out of line and I have a really great support group and I think that's the key.

MoviesOnline: Who's your favorite Disney princess?

AMY ADAMS: I like Cinderella. She had a good work ethic, you know.

MoviesOnline: Are you signed for a sequel?

AMY ADAMS: I believe that's in the contract.

MoviesOnline: Have they talked to you about it yet?

AMY ADAMS: No, they haven't really pitched any ideas to me. I kind of don't want to speculate yet. I'd rather, unless they're really interested in me coming into a creative meeting which we'll see, but I would rather enjoy this process right now rather than think about that.

MoviesOnline: Can you talk about working with Alan Menken on the songs and was there an additional song that got cut?

AMY ADAMS: No, all of the songs that I worked on are in the film. I was terrified. I was so scared. I don't know, not scared, I think I just was so anxious, I really wanted to do a good job. I grew up listening to Alan Menken's music like Part of Your World. I tormented the high school with that song for years, so I really wanted to live up to that standard so I did do a lot of training on my voice. I'd done musical theater prior but I'd been more of a dancer so I wasn't considered a solo singer. I did work very hard and they ended up, I was afraid they were going to be such toughies, but they ended up being so gracious with Jimmy and I. I think they were just so thrilled that we actually sang that they were really supportive and really allowed us to feel as though we could succeed in doing this. I mean, I knew Jimmy could. He's flawless.

MoviesOnline: What was it like singing a duet with him?

AMY ADAMS: It was great.

MoviesOnline: Did you know he sang when you first met?

AMY ADAMS: I didn't, no, and then I heard his voice and I was like oh, I was a puddle. Any girl would be. He's just dreamy.

MoviesOnline: Do you have a favorite song?

AMY ADAMS: Of my three songs? I think I like That's How You Know. That was the hardest one for me to sing.

MoviesOnline: Do you have any musical aspirations outside of movies? Do you want to do an album?

AMY ADAMS: [Laughs] No, I won't be doing an album. I would love to do musicals. I'm realistic about where my voice sits and it doesn't sit in the pop world. I could try but it would not do well.

MoviesOnline: How did you get the musical tone of the character right?

AMY ADAMS: I did listen to a lot of Disney princesses because they wanted the first number to be reminiscent of a more Snow White feel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, softer, more lilting. And as she becomes more real, into the real world, we bring it up to a more current style with That's How You Know which is much more of a Broadway showstopper style of song. If you'll notice, the songs continue to progress throughout the film. It goes into So Close which is a lot more poppy and then we end up with Carrie Underwood's Ever Ever After which is a country rock ballad. So the music continues to evolve and I did pay a lot of attention to that and that was part of what I trained to do was try to sing in that sort of operetta style, then also doing a more Broadway style.

MoviesOnline: Working with all the animals, how many were there and how many were CGI?

AMY ADAMS: We had a whole room full of live rats and pigeons. Not all of them. You can't train them to scrub a toilet. [Laughs] I've tried. I would love if you could train animals to do the dirty work, but we did have live rats and pigeons and no cockroaches. I don't work with cockroaches.

MoviesOnline: Were there any bad moments during those days?

AMY ADAMS: The pigeons were testy. They would start picking at each other. I think a couple of them were trying to meet some gals, if you know what I mean. There were a couple that were like these guys and you'd have to put them away because he would fluff up. There was this one and he was just [imitates bird call], you know that loud noise that they make? So, he had to go. He was too frisky.

"Enchanted” opens in theaters on November 21st.