Walt Disney "I definitely believe that dreams come true," says Amy Adams, who stars as Princess Giselle in Disney's new movie fairy tale, "Enchanted."

It's almost too easy, but there's no better way to put it: Disney's newest princess is living out her own fairy tale.

"In some ways," acknowledged Amy Adams. "I do get dressed up a lot."

Let's count off with the magic wand:

There was the Oscar nomination for "Junebug." The two upcoming films starring Meryl Streep, including the Pulitzer-winning "Doubt." The Mike Nichols drama "Charlie Wilson's War," with her "Catch Me If You Can" co-star, Tom Hanks. And two other films are in the can.

Adams has a nice boyfriend, nice friends and a nice, poofy-faced dog who's now recovering (nicely) from a bee sting.

And, oh yeah, there's the certain box-office juggernaut "Enchanted," which opened Wednesday, in which Adams joins the storied pantheon of Disney princesses as Giselle, the animated heroine who transforms from flesh-toned celluloid to fully fleshed woman.

For that one, she sure did get to dress up: In a 45-pound princess gown. "It's not quite as frothy as it looks," said Adams, a Colorado native who got her start in dinner theaters in Denver and Boulder before hitting the big time.

Surreal? "Absolutely," said Adams, 33. "I definitely believe that dreams come true. This is bigger than I ever dreamed though, really. I was happy to be a performer on a stage in the musical theater, and I've been happy every step of the way. It just keeps kind of expanding."

"Enchanted" opens as an animated spoof of the classic Disney genre. Giselle is the prototypically guileless animated Princess of Andalasia who falls in love at first sight with a shallow prince just before being thrust into a well by her evil stepmother (Susan Sarandon). Only this time, Giselle emerges through a manhole into Times Square as a three-dimensional young woman with her naiveté, positivity and complete lack of irony intact.

Giselle morphs not only in a literal sense, Adams said, but in an emotional and figurative sense as well.

Here worlds — and worldviews — collide. To jaded New Yorkers, Giselle appears to be the looniest of the loons. Yet when she sings in Central Park, as she once did in Andalasia, the birds sing with her, not to mention clean for her on command.

Yet the big, bad city has its charms, too: Giselle is taken in by a single father and learns the deeper joys of falling into a more real and human love than she ever had with her cartoon prince.

"We are not saying one world is bad and one is good," Adams said. "Different places are right for different people, and ultimately the real world is where Giselle belongs."

But if Adams had to choose? No-brainer. "If birds can clean my house," she said, "that's a world I want to live in."

Adams was hired for "Enchanted" two years ago, before director Kevin Lima had even seen "Junebug," in which she played a pregnant, Giselle-like North Carolinian who's "enchanted" with her sophisticated new sister-in-law. "When I auditioned, no one knew any of the awards stuff was coming," said Adams, "so they were kind of along for the ride with me."

Well, they bet on the right horse.

At one time, Adams' goal was Broadway, and that "absolutely hasn't changed," she said, just because she's an A-list movie star now.

"I still audition," said Adams, who sings three songs in "Enchanted." "The problem is, I always want the roles I'm not suited for, like Aldonza in Man of La Mancha.' It's one of my favorite roles, but I just don't see it happening."

If Hollywood has any say, Adams will be unavailable to Broadway for years to come. Next up for release is a small role in "Charlie Wilson's War," based on a Texas congressman who assists Afghan rebels against the Soviets. It stars Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman, for whom, she said, "I developed the most massive talent crush."

Last week, they reunited to start rehearsals for the highly anticipated "Doubt," which focuses on a nun (Streep) who suspects a priest of abusing a black student. Adams plays an enthusiastic young nun and indirect witness.

"When I read the script I just went, I have to do this,'" she said. "I can't explain it. I have never pursued a role that hard, but I just had to unabashedly let my desires be known."

But first the world will meet Giselle, whom Adams believes continues a trend of positive contemporary Disney princesses who solve some of the stereotypical problems her forbears may have unintentionally perpetuated.

"I like the idea that the woman can pick up the sword and save the prince, rather than the other way around," she said, "and that we have it in us to be feminine, kind and strong. I do feel Disney princesses have been getting stronger."

Giselle will likely soon take her place in pop-culture history next to Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel and Belle.

"Only time will tell," Adams said. "I do hope it stands the test of time, and that it can mark people's childhood in a positive way, and be a film they can bring into adulthood as well. That would be lovely."