Thanks for checking out our Tangled Review
Genre: Animated Musical
Directed by: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Staring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy
Released: November 24th, 2010
THE GENERAL IDEA
When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi) is taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a feisty teen with 70 feet of golden hair who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s been locked away for years, the unlikely duo sets off on a hilarious, hair-raising escapade filled with adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair.
THE GOOD
Disney’s 50th Animated Feature flip flops back to CG Animation and while technically not a Pixar film, they sure have found their stride with the style. This really has that Disney Magic that people have been trying to quantify since Lion King. Its not as great a film, but it has its charms.
Once again Disney has taken a classic story as its starting point and woven their own perspective around it. This is not a traditional retelling which is a good thing. And this most certainly is NOT a typical Princess. While Rapunzel is every bit the qualities that the fairy tale says, she struggles between being able to take care of herself but still need rescuing. This works very well with the story and makes the predictable formula suddenly different and an enjoyable ride.
The love story here is the most interesting part. When Flynn tries to woo his princess he is shot down and they become partners to a common goal. Kind of a Princess Leia and Han Solo kind of relationship. They find their better qualities by spending time with each other. This is not a swooning “isn’t he dreamy/he kissed me” kind of instant love. Their relationship has value.
But the one character that adds value to every scene he is in is Pascal the chameleon. He has so much expression and offers so much without saying a word. Think of Aladdin’s carpet, adding some comic relief and amusement with its body language.
THE BAD
Some of the dialogue bothered me because it was too coaquially modern. I can forgive the up beat pop like music as it seemed to fit the adventurous tone, but Rapunzel is a valley girl. This woudln’t seem so bad but she seems to be the only one who talks quite so obviously out of line with the era.
And while the action portion of the film was nice to see, it really felt like they were trying too hard to get some boy-appeal over the top action in this Princess film. It was a little “too much” even for animation. I felt Tangled was an appropriately clever title instead of the traditional Rapunzel (and this is not all that traditional) but it was clearly not the only thing the PR folks had their fingers in.
OVERALL
I am saddened more by the recent news that Disney’s animation is straying from “Princess” movies and musicals that have characters breaking into song. This movie did it well and it was very enjoyable. Why they would want to stop making movies along this proven formula is disappointing.
And the 3D is unnecessary for the better part of the movie. There are a few spanning scenery shots that are breathtaking, but those few brief moments in the movie are not worth it.
I give Tangled a 8 out of 10
