An Evolutionary Hurdle for Disney Feature Animation

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2020)

Rapunzel gets the Disney princess treatment in this loose, computer-animated adaptation of an untapped fairy tale. In a number of ways, Tangled is the proto-Frozen. The thoroughly plastic, pseudo Pixar appearance of everything; the themes of familial strife with a supernatural twist; the roguish (and sometimes oafish) love interest; the polished, American Idol-influenced style of music; it all looks, sounds and feels like a beta test for that later, more successful, animated feature.
The art direction is brighter and warmer, of course (warmer than a film called Frozen? You don't say!), effectively playing the summer palette to Anna and Elsa's winter, and that's refreshing. Doesn't seem like we get too many kids' movies this lightheartedly vivacious nowadays. Rapunzel herself embodies that spirit, constantly bursting with sunshine and positivity, even in the midst of a crisis. Mandy Moore was a good choice for that role: her voice is energetic and youthful, capable of nailing the musical notes, but also the somewhat naive optimism of an open-hearted teenage girl.
The whole production is more than a little superficial, though, from the breezy plot to the hollow soundtrack cuts. We get lovely set decorations with an expressive, painterly touch, a few strong visual gags, a little dose of the touchie-feelies, and that's a wrap. Not to belabor the point, but I can't escape the sense that Disney was trying to find their way for most of this picture, running experiments that would benefit a later project, at the expense of the current effort. It's fine, no more and no less.