A decent animated kids film but certainly not a great one!

Rating: 6/10 (7 January 2011)

'TANGLED': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Disney's 50th animated feature! They spared no expense too, at a whopping $260 million budget it's the second most expensive film in history. The film is a throwback to the great Disney animated films we saw in the 80's and 90's as opposed to the more recent (but it's still a far cry from the classics of the 30's, 40's and 50's). It's a fantasy film based on an old fairy tale again (another from the Brothers Grimm) with plenty of musical numbers. Something kids are sure to love but it may lack the interest of older viewers.
Revamped retelling of the Grimms Fairy Tale 'Rapunzel'. It tells the story of a magical flower that has the power to heal the sick and wounded. It also has the power to keep an old witch named Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy) young if she sings to it. The Queen of a nearby village becomes ill and having heard of the flower sends her guards to retrieve it to cure her. They do and the Queen is saved. Shortly later she gives birth to a daughter, Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) and Gothel knows that the powers of the flower still exists in the child's hair as long as it isn't cut. So the witch kidnaps Rapunzel and locks her away in a hidden tower raising her as her own. She forbids Rapunzel from leaving the tower, telling her it's for her safety, and never cuts her hair. 18 years later Rapunzel longs for the outside world and truly dreams of traveling to the mysterious lights she sees every year on her birthday. When a thief (voiced by Zachary Levi, of TV's 'CHUCK' fame) stumbles upon her tower while trying to elude authorities she knocks him out and steals his loot. She then makes a deal with him that she'll give him back his valuables if he agrees to escort her to the magical lights. An adventure begins and of course the two fall in love.
The movie is predictable and clichéd but it is somewhat fun and amusing as well. The animation is colorful and beautiful and the jokes are somewhat funny. I didn't find the music to be very well written though and when it gets to be one musical number after another the film starts to drag and for me becomes really uninteresting. The film is clever and visually impressive to a certain extent but I didn't find it to be nearly as entertaining as a lot of the glowing reviews it's been getting (like Quentin Tarantino's 5th place 2010 top 20 placing). It is better than a lot of the more recent Disney animated films though and as a kids film it definitely works. Overall it's a decent animated kids film but certainly not a great one.
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