"Solid, Humorous Story with a Fairy Tale Feel..."

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2010)

When I heard that Disney was finally going to adapt the classic Grimm's fairy tale, Rapunzel, I was ecstatic. For as long as I can remember, I have been waiting for them to pick it up and put their own spin on it. The final product is the musical comedy Tangled, which, while not as edgy as I would have liked it to be, was still very enjoyable. The tale is kooky, funny, moving, uplifting, and—what else—Disney.
Directed by the co-directors of 2008's Bolt, Tangled is a twist on the traditional tale of Rapunzel, wherein the damsel (played by a sweet-n-spicy Mandy Moore) possesses magical hair, which is kept by the villainous Mother Gothel (played with malice by Donna Murphy) to maintain the latter's physical beauty. When a charming but irresponsible rogue thief named Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) seeks refuge in her tower, she sees this as her ticket out of there, and off to see the floating lanterns released every year on her birthday. These lanterns are released as a memorandum to a kidnapped princess that was stolen on that very same day. Coincidence? I think not.
What makes this movie work is the timing. The trailers tried to appeal way to much to the hip crowd, making it out to look like another floppy animated comedy. But, when I checked out the story, the characters and, finally, saw the movie itself, I realized it kept tighter to the traditional Disney formula of once upon a time and far away, but it was also giving off its own vibe, without trying to be something its not. The jokes all worked, for the most part, and helped tell the story instead of clogging it up with throwaway jokes, which I do appreciate.
The story also shows one of personal growth, especially that of Flynn Rider, whose story this really should have been. He starts off as an irresponsible thief, trying to find a shortcut out of sticky situations with his charm. On his journey with Rapunzel, he falls in love with her spirited nature and even gives his life to save herbut I won't give too much of that away. Donna Murphy's villainous Mother Gothel was also pleasantly over-the-top, but gradually became more threatening as the tale went on. Even though she is not Disney's strongest villainess, she still is a pretty fun one.
The art in this movie also helps tell the story, as well as makes everything look lush and colorful. Rapunzel's hair is one of the most awesome props in the movie, and makes it out to be something more than just looking pretty. It's used as a swing, a rope, a makeshift weapon —besides that darn frying pan—as well as a light and a healing device, which is activated by a special song. Everything else, the flowers, the foliage, water, characters, all look amazing, even if it is in computer animation. The most beautiful scene though, is when Rapunzel and Flynn watch the floating lanterns from the lagoon surrounding the palace. It was here that I started to get a little teary eyeduntil the ending.
The only real problems with it were A) I would have liked to see it in traditional 2D animation and B) I would have liked Rapunzel to be a bit edgier (and a tad skeptical, but how WOULD you feel if you spend your whole life in a tower). However, as is, I think it's one of the best Disney films out there so far.
All in all, Tangled is a fantastic watch, with beautiful animation, a solid—as well as funny— storyline, and fantastic songs and voicework. While not as good as Dreamworks' earlier 2010 release, How to Train your Dragon, OR even 2009's The Princess and the Frog, it still holds up.