May I present the next addition to the Second Disney Renaissance Era.

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2011)

While some may not be familiar with the name "Disney Renaissance", it was a sort of Disney Golden Age starting with The Little Mermaid in 1989 and ending with Tarzan in 1999. The last ten years has mostly been nothing short of the type of animation you would find on Disney Channel or Toon Disney (now DisneyXD). Disney, for some strange reason, had lost it's creative ability but now these last few years has set the pace for Disney's redemption. Pixar is what has saved Disney's film industry but now thanks to the new Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, who also worked closely on many Pixar movies, Disney is finding themselves making movies that in a few years time will rival Pixar. Now The Princess and the Frog began this new Renaissance Era and it seems to continue with Tangled.
Now this is also a different rendition of the classic fairy-tale. In Tangled Rapunzel is kidnapped as a baby and hidden in this tower by an evil woman. Her hair actually has some kind of special power that makes her so coveted. Now Rapunzel is growing up and doesn't want to stay in the tower any more. When a thief hides in the tower she knocks him out and hides his prize. She makes him promise to take her out of the tower for a day and then she'll give him back what he wants. Of course something will happen between the two and there is always this climatic battle between good and evil. But I was surprised at how much I liked it. I found the characters real and charming. The songs were definitely catchy and I can still hear them in my head to this day.
There has been much controversy over how the film was made. At first I was skeptical about leaving behind the use of animated drawing but the use of computer animation was maybe the better idea. They make the animation come to life and it pulls you into the movie and that's without the story or characters.
Now as for the story that was, once again, another controversy proved to be a good idea. The filmmakers take the story to new heights and even asks questions only a Pixar film would dare to ask using animation. Mandy Moore (Rapunzel) and Zachary Levi (Flynn Rider) are perfect as the leading characters. They bring humor as well as wit to roles in the most unexpected ways.
Tangled isn't just another animated fairy-tale, it is a statement that Disney is back on there long-awaited top form. The title might be Tangled but Disney's return is as straight-forward as it gets. They've made their statement "we're back and that is that." And I can't wait to see what else they bring to the table.