Among Disney's Finest and Most Polished

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2017)

An underrated a high quality Disney film, Tangled succeeds in good story, good voice-acting and stunning animation and visuals.
While falling just short from being in the same league as Disney in 90s like Aladdin and The Lion King or even the golden age of Pixar (Toy Story Saga, The Incredibles, Up, Monsters Inc) Rapunzel retained the charm of Disney movies and enhanced it with clever and well-written characters.
Rapunzel here is such a good and likeable character and her backstory is so on-point and tight there is hardly any flaw in it. And what's good here is that Rapunzel isn't a damsel in distress but rather simply a girl wanting to grow up.
Rapunzel is a coming of age story of the best kind, because most of the adventure here is watching Rapunzel get into and out of trouble, watching her overcome challenges and learning what she is capable of, as well as watching her suffer from the choices that she has made (e.g. that scene where she was at war with her conscience is hilarious).
This is different from earlier and later incarnations of Disney princesses where Rapunzel actually takes a proactive role in her life, taking responsibility and accountability for her decisions and actions. This is what it means to grow up and Tangled nailed it.
In this regard, Tangled is far superior than The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
Where Tangled falters however, and arguably why it doesn't quite reach the heights of the Disney greats, is the songs. They aren't bad but they are on the more generic side, but on the whole, each song is well crafted, performed admirably, the lyrics thoughtful and meaningful, appripriate to the scene, in short, much better than Frozen.
The voice-acting is also high quality. I already know Mandy Moore can sing but she shines as Rapunzel for the role, not the singing. Moore's Rapunzel is perfect as the doe-eyed, naive but defiant and courageous girl, her expressions are believable and convincing.
Donna Murphy is also well cast as Gothel and her songs are perhaps the most entertaining (Mother Knows Best). Zachary Levi was just being himself with Flynn Rider and quite frankly, that is good enough.
Special mention has to be noted on Pascal the Chameleon and Maximus the Horse, who have no lines but who both have great scenes in the film. Pascal and Maximus are simply charming and adorable, with both of them having crucial roles on the plot.
And the plot is tight. It is so good. No Disney story ever had this good of a plot that are without discernable plotholes. There aren't even a single hint of Feminist dogma and propaganda here; it is that good.
So no, Tangled isn't a typical Disney Princess movie; it is better. It has a lot of substance. It's a shame that the songs don't stand out more, but even without it, this film is still good.