With Tangled, Disney has not reach the same level, yet.

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2011)

I'll be the first to admit that I was not impressed with Disney's previous animated film, "The Princess and the Frog." I did not really care for the characters all that much, the romance is hardly there, and the songs were mostly forgettable. However, the animation is top-notch...and, that's all I can say that I thought was great about it. I don't dislike it, but I can't say that I like it, either.
So, when they announced their next film will be based on Rapunzel, I thought, "Okay, cool." Then, I saw some of the drawings and it got me very excited because they look so beautiful. Then, they changed the title from "Rapunzel" to the title what we now call it. I thought it was a stupid decision. Then, I watched the trailer. I started to worry a little. At that point, I was afraid that Disney is trying to broad this movie out to a bigger demographic because the last one didn't performed as well as they hoped at the box-office. So, I decided to miss it then, saying that I'll catch it on DVD. So, after a year or so of people saying that it's a great movie, I can, honestly, say that it was better than I thought it would be. But, I found it to be at the same level, maybe slightly higher, than "The Princess and the Frog."
Compared to Disney's previous attempt in making a computer animated film, this is, by far, their best film in that field. Even better than "Bolt," a movie that I love. It is stunning to watch at how beautiful the scenery looks and the how the characters move about. It looks fantastic. And, I'm happy to see that there is a stronger chemistry between the two leads and enough romance to go around. I found it to be very sweet. And, while not laugh out loud funny, I do find it to be very amusing. My favorite part is Rapunzel going bipolar after she leaves the tower for the first time. That was very entertaining to watch.
The animal characters, while good, did not really leave much of a huge impression on me. The horse, Maximus, was a great character, but the chameleon, Pascal, I almost forgot he was in this movie because I could not remember any stand-out scenes with him. Also, where the heck did he come from? I like to know his back-story of how he ended up in the tower with Rapunzel. And, I would love to see some scenes of the King and Queen. The scene where the two were readying to released, and the queen is comforting her husband, I found that to be the most touching scene out of the entire movie. So, based on that, I would have liked to see more of these two.
And, lastly, I am, again, very disappointed in the songs. I could think of two songs in the film that I thought were fine. And, one of them is not the villain song, which is usually my favorite. Speaking of which, this is one of the most boring villains that Disney has ever made. I mean, here is a woman who, not only wants to live forever, but wants to look good doing it. And, that's about it. Okay, not saying that kidnapping a baby and holding her hostage for 18 years isn't evil, but, she has the power to live forever, and she does nothing with it. I mean, imagined if you were in her shoes. What would you have done with it? Yeah, exactly.
And, there is one other song, the "I had a dream" song, (which, I find them becoming cornier every time I hear one) that felt like it was force into the movie. It's like Disney had a quota of songs that must be in each animated film, and they ran out of ideas for one more song, so they decided to write a "having a dream" song, but instead of letting Rapunzel or Flynn sing it, they make it a silly song, sung by a bunch of misfits that we won't see again, but, in the back of your mind, you know that you will see them again. Spoiler alert.
I don't think this is a bad movie. Heck, I don't think "The Princess and the Frog" is a bad movie, as well. But, I did liked "Tangled" a little bit more. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I have huge nostalgic feelings for older Disney films. But, I have re-watched many of those films, and they are excellent films. The animation is gorgeous and still hold up after all these years, that stories are well told and the characters are lovable, and the songs are very memorable and they fit into the story like a piece of a puzzle. I know people have already called these films as the start of the Third Golden Age for Disney, but, for me, it hasn't arrived yet. To me, they are a good start in leading towards, what I hopefully will be soon, the Golden Age of Disney Animation. For now, these will have to do.