Something Brought You Here Dear Reader Fate, Destiny

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2016)

. . . a horse? Disney's Tangled, directed by Nathan Greno and Bryon Howard, is charming, fun, and humorous, the perfect balance of marvelous music, appealing adventure, and ravishing romance.
As the movie opens up, it starts with Mr. Dreamboat a.k.a. Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), who narrates our tale and I must say, those "Hot Guy" focus groups Disney put together were a great idea. The focus group was a sudden gathering of all the women in the studio where they brought in pictures of the most attractive men they could find because Disney wanted Flynn to be the most handsome male lead that they have ever had and they succeeded. I mean, Flynn Rider is a hilarious hunk, especially for a bandit! This stunning thief tells the tale of the flower that came from the sun with its magical healing powers and about the old hag (Donna Murphy) who covets it before it's found and taken to the sickly queen, pregnant with Rapunzel (played with enlightening enthusiasm by Mandy Moore). After she is born, Mother Gothel snatches the princess out of her crib to lock her in a tower just so the horrid witch can use the rejuvenating powers Rapunzel's hair now holds. And that's all because once the hair is cut, it loses it's power and turns a nice shade of chestnut brown. This is where the magic really happens because the animation is so stunning! Her hair glows with the same brightness as the flower and with a snip, the glow delicately fades away. Not to mention the fact that Disney gives an actual explanation of why her hair is infinitely long because why should the only use for her hair be a rope?
Years later, Rapunzel is singing about chores and crafts and when the heck is she going to be able to finally get out of the house, almost like a regular eighteen-year-old. But often singing. Moore blows us away with her brilliant vocals, singing "When Will My Life Begin?", for it's the day before Rapunzel's birthday and she has just one wish; to see the floating lights. We learn, later, these are actually lanterns sent out by the king and queen anticipating their daughter's return home. But Rapunzel's wish is declined by her "mother". Everyone saw that coming. What we didn't see coming, though, was after Mother Gothel cautions Rapunzel with a scintillating song "Mother Knows Best" and leaves the scene, the attractive criminal who comes along to scale the tower and hide for his life from the palace guards bringing the stolen crown with him. The stolen crown that just so happens to belong to Rapunzel! Here is where we find Disney putting it's own magical twist on this fairytale. Now we are seeing two main characters and Flynn Rider isn't even a prince like in the original Rapunzel story which is, really, kind of refreshing and it certainly holds my attention. Moreover, Flynn Rider is totally awesome for boys to connect with because he's sarcastic and humorous so while Rapunzel is singing about her feelings, Flynn Rider is cracking jokes everyone can enjoy. Disney certainly knows what it's doing. As the story continues, Rapunzel is frightened by this strange man in her prison like home so she uses her trusty frying pan to knock poor Flynn Rider out and stuff him in her closet until she can let Gothel know of her accomplishment. However, when Mother Gothel becomes infuriated with Rapunzel's constant plea to leave, Rapunzel decides to ask for paint as a birthday gift and begrudgingly brushes off the subject so Gothel leaves on a three-day journey for paint. With that, our golden-haired princess convinces Flynn Rider to be her guide to see the floating lanterns. In an attempt to scare Rapunzel back to her tower, Flynn takes her to "The Snuggly Duckling," a pub filled with ruffians and thugs where they recognize Flynn Rider as the wanted thief and fight over him for the prize money. However, Rapunzel surprises everyone by standing up to these bullies and demands that they give her guide back, crying out to them that Flynn is the one she needs to take her to see the floating lanterns, her precious, lifelong dream which leads to another brilliant song involving all of the chummy ruffians who apparently have a soft spot for dreams and the friendly thugs help the lovable couple escape the royal army.
Rapunzel and Flynn finally make it to safety. The adventure continues from there, including an exquisite last song, a hair-raising ending and in the company of Maximus, the stallion who acts more like a dog than an actual horse, provides comic relief and entertainment while interacting with Flynn Rider. Disney's Tangled is a lovely tear jerker and a captivating movie for boys, girls and horses of all ages. Another dazzling movie from Disney, as expected.