One of Disney's best.

Rating: Null/10 (1 October 2011)

When German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm started collecting folk tales around 1806, little did they know that 200 years later, their faces would be immortalized on a bank note of the highest denomination. Although the Deutsche Mark has been adopted into the Euro, the Grimm Brothers' (as they have been come to be known) story does not end there. From folklore to fairy tales to bedtime storybooks, their enchanting tales have continuously evolved until its present day rendition in cinema. And so we have "Tangled", a fluidly narrated, vividly colorful and stunningly animated version of Rapunzel, the original title from a compiled list of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm.
In this latest version, Nathan Greno and Byron Howard directs, while Dan Fogelman tweaks the screenplay without straying too far from the original tale. In a kingdom far away (no, not the same kingdom in "Shrek") the Queen is aided during childbirth by a rare flower with magical healing properties. Unbeknown to the King and Queen, an old woman has been keeping herself young and alive for centuries with this flower, but now finds that the healing and rejuvenating power of the flower has transferred to baby Rapunzel during childbirth. The old woman named Gothel then kidnaps Rapunzel and locks her up in a tall tower knowing that the little girl's golden hair holds the power to keep her from aging. Naïve to the outside world, Rapunzel grows up believing Gothel to be her mother but is fascinated by seeing thousands of floating lanterns once every year. Just before her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel's life changes forever. Having stolen a royal tiara, a thief breaks into the tower but soon learns the hard way that Rapunzel is not a damsel in distress. Together, they escape the tower and head towards the kingdom, but not before having to deal with Gothel, her assassins and the King's royal guards.
For a year that gave us quite a few animated features, Disney's "Tangled" came in third in terms of box-office performance. While "Toy Story 3" took the top spot, "Shrek Forever After" managed to secure a second place despite its overdone theatrics and lack of originality. For this reviewer, the real competition was between "How to Train Your Dragon", "Despicable Me" and "Tangled", all of which features an engaging and original story. While "How to Train Your Dragon" is cinematically epic, our film under discussion is superior in terms of production and visual brilliance. With a budget of $ 260 million, this is not only the most expensive animated film ever made, it is also the most time consuming, having been in production for six years. The staggering amount of time and money put into this project stems from the fact that Disney has invested in animating hand-drawn images and then injecting three-dimensional depth by employing over 50 CGI artists. The result speaks for itself- a gorgeously rendered animation with such detail, it has to be watched on a HD display to truly appreciate the skill that has gone into its making. What makes this film different is that it carries the High Definition clarity found in PIXAR animations, but with the added bonus of having the original art work traditionally hand painted. I were to guess, Disney has gone through such lengths to produce another animation, probably because this is their 50th title, an accolade in itself and a milestone in this company's 80 year history as a media conglomerate.
Like most other Disney productions, the story here has a fare share of fantasy, romance and comedy. Even so, Disney ventures into unchartered waters with elements of sadness, some violence and a scene of drunkenness. Voiced by Donna Murphy, Fogelman's Gothel is not a witch but a woman with a dark heart who is capable of murder. Mandy Moore voices Rapunzel and along with Murphy, lends their voices for some of the film's soundtrack as well. Zachary Levi voices the thief called Flynn Rider, a character who is neither a Prince nor charming. Although Rider and Rapunzel's initial scenes together are met with slapstick comedy, the funniest characters for me are, a royal horse called Maximus and Rapunzel's pet chameleon, Pascal. On the other hand, soundtrack is not as catchy as Disney's famed animations like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King". Although nominated for an Academy Award for "Best original Soundtrack", this film lost the Oscar to Toy Story 3. Even so, Moore and Levi's duet with "I see the Light" is as visually stunning as it is pleasing to the ears.