Surprinsgly good and severely underrated: the 50th Disney film might be one of its best...

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2016)

When it comes to setting up the story, "Tangled" doesn't take chances, it goes straightforwardly to the point like most Disney movies do, and that's the privilege movies based on fairy tales can afford, we expect them to begin by "Once Upon a Time ".
So, once upon a time
Gothel, a vain woman who found the power of eternal youth in a flower that magically grew out of a sunshine drop. Unfortunately for her, the flower is taken by the Royal guards and is used to cure the Queen right before she gives birth to Rapunzel, a beautiful girl with long glowing hair. Gothel understands the hair have inherited a part of the flower's powers, but when she cuts them, it turns to a plain (and powerless) brown. She then kidnaps Rapunzel and traps her in a tower where she treats her like a mother.
18 years later, Rapunzel grew with such a long and thick head of hair, she can actually hang on them, dangled from them and seize things like a chameleon's tongue, which is a funny coincidence since her pet friend is a charming chameleon named Pascal. Rapunzel is also a beautiful creature (who strangely reminded me of Amanda Seyfried) confident about her hair's healing power but like any girl of her age, she's got fears and issues. For one thing, she never discovered the world, and can only watch the stars that illuminate the sky, ignoring that those that appear every year during her birthday, are sky lanterns launched by the king and the townspeople as a desperate attempt to reach her. There is a lot of glowing in the film, but there's more than yellow brightness to that.
"Tangled" is the 50th animated Disney film, it is a long way back to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" but there are similarities despite the seven-decade gap. Like "Snow White", it's a story of a fallen princess held prisoner by an abusive 'mother-figure'. And if Snow White found escapism while looking for a Prince, Rapunzel found a prince while looking for escapism. Like "Snow White", "Tangled" was the most expensive animated movie of its time and the product of a great combination of talent and perfectionism, like "Snow White", it's based on a Grimm brothers story, and provides everything children and grown-ups except from fairy tale while translating to the big screen: action, fun, visuals, romance, fantasy, magic, emotions and a memorable villain.
To a certain extent, "Tangled" is Disney coming full circle with the very magic that enchanted many generations from all over the word, with a creation made for the 2010's but not so far in spirit, from the enchantment of the old classics. It's a delight to the eyes and it features two irresistible leading protagonists, in charm and personality, a not-so rebellious girl and a not-so unredeemable criminal, named Flynn Rider, a guy actually sensitive about his nose and wrapped up in the conviction that he's the most charming person on Earth. And for a change, the two characters don't really start their relationship through mutual dislike, their encounter is rather funny and uses some slapstick rarely exploited in legitimate Disney features.
It needs to be pointed out that "Tangled" belongs to one of the most refreshingly funny Disney movies. Seriously, how many of them feature a horse that is more efficient than his rider and is obsessed to the point you might discuss his psychological sanity or wish he was in the good guys' side? How many feature a frying pan as a deadly weapon and running gag? How many Disney movies feature frightening pub regulars who dream to be pianists or pantomimes', or a giant thug whose secret passion is to collect miniature unicorns? Describing these gags doesn't do them even justice because they work so well on a visual level. But I mention them because they highlight the best thing about "Tangled" humor : it's unpredictable even when relying on predictable situations.
Another example is that "Tangled" follows a simple and conventional plot-line through the heroin's journey, basically, her discovery of the real world leading to her self-discovery until the final confrontation with the mother (with a few Oedipal undertones). But the plot matters less than the rich gallery of colorful characters it invites us to discover and personality traits of the two heroes that manages to transcend the usual requirements. The 'hero' is handsome but takes himself so seriously that he becomes pathetic, she's a free-spirited, idealistic and barefoot-walking teen who enjoys discovering the real world, but she's also reluctant to disappoint the woman she still believes is her mother. These traits are first mocked until they're exploited for more dramatic effects.
Overall, the dosage is well done and makes the romance between the two outcasts believable. Naturally, some parts get predictable, when Gothel warns Rapunzel about Flynn looking only for the crown he stole, we know there'll be a quid pro quo, where she'd believe Mommy was right, but the conventional stuff is handled pretty quickly and the final third act is surprisingly efficient in its minimalism: no fight scene, no overdose of action and kinetic special effects, a simple display of love gestures and the perfect spectacular ending and feel-good twist. Rapunzel, in the tradition of coming-of-age stories, which are why fairy-tales were made for, was ready to trade her freedom for Flynn's life while Flynn decided his death was worth Rapunzel's freedom.
This is the stuff great romances and fairy tales are made on. There are a few little things to criticize, some songs are less inspired and more forgettable than Menken's usual work, and the title could've been better chosen, "Rapunzel" would've done fine actually. Still, I believe "Tangled" is one of the best Disney films, one that magnificently reconciles between the old and the new.