“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” Many of us are probably familiar with the classic fairytale “Rapunzel”: An evil witch keeps a girl with long rope-like hair locked in a tower; a prince finds her; a conflict occurs between the prince and the witch; the prince wins; happily ever after, etc. Of course, the Brothers Grimm are much better storytellers than I will ever be. Based on their version, Tangled, directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, is light-hearted, funny, attractive and adventurous.
Disney has returned to the traditional European tale, but with a twist. Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is a girl with magical golden hair who just wants to see the strange, but festive lights that appear only on her birthday. However, her manipulative “mother,” Mother Gothel, (Donna Murphy) forbids her to ever leave the tower. Flynn Rider, a thief, (Zachary Levi) and Rapunzel unexpectedly meet, and the two make a deal with each other so that Rapunzel can see these mysterious lights and Flynn can take back his stolen object. What make this princess film different from the rest is the humour, music and the stylistic technique and approach.
Tangled is very funny and witty. Awkward funny, slapstick funny, cute funny, funny funny, it’s all there. The addition of the minor characters such as the hound-like horse, Maximus and the compassionate thugs make a noticeable difference, maintaining the high entertainment throughout. Disney even humorously satirizes societies’ concern on looks and appearances. Action speaks louder than words in this case, however, as the dialogue sometimes decreases the hilarity a tad. But it’s barely prominent, especially for children.
I can foresee a musical based off of Tangled. The music’s fantastic. Princesses and associated characters are obviously known for belting out without a care in the world. Yet, I cannot think of another animated feature that presented music like Tangled. This film is very much set up like a stage of a theatre. I felt that the characters were performing for us, not for themselves. “Mother Knows Best” exemplifies this strong theatrical presentation and performance.
The look and feel to Tangled is immensely lush and alluring. I was excited to learn that Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s The Swing inspired the animators. They combined the techniques of CGI and traditional 2-D animation to create the hand-drawn painterly appearance. The effective and important use of lighting and illumination also contributed to capturing that glistening impression (i.e. Rapunzel’s hair and lanterns).
Tangled, the 50th animated feature of Walt Disney Animation Studios, is nothing short of outstanding. You can sense genuine human emotions within these animated beings. Rapunzel is headstrong and communicates to everyone, including boys (this film was retitled Tangled for a reason). We should always fight for our dreams and follow them.
Will you be seeing Tangled? Is she your new favorite Disney Princess?