Review: Tangled
Everyone should be familiar with the basic story of Rapunzel from Grimm's Fairy Tales. Variations of the tale have been told for a thousand years. Tangled's take is true to Disney form, with some of the darker elements glossed over or removed -- Rapunzel, for instance, isn't traded to the witch by her parents and doesn't get pregnant out of wedlock. In this version, Rapunzel (voiced by a very mature-sounding Mandy Moore) rather than the tragic waif depicted in fairy tales is a strong, adventurous free spirit who wants nothing more than to see the world.
Sheltered and trapped by the lying, over-protective Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), she is doomed to live forever in her tower until the thief Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) stumbles into the grove where the tower is hidden. When she sees the chance to escape with a guide, and see the world, she jumps at the opportunity. As Disney villians go, Mother Gothel is intriguing as she pursues the pair. Described as a witch, she is never seen actually using any powers and is never herself threatening. She cleverly employs a pair of thugs to do her dirty work and proves to be the most powerfully manipulative Disney bad guy we've ever seen. In fact, given the situation in which she is introduced, Gothel could be a sympathetic character except that we quickly see how vain, self-absorbed and ultimately evil she is. Still, some in the audience may find it easy to identify with her as she's no Cruella de Ville.
In the 90's, the economics of computer-rendered animation resulted in the death of traditional hand-drawn cels, even at Disney, whose animated releases since 2000 have included The Princess and the Frog, Bolt, Brother Bear, Treasure Planet, Lilo & Stitch, Atlantis and The Emperor's New Groove. While some of these have been fairly successful, none of them approach the success of the musical powerhouses of the early 90s: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. Composer Alan Menken, whose music hasn't been heard onscreen since 2007's Oscar-nominated Enchanted, returns with a score that rivals his work on those classics. I'm listening to the score as I write this, and two of the tracks are particular standouts, "Healing Incantation" and "Mother Knows Best (Reprise)." Both are classic Disney.
With Tangled, Disney doesn't just deliver an excellent score, but 3D animation that captures the feel of the traditional hand-drawn style. This brings a new hope for animated features, and I hope Tangled shows what we can expect from future Disney releases. While 3D animation often feels gimmicky, with Tangled, it feels like a natural part of the setting. In real life, we don't have a soundtrack; just as music enhances the experience of a film, the 3D visuals in Tangled emphasize the mood, and the film doesn't feel as though it's in 3D just for 3D's sake. But, when the action calls for it, the use of 3D is simply stunning.
Tangled isn't entirely flawless. It begins with a rather long expository narrative from Zachary Levi, and numerous celebrity cameos go largely unnoticed. The classic feel of the score and animation are slightly out of balance with the more modern tone of the dialogue, and the end-credits number "Something That I Want" was a jarring Hanna Montana-esque rock song that didn't jibe with the classic sound through the rest of the score. In spite of these issues, it is refreshing to have a Disney film where the cast sings their own tunes instead of using sound-alikes. And no review of Tangled can fail to mention the animal characters, who are more fun and cool than their human counterparts. Rapunzel's companion is a tiny chameleon with a colorful personality, and the horse, Maximus, could star in his own film (and probably will, if Disney smells profit).
On its own, Tangled would merit 4.5 out of 5 stars, but given The Mouse House's more recent work, it rates 5 stars from me. Families, kids young and old will have a great time. For its 50th animated film, Disney has produced a masterpiece the likes of which we have not seen since 1993's The Lion King. This may one day be known as "The film that saved Disney Animation."