Movie Review -- Tangled

THE NINJA vs. TANGLED (2010)

Tangled, Disney's 50^th animated feature (and the second CGI project not made under the Pixar name), we follow the story of Rapunzel, a young maiden extremely long hair who is held against her will in a remote tower when she meets a stranger and has her first exposure to the outside world. A tale as old as time, retold with a fresh coat of Disney paint. But how does it fare?

Tangled starts when a “sundrop” falls from the sky and lands on the earth, where there blooms a radiant flower with special magical properties, it is discovered by a withering old woman, who uses it magic to restore her youth, and keeps it hidden for herself. But when the queen of the land grows weak during labor with her daughter to be, the king sends out a search for a cure. The magical flower is found, and it cures the queen – and Rapunzel is born. Distraught, the old woman steals Rapunzel from her crib, and spirits her away into the woods. Raising the child on her own, the woman continues to use the flower's powers that now reside inside Rapunzel's own golden locks, and isolates her from the world. Eighteen years later, Rapunzel is growing tired of being cooped up in her tower, and wishes to explore the outside world. Along comes Flynn Rider, a dashing thief on the lam, who decides to lay low in Rapunzel's tower after a successful heist, but is knocked out cold by frying-pan-wielding Rapunzel. Striking a deal with Flynn, Rapunzel agrees to hand back his spoils if he takes her to see the “floating lights” that appear every year for her birthday. Reluctantly, he accepts, and the duo strike off on adventure.

Chances are, if you've seen enough Disney animated films, you know what to expect from the story. It flows in the formulaic, whimsical and family-friendly style that Disney has spent the last seventy years making themselves known for. That said, you can also expect the other motifs that are to be found in your typical Disney feature: slapstick and tongue-in-cheek comedy galore, a foray of musical arrangements that you have all been introduced to in prior films, with a dash of (usually) well-done animation by Disney's talented team of artists. Disney sticks to their guns with Tangled, more or less.

But for what little it does to really do anything too daring with the film, what is shown is still rather good. The main cast of Tangled, headed by Mandy Moore as the free-spirited protagonist Rapunzel, supported by Zachary Levi as the thief Flynn and Donna Murphey as the beauty-obsessed mother Gothel, are charming in their own right and add sparkle to what could easily ended up as a half-baked, pop-culture-filled animated ride. The animation is especially impressive, from the subtle expressions of the character's expressions to giving Rapunzel's hair a character of their own to presenting a beautiful world that is surprisingly spacious and eye-catching. The songs written for the film by composer Alan Menken are nothing too special from what he has provided with his prior material, but it won't cause any bleeding ears or any sudden urges to cringe. At least there is a lack of pop-music, and for that, I'm willing to set my nitpicks with the soundtrack aside.

The Bottom Line: It is nothing too original, and the been-there-done-that familiarity may fade the magic a little, but the film has enough retained from the beautiful animation and charming performances from the cast, there is plenty to love from “Tangled.”