Tangled (B or 3/4 stars)
Disney's animated (in CGI), 'Tangled', is a solid entry in the studio's canon. The movie is beautiful, occasionally funny, & offers a couple of adorable sidekicks ... but I can't say I'm as wowed by it as I thought I'd be. 'Tangled' is actually a vague re-telling of Grimm's Rapunzel. Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), was stolen as a baby princess from her parent's palace & raised by a vain hag named Gothel (Donna Murphy). Imprisoned at the top of a hidden tower because her long, magical, golden hair has the power to restore Gothel's youth FOREVER, Rapunzel dreams of the day when she can leave the tower & roam the world with her tiny chameleon friend (so cute) at her side. In other words, she's Ariel from The Little Mermaid. But I digress.
Rapunzel's chance to be free comes on her 18th birthday, while Gothel is away on a 3-day trip (or not, one of many bones to pick with the story). The dashing bandit, Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi), seeking desperate escape from the nearby kingdom's henchmen, climbs Rapunzel's tower with hope of finding a hiding place. Instead, he's bashed over the head with a frying pan & taken captive by a scared Rapunzel. After tying him up with her never-ending locks of hair, she bargains with him: if he guides her into the world below - to search for the place where floating lights stream the sky on her birthday every year - she'll give him back the contents of a satchel he had with him; a satchel which holds a crown that belongs to the kingdom, as well as the secret of her royal heritage. Will Rapunzel discover her true princess identity? Can Flynn help her on this exciting adventure? Will they fall in love? Mother Gothel has a thing or 2 to say about that.
'Tangled' is a more-than-adequate, if not groundbreaking Disney animated film. It's no Beauty & the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin or even last year's Princess & the Frog ... but it will likely charm most children, & give the adults something to mildly enjoy, as well. I kinda wish that this film would have been executed in hand drawn animation, but CGI it is. I don't hate CGI, but I feel that this movie (& the story) warranted the former technique. As far as Disney motifs go, they're allllll here: a princess of one hair color, her star-crossed prince of a different hair color (haha), a few animal sidekicks, some saccharine songs created by Alan Menken, an evil villain, & a tear-inducing happy ending. Voi-la, they're all in this movie, too.
As a character, Rapunzel is fine. But there's nothing special about her, really. She's pretty, plucky & likeable ... I guess. Flynn has more personality, but he's a thief ... not the biggest role model. Rapunzel's mother, Gothel, isn't really malevolent, but she's an intriguing anti-villain - in that - she loves Rapunzel (in actions), but keeps her locked away for selfish reasons. It's an asset having the chameleon & a horse (LOVED him) in this story to provide comic diversion & real 'awww' moments; Maximus the horse is the best animated animal to have surfaced in many a Disney film. And the aforementioned songs ... they're okay. The only one I really liked was 'I See the Light'; played during the transcendent flying lantern scene - gorgeous.
'Tangled' is better than most films; animated included. I like faerie tales, by nature. I always enjoy that old world setting. The CGI animation (grr) is bright & vivid. There's a sense of adventure & romance on tap. And the emotional pay-off in the end is much needed. But the story throughout is pretty unoriginal. There are head-shaking contrivances. Though there's humor in the film, no stretch of dialogue is overly memorable. And when 2 secondary animal characters upstage the humans, then I think the film hasn't quite achieved the effect it aimed for.
Rapunzel's chance to be free comes on her 18th birthday, while Gothel is away on a 3-day trip (or not, one of many bones to pick with the story). The dashing bandit, Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi), seeking desperate escape from the nearby kingdom's henchmen, climbs Rapunzel's tower with hope of finding a hiding place. Instead, he's bashed over the head with a frying pan & taken captive by a scared Rapunzel. After tying him up with her never-ending locks of hair, she bargains with him: if he guides her into the world below - to search for the place where floating lights stream the sky on her birthday every year - she'll give him back the contents of a satchel he had with him; a satchel which holds a crown that belongs to the kingdom, as well as the secret of her royal heritage. Will Rapunzel discover her true princess identity? Can Flynn help her on this exciting adventure? Will they fall in love? Mother Gothel has a thing or 2 to say about that.
'Tangled' is a more-than-adequate, if not groundbreaking Disney animated film. It's no Beauty & the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin or even last year's Princess & the Frog ... but it will likely charm most children, & give the adults something to mildly enjoy, as well. I kinda wish that this film would have been executed in hand drawn animation, but CGI it is. I don't hate CGI, but I feel that this movie (& the story) warranted the former technique. As far as Disney motifs go, they're allllll here: a princess of one hair color, her star-crossed prince of a different hair color (haha), a few animal sidekicks, some saccharine songs created by Alan Menken, an evil villain, & a tear-inducing happy ending. Voi-la, they're all in this movie, too.
As a character, Rapunzel is fine. But there's nothing special about her, really. She's pretty, plucky & likeable ... I guess. Flynn has more personality, but he's a thief ... not the biggest role model. Rapunzel's mother, Gothel, isn't really malevolent, but she's an intriguing anti-villain - in that - she loves Rapunzel (in actions), but keeps her locked away for selfish reasons. It's an asset having the chameleon & a horse (LOVED him) in this story to provide comic diversion & real 'awww' moments; Maximus the horse is the best animated animal to have surfaced in many a Disney film. And the aforementioned songs ... they're okay. The only one I really liked was 'I See the Light'; played during the transcendent flying lantern scene - gorgeous.
'Tangled' is better than most films; animated included. I like faerie tales, by nature. I always enjoy that old world setting. The CGI animation (grr) is bright & vivid. There's a sense of adventure & romance on tap. And the emotional pay-off in the end is much needed. But the story throughout is pretty unoriginal. There are head-shaking contrivances. Though there's humor in the film, no stretch of dialogue is overly memorable. And when 2 secondary animal characters upstage the humans, then I think the film hasn't quite achieved the effect it aimed for.