Tangled

February 3, 2011

"Tangled" is Disney's latest film, but unusually it is not a highly hyped as previous Disney films, at least where I live. I did not really like the nondescript generic title, which does not say anything much about the movie at all or even hint at its creator, Disney. 

Upon watching the movie, we see a spin on the fairy tale of Rapunzel. Rapunzel becomes a princess here, in the Disney tradition. The male protagonist is played by a charming (again in the Disney tradition) outlaw Flynn Ryder. The elements of the Rapunzel story are all there: the long hair, the locking up in the tower, the teardrop at the end... But Disney gives these things a very interesting magical back story (again in true Disney form). To make the boys come and see the movie, they include an exciting and funny action story with Flynn Ryder character, complete with thugs and chases.

I personally like the non-speaking animal characters a lot -- the cute little chameleon Pascal and the mighty royal steed Maximus. I never did like those other noisy annoying sidekicks in previous films too much. The songs are not too memorable unfortunately. They tend to sound alike already, don't they? The action can tend to be a little graphic here, meaning there are lacerations and stabbing with blood, and you actually see what happens to the witch when she falls out of the tower -- unprecedented stuff. It is in fact the first Disney princess film to get a PG rating.

It is a marked improvement over "Princess and the Frog", Disney's last film. It is not to the level of "Beauty and the Beast", "Little Mermaid" and "Mulan", but "Tangled" is a landmark film in Disney history, as they finally enter into 3D CG animation territory. The effect of this animation vastly improves the quality of action scenes (like the breaking of the dam) and the magical effect of the poignant scenes (like the floating paper lanterns). This film is well worth its price of admission. It is fun, funny, exciting, romantic and touching, everything you will be looking for in a Disney animated feature film.