…or so you might think. Truth be told, “Tangled” is for anyone who is open-minded enough to give it a chance. For their 50th animated feature, Disney decided to return to fairy tale material, this time taking on the Rapunzel story. There is music as well, composed by the great Alan Menken. The animation is of the CG variety, but the sensibility is more like an old-fashioned hand drawn Disney feature. The script is solid, with a balance of humor and drama paced in such a way that there isn’t time for anyone to get bored. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the movie is unconventional. In fact, it’s heavy on convention. The great thing about “Tangled” is that it chews up several conventions and spits them out in a configuration that we haven’t seen before.
Mandy Moore is Rapunzel, who was abducted as a baby by a wicked woman named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy; not exactly a queen or a witch, but she sure is a manipulator). Mother needs Rapunzel to sing to her so that her magic golden hair can keep Mother young eternally. (Mother obviously hasn’t thought about what will happen when she outlives her ‘adopted’ daughter.) She raises Rapunzel to fear the outside world, and locks her away in a tower. Rapunzel is left alone one day when Flynn (Zachary Levi), an arrogant thief, breaks into the tower to escape being caught. Rapunzel, having never seen a person other than Mother, attacks and captures him. She strikes a bargain with Flynn: he takes her to the Palace to see the festival of lights, which happens every year on her birthday, and he gets his stolen bounty back.
Secret princess? Check. Rogueish, brash male lead? Check. Wicked, jealous female character? Check. Animal sidekick? Check – in fact there are two: the endearing chameleon Pascal, and the sometimes annoying horse Maximus. But there’s much more here than a Disney rehash. There’s laughter, heart, action, and a very listenable score. The actors all sing well, which in this age of anyone-can-sing-if-they-post-to-YouTube is refreshing. “Tangled” is a great family film, but can be enjoyed easily by all ages. It feels like a classic. I saw it in 2D, but the animation, character designs, and backgrounds were all so pristine that I don’t think it needs 3D. I do recommend seeing it in a theater for the gorgeous colors and textures and for the well-staged action sequences.
Geek of All Trades 