Tangled

Tangled
Genre: Animated Musical
Directors: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Stars: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi
Rating: ★★★ (3/4)

Tangled was lost amidst the huge success of it's fellow animated films Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon. I believe that it did not gain the attention it really deserved which is why I have chosen to review it. Also, it keeps showing on cable so I was reminded that it was actually quite a good little film.

Disney's Tangled is a romantic-comedy musical part of the line of Disney's animated classics. It is Disney's 50th animated film; and I believe that it befits at that position. It showcases the best of the old era of Disney films while still giving way to the changes in animation and the new tastes of this generation.

Much like the stories of the Disney Renaissance, this film was based on a fairy tale. Rapunzel, played by Mandy Moore, grew up secluded from the rest of the world in a tower together with her adoptive mother. As we already know from the classic tale, the person trapping her is evil, however she doesn't know that. She is oblivious to her mother's ulterior motives. Rapunzel is actually the daughter of the king and queen of the kingdom whose hair obtained magical healing abilities through a flower. Her mother keeps her in order to retain her youth. Each year, Rapunzel sees that, around the time of her birthday, stars light up the sky. She asks her mother to allow her to go out, and her mother refuses.

All this changes when Flynn Rider, a thief unknowingly climbs up the tower. The scene is wonderfully comedic. She hits him with what will be one of the film's trademarks, a pan. She blackmails him into accompanying her to see the lights, which turn out to be lanterns. They are aided by Maximus, the general's horse. The characters have genuine connection to each other and have nice comedic chemistry. The scenes with Maximus and Flynn are perhaps some of my favorites from the film.

The film's animation is quite incredible. As far as I am aware, they used a technique in which computer generated imagery is merged with traditional hand-drawn pictures. Th pictures look gorgeous. I cannot comment on how the 3D was as I never watched it in 3D, however the colors are bright and vivid so I would assume that the 3D did more harm than good. The scenes are beautiful and have lots of impact, most especially the scene with lanterns. It was romantic; comparable to the great sequences of the Renaissance, such as the ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast and the sequence of "Can You Feel the Love" from The Lion King.

The musical score, composed with Alan Menken, is upbeat and suits the film perfectly. They give the film energy. My favorite musical moments from the movie where the sequences of "I Can See The Light," which is perfectly suited to the scene where lanterns light the sky, and the scene where they discover the kingdom to a medival yet modern-feeling instrumental. In terms of it's loss at the Oscars last year, I believe that they did deserve Best Original Song.

All the film's aspects celebrate the older elements of Disney; the jolly music, the romantic fairy-tale love story, and the fun characters. It's in spirit, a classic Disney movie. However, the expensive animation (the film is the second most expensive film ever produced) showcases that it is a new generation for this media form.

Some complain that the movie isn't groundbreaking or doesn't do anything relevant in terms of story. I agree with this, however that isn't a bad thing. As the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.