Disney Princesses have delighted and captivated audiences, young and old alike, for over 70 years. If the studio follows through with their plan of not doing any more fairy tale/princess movies, at least they’re finishing on a high note.
“Tangled” is loosely based on the classic Grimm’s Fairy Tale, “Rapunzel”. In this version, a wicked old hag steals the baby of a King and Queen and locks her in a tower. Rapunzel’s long, golden hair is magical – it can make old things become new again when she sings. So the old lady, who Rapunzel thinks is her mother, keeps Rapunzel in the tower and uses the hair to keep herself young.
We fast-forward and Rapunzel is about to turn 18, and she’s never set foot outside of the tower. A bandit named Flynn Rider sneaks up the tower and into Rapunzel’s room to escape from soldiers. She promises not to hand him over if he’ll take her outside to see the release of the lanterns, which everyone in the kingdom does every year on Rapunzel’s birthday, in hopes that she’ll see them and return to the King and Queen.
So the pair set-out on a journey, along with Rapunzel’s pet chameleon, a helpful horse, and some other friends they meet along the way.
From the trailer I was afraid that “Tangled” was going to be disappointing, like 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog”. But the movie is a very pleasant surprise, and it starts with the story, which is very engaging, with some nice plot twists. It isn’t laugh-out-loud funny (very few Disney Princess movies are), but there are some cute and clever moments. And the very young one’s in the theater I was at giggled a lot at some of the silly animal scenes.
As for the animation – it’s fantastic. The soft-focus look and use of pastel colors work perfectly. A few of the scenes, including one involving hundreds of lanterns, is breath-taking. The voice work is solid – Mandy Moore and Zachery Levi are excellent as Rapunzel and Flynn. Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman and Bard Garrett are also in the voice cast. “Tangled” is a musical and the songs and big production numbers are catchy, inventive and memorable. The song “I See the Light” picked-up an Oscar nomination.
But the real reason the movie works is the main character: Rapunzel shoots right to the top group of all-time Disney princesses (with the likes of Belle and Ariel). She’s both sweet and strong (like those other young ladies), but also has unique qualities we haven’t seen before.
“Tangled” is rated PG, because of some mild violence, including a little blood. But it’s o.k. for everyone. And it’s not just for girls. The studio spent millions trying to market this film to boys (because of the box office disappointment of “The Princess and the Frog”). And it worked! There is certainly enough action and excitement for boys, older kids and even adults.
Bonus Features on the 4-disk combo pack include a “making of” section, deleted scenes, two alternate versions of the films opening sequence and a 50th Disney animated movie countdown.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Tangled” gets a B+. I’ve got a little problem with the ending (which, obviously, I can’t discuss), but it was one of the best animated films of 2010 and is one of my favorite Disney Princess movies of all-time.