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Tangled

Posted by Buddy Acker on December 16, 2010 at 4:40 AM

Tangled

Not a Disney classic but still worth a watch


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Tangled is a disappointment when compared to the recent Disney classics like Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up, but it’s still miles better than a lot of other Disney and most Dreamworks animated films. The most recent Dreamworks movie I saw was Megamind and, while that movie was decent, Tangled was better. It retells the story of Rapunzel in such a way as to not completely maul it but actually improve on it in some aspects. Still, it could have been better and, coming from Disney, it should have been.


 

It starts out with the story of a kidnapped princess named Rapunzel. She is locked away in a high tower by an evil woman who, by touching the princess’s magical glowing hair, is able to regain her lost health and vitality, therefore keeping herself in a youthful state. However, the woman discovers that if Rapunzel’s hair is cut, it turns brown and loses its power and so she tells Rapunzel that her hair must be allowed to grow, and grow it does. By the time that Rapunzel grows from an adolescent into a young woman, her hair has reached such a length that it can be lowered from a 100 foot high window and still touch the ground with no difficulty.


 

Every year on her birthday, Rapunzel sees off in the distance small lanterns rising into the sky and stares in wonderment at them, dreaming of one day traveling away from the only home that she’s ever known to discover the source of these strange lights. Then one day, a man named Flynn Rider accidentally stumbles across the tower where Rapunzel is being held captive and helps her escape. They embark on a journey toward two separate destinations but along the way they both realize that maybe what they both wanted was not what they really need.


 

While writing my reviews, I sometimes get into that habit of trying to explain the plot of a movie and get a little over-wordy. Call it me being an amateur with my just having started Buddy’s Film (and Game) Insights, but I’m just trying to perhaps force people into being interested in something that they either are already interested in and don’t care to hear more about or will never be interested in no matter what. Interest in Tangled will come in several factors, but the two main ones will be these: a) a person has children or b) a person doesn’t have children but they still enjoy animated movies out of nostalgia or whatever. Mine’s definitely the second reason and my brother, who enjoyed Tangled a great deal more than me (he gave it a 5 out of 5 and will hopefully be writing a second opinion for it on here), has a daughter but also just enjoys Disney movies.


 

I really liked the way that the folks over at Disney re-imagined Rapunzel, but they needed to balance out trying to establish their characters while still advancing the plot, which they failed miserably at in certain areas. Rapunzel’s hair is magical, but how did it become magical? Did she inherit it from her birth mother? Did it happen by accident? Was she blessed with it by some holy being? Did an enchantress put a spell on her? It’s never explained. Also, we never learn anything about the woman who kidnapped Rapunzel other than her motives. Her name or where she came from is never revealed unless her name is “Mother”, which is what Rapunzel calls her. I would have liked a little more back-story on her. Even Flynn Rider, who tells Rapunzel that he doesn’t like getting into his back-story, ends up eventually sharing it nonetheless.


 

But the animation is as good as ever. It’s downright beautiful in some instances. I’m glad I saw this in 2D so I didn’t have to suffer through the dimness of the 3D format. Any scene involving the horse or chameleon was great. Mandy Moore and Zachery Levi do great voice work as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider respectively. The plot, though holier than a church, makes plenty of sense and is easy to follow. There’s not that much bad I can say about Tangled. I just wish that there was a little more there.

 


Score: :):):):)



SECOND OPINION - Review by Caleb Acker


This is one of the most shocking films of 2010. It is a true testament to the fact that adults can also enjoy a good kids’ movie. This has got to be one of my favorite animated features ever and 3D really did help it a lot. I saw it twice and it was better the second time. Flynn Rider definitely made the movie for me. And Mandy Moore did a fantastic job as Rapunzel. My favorite scene had to be the musical number with the tavern gang. It isn’t a great movie if it doesn’t tell a great story. Tangled shows that even the rottenest of people can change their ways.


Score: :D:D:D:D 1/2

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