Review: "tangled"

The marketing for Tangled was atrocious. It was the sole reason why I originally had no interest in this movie at all, and is why the majority of my friends still have no interest in seeing it. Although Disney's former attempt to "return to the glory days", The Princess and the Frog, was moderately well-received by critics, it was considered a financial failure. They marketed it as a warm-hearted Disney musical in the vein of the classics, but apparently the potential audience still wasn't that interested. Smart ol' Disney, attempting to learn from their mistakes, decide to go the polar opposite for the Tangled marketing. Bad idea! Now they've gotten even less people interested! The marketing made Tangled (even the name gives it a cheesy, "edgy" feel) seem like this super-hip retelling of Rapunzel, full of non-essential gags and devoid of any warmth or heart. If that's what you think, you'll be pleasantly surprised if you give Tangled a chance. I bet you didn't even know it was a musical. It's a freaking Alan Menken musical! The composer from all of your favorite Disney movies, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid composed the songs for Tangled! And he's still got it! Does that get you excited? Well what if I told you that, contrary to the tone the ads create, Tangled is one of the most touching, beautiful, and joyous movies of the decade? EXCITED NOW?? You should be! Tangled is absolutely PHENOMENAL! It's easily the strongest Disney movie since Lilo and Stitch (2002). I'd even say that it's at the very least in my mental 'top three Disney movies of all time' list. It's that good. Forget The Princess and the Frog. Tangled is the true return to what made Disney classics so fantastic and magical. Apparently it didn't have as much to do with it being hand-drawn as we might have thought.

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An old hag finds a magical flower that forever keeps her young. A dying queen's soldiers find the flower and use it to heal her. The queen gives birth to a daughter, Rapunzel, and the flower's magic is passed to the girl. Healing power is embedded in the girl's hair, but is lost when the hair is cut. The old hag steals the girl and locks her in a tower, acting as her protective mother. She continually uses the power of Rapunzel's hair to stay young. The king, queen and townsfolk set loose lanterns into the night sky every year on Rapunzel's birthday in honor of the missing princess. I loved everything about Tangled from the moment it started. The serene tone was immediately set and it never let go. It's just a beautiful movie; rich in emotion and lush in visual splendor. The characters are lovable, the environments are gorgeous, the comedic timing is spot-on, and all tied down into a fantastic Disney package through Alan Menken's music. This is what it's all about. Pure Disney magic. Pure joy. I was beaming the entire time. I can't remember ever having enjoyed myself at a movie this much. I'd say it's on the verge of perfection if not for one annoyance. The final scenes of the movie have no songs. Characters go into song during the story's emotional high points, and yet in the end, when everything is climaxing into an emotional finale, we get nothing. I left feeling slightly underwhelmed, because the ending seemed so lackluster in comparison to how emotionally intense Tangled's other high points felt. I've made peace with that gripe, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it just fine the second time, knowing what's coming. I just really think the end would have made much more of an impact if one of the key melodies made one last reprise...

The story falters slightly in a few minor places, but as a whole is told quite well. Some small areas include the usual "true love happens overnight" phenomenon that apparently exists in the world of Disney animation. The one area that I was rather disappointed in involved Rapunzel's relationship with her phony mother. We're set up with a really thought-provoking dynamic. We know that Mother Gothel's intentions are purely selfish. I mean she did freaking kidnap the girl and has been lying to her for eighteen years. But we're shown that there really is genuine affection between the two. Obviously more from Rapunzel's side, but we still get the impression that Gothel has become quite attached to her pseudo-daughter. I found their relationship really interesting, but as the story unfolded, the focus drew farther and farther away from it and by the time Gothel's original intentions are revealed to Rapunzel, she has become a simplified villain. An icon. And Rapunzel isn't torn in the slightest. She instantly goes from viewing her mother as loving, to as a complete witch, and never looks back. So much for all that early character development about how attached they were. I think that the story would come across much more fleshed-out and profound if that dynamic followed through and came around full-circle. I can understand that for a simple story such as Tangled, they maybe wanted to narrow the focus a bit and only tell the audience what was necessary, while only hinting at supporting plot-lines and dynamics. I just personally found their dynamic really interesting, and think the overall story would have been just a little bit better if it followed through.

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