Review of Disney's animated film "TANGLED" ( about the RAPUNZEL story )

Review of film:  “TANGLED”

This film has quite a “history”:  Its original story goes back more than 1000 years, to a Persian tale about a character called “Rudaba” written around 1000 AD by Ferdowsi in a book named “Shahnameh”…

…  After various transitions, the story became a fairy tale published in 1698 by French writer Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, under the name “Persinette”.  That was freely adapted by the Brothers Grimm (Jacob & Wilhelm) in their 1812 German book “Children’s and Household Tales”…

…  You will probably be familiar with it by its best known line:  “RAPUNZEL, Rapunzel, let down your hair!...”--  which has been re-titled “TANGLED” for the movie in question…

…  Film-wise, this is the 50^th theatrical release by the Walt Disney Animation Studios (the first of which was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937).  Supposedly, it’s the LAST such Disney animated “Princess” film its live animators are to work on (tho their “Winnie the Pooh” effort is scheduled for release 7-15-11, and “King Of the Elves” is listed as a release some time after that)…

…  As you see, the “history” is “TANGLED”, just like the release title of this film.  The story itself uses ELEMENTS of the original stories, with a number of significant changes regarding the raising and life of Rapunzel.  But, what matters to me is how EFFECTIVE the overall effort is:

…  In this version, an old woman named Mother Gothel (voiced by DONNA MURPHY) has discovered a magic plant that has the ability to keep her forever YOUNG.  But, the plant is discovered by some guards of a king & queen & taken to the royals for use by their newly-born daughter…

…  The plant affects the child, & its magic then resides in her golden hair.  Knowing that the hair can rejuvenate her, Mothel Gothel STEALS the child --  re-named as Rapunzel (voiced by MANDY MOORE) -- & imprisons her in a Tower for her own revitalization purposes.  The king & queen celebrate the child’s original birthday every year, & keep trying to find her…

…  At one point, 3 crooks try to steal something from the king’s castle.  The “brains” of the group is an acerbic self-centered young guy named Flynn Rider (voiced by ZACHARY LEVI), and the brawn consists of the twin Stabbington brothers (voiced by RON PERLMAN)… 

…  The crooks are pursued by the Captain of the Guard (voiced by (M.C. GAINEY) & his horse “Maximus” the latter whom grows to have a special aversion to Flynn who keeps getting away from him throughout the film…  When the Stabbingtons want the stolen item for themselves, Flynn tries to run away & chances to find the Tower that RAPUNZEL lives in…

…  Disney has created a bunch of CLEVERLY designed characters.  Mother Gothel is smarmy & deceptive as she works to mislead innocent Rapunzel.  She sings a lot & works hard to hide the truths from Rapunzel, who has only a chameleon lizard named “PASCAL” to “talk” to besides the mother in her Tower world…

…  Rapunzel considers Flynn an invader, treats him accordingly & hides the object he’s stolen from the king (tho she doesn’t really know what it respresents).  She won’t give the object back to him unless her takes her on a trip AWAY from the Tower, which he reluctantly agrees to do…

…  As they travel around, Flynn takes her to an inn populated by a bunch of memorable “rabble-rouser” characters, including Big Nose Thug (voiced by JEFFREY TAMBOR), Hook-Hand Thug (voiced by BRAD GARRETT), Short Thug (PAUL F. THOMPKINS) & Vlad (voiced by RICHARD KIEL, who played the giant “Jaws” in the James bond film “Moonraker”)…

…  The characters at the “Duckling” tavern are wonderfully realized, both drawing-wise and personality-wise, particularly in a lengthy scene where they SING about what they’d like to do in life & also later in the film… 

…  Typical of Disney animation, the characters (especially the main ones) are EXCELLENTLY drawn, with a fine “life-like” smoothness & movement (as opposed to the highly-exaggerated “angular” bodies and “jerky” motion often seen from other studios at times).  The animals Pascal & Maximus are important characters here, thanks to the fine illustrations & “personalities” given them by the artists…

 …  Disney has turned to one of its best composers, ALAN MENKEN (who contributed to “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty & the Beast” & “Aladdin”) to provide a number of the film’s chipper songs such as “Mother Knows Best” (sung by the Mother Gothel character) and “When Will My Life Begin”…

…  Will witch Mother Gothel discover where Rapunzel has gone, &, if so, will she be able to STOP her plans?...  Will the Stabbingtons or others catch-up to Flynn?...  Will Rapunzel let down her hair “TOO MUCH” in certain ways?...  Will magic be able to SAVE characters we’ve grown to care about?...

…  I got a big kick out of this work:  It’s sly without being devious, its dialogue is “real” rather than “sappy” or “double-entendred”, its musical numbers are enjoyable (and move the plot along), its story is effective & heartening, and its animation & effects are EXCELLENT.  Thus, I give it 9 out of 10 stars…

One note:  while this film was released in two formats, I decided to see it in “2-D” rather than in its 3-D version.  AMC has gone from a $ 2.50 surcharge for 3-D films (supposedly for the cheap supposedly-recycled glasses) to $ 3 & now its gone up to $ 4.  I find that surcharge to be a RIP-OFF in general (particularly as a percentage of the “base” cost), & did NOT care to pay that difference for this... 

…  The 2-D version was wonderfully colorful & enjoyable, & I find it hard to believe the 3-D version would have been worth the extra surcharge.  I feel 3-D can add a good deal to CERTAIN movies (such as “AVATAR”)--  tho it’s seldom used very effectively in most such releases lately, & the movie chains may be “POISONING” a “golden goose” by their money-grabbing actions…