Every year there are several Disney movies worth spending that $10-per-ticket fee to enjoy. Last year, "The Princess and the Frog" and "Up" shared that title, and 2008 saw "WALL-E" take the cake. In their own special ways, these films warmed the hearts of millions of adults and kids alike.
This holiday season's must-see Disney movie is "Tangled."
Byron Howard, an animator on "Lilo & Stitch" (2002) and "Brother Bear" (2003), and the director of "Bolt" (2008), brings his Disney animation experience to "Tangled," and boy does it show. Along with co-director Nathan Greno, Howard assembles a quality cast and production staff, well-known and respected names such as composer Alan Menken and voice actors Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore, to compose one high-quality film.
"Tangled" couples the Brothers Grimm tale of Rapunzel with the classic formula for a Disney movie: Two characters meet from very different backgrounds, and one shows the other a whole new world.
This animated musical begins with a king and queen in a faraway kingdom expecting a child. Unfortunately, the queen grows ill during her pregnancy, so the royal couple sends a servant on a quest to fetch a cure. He steals a magical herb that heals wounds and preserves youth from an evil witch's garden, and the queen gives birth to a daughter: Rapunzel (Moore). The witch, Mother Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy), kidnaps their daughter as an act of revenge and locks her in a tower. The witch constantly keeps Rapunzel from escaping, and she uses the magical power of Rapunzel's hair to maintain her own youth while feigning to be Rapunzel's real mother.
We all know the story of Rapunzel. She lets down her hair when her "mother" cries, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." But "Tangled" has a twist:
The movie shows the side of Rapunzel that wants to break free. On each of her birthdays, she sees dazzling lights in the sky: They are not stars like Rapunzel thinks, but rather they're floating candles cast out from her true parents' kingdom to beckon their lost daughter home. Upon her 18th birthday, a wanted thief named Flynn Rider (Levi) enters the scene, fleeing his latest robbery. He breaks into the tower where Rapunzel lives and aids her in her wish to be free for a day. Naturally, adventure, revenge and love ensue.
This movie had the entire audience rolling with laughter, excited by the adventure and taken in by the dramatic plot twists. The audience was completely in tune with the characters' emotions, and a large portion of this was due to the wonderful score composed by Menken, the Oscar-winning composer of "The Little Mermaid" (1989), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) and "Aladdin" (1992). The music adeptly captured the sentiments of the "Tangled" journey.
As expected from Tony Award winner Murphy and pop singer Moore, and surprisingly from Levi, best known as the title character on NBC's "Chuck," all the songs were extremely well performed and easy on the ears. Tunes run the gamut from Broadway style "Mother Knows Best" to tunes such as "When Will My Life Begin" that show off Menken's poppy composition skills, creating a mixture of musical styles and themes that one wouldn't generally associate with Disney films.
A novel aspect of "Tangled" is its dual focus on both Rapunzel and her suitor, Flynn Rider. This is the first time in recent memory that the Walt Disney Animation Studios has put forth a typically "classic" Disney film with a true male lead. They did so in order to attract all young kids, boys and girls alike, to see this film — and they succeeded. Both leads complement each other and engage both female and male members of the audience: While Rapunzel adds the princess element that we all look for when we see a Disney film, Flynn brings the comic and adventurous side of the feature to the silver screen.
"Tangled's" graphics are not to be overlooked, either. The film is cast in 3-D and incorporates computer-generated imagery, which creates the appearance of hand-drawn images on screen. It was more than masterfully done from beginning to end. The only aspect of the animation that became a bother was the three-dimensionality. This element was innovative, but it didn't add anything more to the film. At the film's end, the 3-D seemed negligible and even tacky.
All in all, "Tangled" is the holiday movie for all ages. It's a lighthearted story that teaches us that we should never give up on our dreams, shows us how people can surprise us in good (and bad) ways and emphasizes the value of trust in a way that only Disney can.
