Review - Tangled

Being Disney fanatics and having young kids, it seemed only natural that we would go to see Tangled. From the previews, it looked like good Disney-fied fun. One of the boys thought he'd rather go see Megamind but really he was just glad to be going out to a movie and in the end he enjoyed it as well.

I'd read the Grimms Fairy Tales version of Rapunzel a few years ago and also had recent memories of Rapunzel's Revenge (the recent graphic novel adaptation by a trio of Hales). I knew this version would be slightly different than both but wasn't entirely sure what to expect.


There were certainly similarities to these other versions. Yes, we have a girl trapped in a tower by Mother Gothel as in the Grimm. Yes, she can wield her hair around like a multifunctional whip, as in the Hale story. But the differences were pretty unique and fun. Through pure Disney magic and imagination, Rapunzel's hair is not only long and beautiful, but it is actually magic. It's for this magic that Gothel kidnaps and imprisons Rapunzel rather than out of vengeance against her parents or some other reason.

Plot Breakdown

Once the backstory is set, we join Rapunzel on a fun filled adventure. Instead of a prince climbing her hair, a rogue of of a thief climbs her tower. She ends up overpowering and capturing him (out of fear and through use of her hair and a frying pan) and in the end he really just wants to leave as opposed to seeking her hand in marriage or something similarly romantic. She, instead, convinces (forces/coerces) him into taking her out of the tower to see the mystical lights that float through the sky each year. He reluctantly agrees although along the way he does things to try and convince her to just go back to her tower. Naturally they grow to like each other along the way and romance starts to bloom Disney style.

General Thoughts

I found the modified story here to be cute, fun and entertaining. It definitely had predictable moments but it had some intriguing turns and twists along the way.

I thought the voice acting was done very well and that the characterizations and writing was a lot of fun. There was plenty of witty dialog and humorous interactions.

The art was gorgeous, especially the scenery/backdrops/locations. The characters were well done also although I personally would have preferred hand-drawn animation to CGI work. Still, it was well done and worthy of the Disney name.

The music was nice. Unlike a lot of Disney films, the music felt like it took a back seat on this one. There was a kind of creepy song from Mother Gothel and the romantic love song between Rapunzel and Flynn, but if there were other songs, they weren't really memorable. Still, the background music set the tone nicely and helped create a nice atmosphere.

And finally…

Will this film will become a definitive classic in the Disney collection? I doubt it. It's hard to compete with some of the old classics like Sleeping Beauty or the modern classics like Beauty and the Beast. Still, I think this movie is definitely worth watching and was quite a lot of fun.



4 out of 5 stars