Where it ranks in the lexicon of Disney films is not the point of this Tangled review. Tangled stands on its own and in many ways that is its greatest strength. The casting team at Disney has struck gold with Mandy Moore playing Rapunzel and Zachary Levi portraying the dashing, debonair and decidedly criminal Flynn. Not your usual set-up for a Disney film romance, no?
That is why Tangled is a triumph in telling the story of the girl with 70 feet of magical hair who holds the proverbial key to her own freedom.
Tangled, the new holiday movie from Disney, is crammed full of the latest cartoon musts, including computer animation and, of course, eye-popping 3-D.
Yet it also seems sweetly, blissfully old-fashioned.
Yes, it’s based on a fairy tale —
the story of Rapunzel, actually. But unlike the “Shrek” series (and imitators, like “Hoodwinked”), it’s not built for pop-culture gags and adult irony.
Instead, Tangled very deliberately invokes Disney’s Second Golden Age, when movies like “The Little Mermaid, “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” wed children’s stories to sophisticated artwork and big, Broadway-style soundtracks…read more [nj.com]
The marketing and promotional campaign of the Disney CG animated motion picture, Tangled, has been troubled and extremely misguided to say the least. The movie was originally titled Rapunzel, meant to continue the Disney animation tradition of stories of classic fairy tale princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty to name a few. However, The Princess and The Frog underperformed last year in an extremely competitive marketplace and holiday season that included the release of the latest installment of the Twilight franchise and the biggest movie of all freaking time in Avatar. Despite this, the movie still broke $100 million in the US and over $270 million worldwide. Also despite the lack of a strong enough marketing campaign for the movie, people assumed this meant that people don’t like Disney princesses and fairy tales anymore. Boys don’t want to see a movie about a princess or with a princess in it. This begot the pointless title change of Rapunzel to Tangled. The marketing campaign focused on that of the story’s rogue-ish, male hero character Flynn Ryder over the princess character Rapunzel. Literally no emphasis was made that this was a traditional Disney animated musical either…read more [411mania.com]
It breathes visual life into the Rapunzel character in a crisp and pleasing way; the animation isn’t terribly stylized, but it’s just bland enough not to distract. Disney couldn’t get farther away from the world of its last, under-performing, animated princess flick – the New Orleans-set The Princess and the Frog, full of lights and colors and minute details – here keeping it so simple that all that lingers in your mind is the film’s pretty, peppy heroine and her long, lustrous, blonde hair…read more [Movies.com]
Yes, Tangled is an auspicious marking of Disney’s occasion but perhaps something of an endangered species. The movie went into production as a knee-jerk reaction to Shrek’s success and arrives when fairy tale spoofs are played out. I’m especially concerned about the preview trailers attached to Tangled: the silly, sugar-fueled Mars Needs Moms and Cars 2 that just feel wrong except for the studio’s accountants. Tangled is a nice look back for Disney fans, since looking ahead is depressing…read more [tampabay.com]
For “Tangled,” the studio’s 50th feature-length cartoon, the team at Disney has taken a deep breath and tried to be all things to all animation-loving people. There are some hiccups along the way, but by the end there is success.
Whether you like stirring adventure or sentimental romance, traditional fairy tales or stories of modern families, musicals or comedies, even blonds or brunets, “Tangled” has something for you. Sampling so many animation touchstones has its risks, but once “Tangled” calms down and accepts the essential sweetness of its better nature the rewards are clear.
As directed by Nathan Greno and “Bolt” co-director Byron Howard, one of those rewards is a gorgeous computer-animated look that features rich landscapes and characters that look fuller and more lifelike than they have in the past…read more [LA Times]
Disney’s newest animated feature Tangled is a terrifically entertaining movie in the style of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, but with computer animation. I recently attended the first promotional screening of the film in the Dallas, TX area on Oct. 23. While it is a computer-animated film, it was shown during this screening as a 2D print. The movie will also be released wide in 3D, and I definitely plan to see it that way as well.
Given that Tangled is not only Disney’s first computer-animated fairy tale but also their 50th animated film of any sort, it’s easy for fans to wonder how the film stacks up against decades of family-friendly films…read more [Inside the Magic]
It’s almost hard to believe that the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale, “Rapunzel,” has never been made into a Disney musical before. But the story of the girl with long hair has finally made it to the big screen with “Tangled,” which is a charming and fun adaptation of the popular fairy tale. The filmmakers found away to make the story fresh and contemporary while at the same time capturing all of the magic of a classic Disney film. “Tangled” is the 50th Disney animated film and the last of their princess movies. Although there is one big difference from this film and it’s forty-nine predecessors, “Tangled” uses CGI animation as apposed to the classic 2D animation of the previous movies, not to mention that it is also presented in 3D. While it’s hard not to miss the traditional animation, the CGI and 3D is tastefully done and adds to the story rather than distracting from it. The effects make Rapunzel’s hair really come alive, which is essential to the plot of the movie…read more [MovieWeb]
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair! Like, now. Because a really cute guy just scaled the wall to your tower, and your goth-looking mom is off running an errand. So go ahead, loop one end of your 70-odd feet of enchanted golden tresses through that useful hook on the ledge, lower the rest of your hair out the window and then shimmy down, rappelling yourself to freedom. And don’t worry about the guy, he’s a gifted rock climber. Now that you’re free for the first time in forever, you and Flynn – that’s his name, and he’s a thief – can go off and sing in a bar with Vikings, at least until it’s time to escape through tunnels into an abandoned mining town…read more [SFGate]
Pub Thugs – Tangled Wallpaper
Tangled Info
Rated: Rated PG for brief mild violence.
Cast:
Mandy Moore – Rapunzel (voice)
Zachary Levi – Flynn Ryder (voice)
Donna Murphy – Mother Gothel (voice)
Ron Perlman – Stabbington Brother (voice)
M.C. Gainey – Captain of the Guard (voice)
Jeffrey Tambor – Big Nose Thug (voice)
Brad Garrett – Hook Hand Thug (voice)
Directors: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Genres: Animation | Comedy | Family | Musical
Running Time: 92 minutes
Official Movie Web Site
Tangled Video Review
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJT87kyKhgw[/youtube]
