When I watched the first teaser trailer for Tangled (2010), Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th official film, I was not impressed. The use of modern pop music and slapstick comedy-style editing gave me the impression that the movie would be a Dreamworks-knockoff (which ironically was a direction former-Disney CEO Michael Eisner pursued during the film's lengthy production beginning as early as the early 2000s). Despite the talented voice cast, including Zachary Levi (of TV's Chuck fame), I was tired of cynical self-parodies like the ones Dreamworks had been putting out at that point. That said, I went into the movie theater on this film's opening day (Wednesday, November 24th, 2010), knowing about and expecting absolutely nothing from the movie other than my thoughts that it was going to stink. The following spoiler-filled review is my 10th anniversary retrospective on one of my all-time favorite Disney animated films, Tangled.
As stated earlier, I had little to no expectations for this movie. However, once I had settled myself into the theater and the film began, something remarkable happened. I found myself wholly invested in the intelligent yet pure screenplay, the gorgeous computer animation, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (later known as Eugene Fitzherbert)'s adventure and their interactions with one another, Alan Menken and Glenn Slater's upbeat songs and soaring score, the well-utilized 3D effects (this was the case during the collapsing of the dam and the "I See the Light" sequence (more on those later)), and most importantly, the film's heart. Yes, there are jokes. But not the Dreamworks-type ones which I had been fearing. What came over me as I was watching this movie was a sense of relief as I felt like I was watching a genuine fairy-tale like the ones I had read during my youth. The sincerity in telling a straight-forward fairy-tale without blatantly relying on pop culture references or fourth wall jokes for humor came as a breath of fresh air. Also, its seemingly effortless tonal balance reminded me why I love Disney's classic animated features like Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959), and Beauty and the Beast (1991) in the first place.
All the vocal performances in this movie are strong, but three of them are standouts. Mandy Moore's vocal performance as Rapunzel stole my heart instantly with her youthful spunk, optimism, vulnerability, and resourcefulness, which gives her character both a well-rounded personality with plenty of contagious spirit and grace. Levi's performance as Eugene is an excellent balance between the wit and charm of a classic Hollywood leading man and a sensitive and kind-hearted man searching for "a new dream," as he describes himself. In terms of villains, Broadway veteran Donna Murphy's performance as Mother Gothel exudes both a narcissistic charisma and aura of menace to the screen, which not only raises the film's emotional stakes considerably but gives it a hint of darkness that a fairy-tale needs for it to come to life.
Dan Fogelman's screenplay seamlessly infuses the right amount of heart with well-placed and timed humor and quips that never overshadowed my emotional attachments to the characters. While the story does not stray too far from the Disney formula of lovable characters with songs, comedy, emotion, and adventure, Fogelman brings truthfulness and an outstanding amount of commitment to the character-driven story, which makes this movie second to none in that regard.
Alan Menken's score is lively and diverse in emotional range. From Rapunzel's optimistic themes of yearning, Eugene's sweeping adventure epics, their beautifully intimate yet gentle romantic cues by the campfire and in the rowboat, to the increasing sense of dread whenever Mother Gothel is onscreen. Menken and Glenn Slater's songs for this movie are good on their own. However, they are somehow elevated to legendary status by the film they are in, namely "I See the Light". Every time I listen to the soundtrack, I always picture the night sky filled with lanterns and the two leads' romantic boat ride (which rivals that from The Little Mermaid (1989)). As far as villain songs go, I consider "Mother Knows Best" to be a new standard for future Disney villains, and this is coming from someone who loves "Gaston" and "Be Prepared".
This movie's painterly quality of the computer animation continues to blow my mind, as it feels like I am seeing a storybook illustration coming to life before my eyes. Tangled's bold yet gentle-on-the-eyes texture on the human characters and their surrounding backdrops expertly blurs the line between the traditional handpainted watercolor hues and twenty-first-century digital wizardry. So much so that it would serve as a blueprint for the character designs and sequences featured in Frozen (2013) and its 2019 sequel. However, the former's visually rich color palette and approach to its character animation and surrounding environments give the visual edge over the Frozen films by a longshot.
The movie's 3D effects are impressive as well. As much as I adore traditionally animated pictures, the sense of scale needed for a sequence like the dam's collapse is where the computer-generated imagery comes in handy. The results are jaw-dropping. There were two moments in the film where my mouth dropped in the theater: the first was the overhead shot of all the kingdom villagers' lanterns illuminating at the same time before the "I See the Light" sequence began. The "I See the Light" sequence is an all-time favorite sequence from the modern Disney animated films I have seen, and the closest Disney film that has gotten close to it is Frozen II, but that is another story. The second scene was Eugene's self-sacrifice by cutting Rapunzel's hair, defeating Mother Gothel, and dying in Rapunzel's arms. Even though I instinctively knew that he would live by the end, I had become so emotionally attached to Rapunzel and her journey that I didn't see how the movie was going to move forward from that moment. However, once Rapunzel's tear dissolved into his cheek, and the orchestra began playing the "Healing Incantation", I was grinning from ear to ear. Not just because Eugene was revived, but I was smiling for Rapunzel, how much power from the golden sun drop she possessed, and how the movie concluded: with a happy ending that felt modern yet incredibly faithful to the magical DNA of Disney's classic interpretations of fairy-tales and one where I and the rest of the audience enthusiastically burst into applause.
In the years afterward, one of my biggest grievances with Disney was that they were aggressively pushing Frozen as their new computer-animated classic, yet sidelining Tangled as if it was a one-off experiment. Thankfully, this movie has experienced a renaissance of its own, with a well-crafted stage musical onboard one of Disney's cruise ships and an animated television series on Disney Channel (with most of the original cast reprising their roles). At the end of the day, while the story is admittedly familiar, Tangled's endearing amount of heart, blended with Fogelman's sharp wit and comedic timing, incredible visuals, impressive use of the 3D format, and catchy (and at some times, moving) music greatly outweighs that factor. That day in the movie theater was a truly memorable experience, one which I will never forget.
Final Score: 10 out of 10
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