The fiftieth feature length theatrical release in Walt Disney's Animated Classics series offers devoted House of Mouse film fans Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Dude.
Much like Disney’s more classically styled female-centric forty-ninth release, the studio’s reconfiguration of the vintage Brothers Grimm German fairytale Rapunzel also happens to be about a princess and a frog
While admittedly this wasn’t always the case when you take into consideration the blockbuster successes of Snow White
And sure enough the titular gamble undertaken by Tangled
Nonetheless, when the film begins, it initially appears as though they’ve hidden the fairytale in plain sight in a beautifully realized, quintessentially Disney storybook opener that establishes Rapunzel’s back-story as an abducted baby princess with magically healing golden hair who’s been raised to believe that the woman who kidnapped her for her fountain-of-youth locks is her true mother.
Gradually, however, the focus is shifted away from the girl with the development of the strong, mischievous male character from the Aladdin
Having been kept locked away in a tower by her abductor/guardian Gothel (Donna Murphy) with the reasoning that it’s to keep her safe from harm, the now eighteen year old Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is understandably shocked when Flynn climbs into her tower in an attempt to lay low after double crossing his fellow bandits.
Blackmailing Flynn with the royal tiara he’d stolen from the castle – which unbeknownst to Rapunzel is her birthright – the feisty, fair-haired literal babe-in-the-woods entreats him to act as her guide on a birthday journey into the outside world.
While it’s high-spirited, action-packed fun, Tangled
An enjoyable Disney entry that loses some steam in the transition from the sluggish second to the third rushed act, the slightly above-average Tangled
Though I only wish that some of the funds from the film’s astronomical two-hundred and sixty million dollar price-tag could have been allocated to strengthening the script, the visual goal to meld the beauty of hand-drawn animation with state-of-the-art CGI to achieve painterly results that necessitated six years of groundbreaking technological development is staggering from start to finish.
On par with the company’s high-definition Pixar releases, Tangled
Furthermore, the influence of The Swing
Of course, ensuring that the youngest viewers would be as – if not more – entertained than older film fans, Tangled
Likably pliable yet lacking in enough distinctive supporting characters, refreshing humor or amusing songs to make it memorable -- by striving to be all things to all people just like the title promised, Tangled’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness in that it’s lacking the conviction and confidence that made previous Disney fairytales timeless.
Regardless of whether your film is about a Lion King
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FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.