Reviewing - The Tangled Collection
She's Disney's first computer animated princess, and she came in with a bang. Spunky, heartfelt, and full of all the grace that Disney's catalogue of princesses have shown in the past, she not only paved the way for Elsa & Anna but reinvigorated a genre that may have otherwise begun to fade. Further, her adventures go far beyond her theatrical film - taking us deep into the mythology of Rapunzel's powers and all the sinister forces that oppose her. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the heir with the hair.
Tangled (****)
In which a woman kidnaps a baby, hides her within eyesight of her parent’s home, lets her keep her birth name, tells her her actual birthday, and gives her access to a full education - then gets surprised when the girl figures it all out one day
Traditional and yet full of life, Tangled successfully brings Disney’s Princess franchise into the world of computer animation.
Having missed “The Princess and the Frog” when it was released in 2009, Tangled was my first Disney Princess movie since Mulan. I loved it when I first watched it, and I still love it now. Tangled has everything that a good princess movie needs: a likable and earnest protagonist, a funny animal sidekick or two, great music, stunning visuals, and a believable love story. What’s so crucial about this movie was that Disney was able to give us all of that in computer animation. As much as I love traditional animation, it was clear by this point that audiences had largely moved on. Tangled brought Disney’s fairy tale genre to a new generation of kids. Without Tangled, Frozen may not have been possible.
Rapunzel is just terrific. Old-school and contemporary at the same time, she’s a perfect princess for the modern era. She’s got a good heart and she’s hardworking and clever, which carries on the tradition of earlier princesses. But her mannerisms and the words she uses are thoroughly modern, which makes her accessible to kids in a way that the older princesses might not be (Sleeping Beauty, as classy as she is, can be kind of hard to read sometimes). The way Rapunzel says, “It’s kind of the biggest day of my life” or “I am a horrible person” make her sound just like a teenager would today, but they don’t go overboard to the point where we start to resent her modernity. She’s fresh without being cliché.
The other characters each have their moment in the spotlight too. Mother Gothel is that kind of villain that you really love to hate. She has a bunch of lines that really get under your skin in the best way. Flynn/Eugene is a charismatic and sharp romantic interest for Rapunzel – more than just being her ‘Prince Charming’, he’s a character that young boys will definitely aspire to be. The scene stealer, though, is Maximus the horse by a landslide. Every time he’s on screen, he does something to make you laugh. Whether he’s acting like a hardened detective, a lovable puppy, or a bitter rival, his facial expressions and movements are hilarious from start to finish. His ‘swordfight’ with Flynn still has a special place in my heart for being something completely unlike anything else I’ve ever seen on film. And last of all, how could I forget Rapunzel’s parents? They make you cry without ever saying a word. The emotion on their faces and the little sweet moments that they have together really do add so much to the story. The moment when the guard rushes in to tell them that their daughter has been found is so rich with dramatic weight, even though there’s not a single line of dialogue. Wow!
The story is a lot of fun because it manages to hold true to the story you know and love while still infusing it with enough freshness to make it new. When Flynn says, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair”, it doesn’t feel like a cheap laugh. It’s earnest and heartfelt, which has always been one of my favourite things about Disney fairy tales. There’s a time and place for parodies and lampooning films like Shrek, but there’s something to be said for a timeless tale told right. And with a great story, terrific music, beautiful animation, and instantly likeable characters, there’s not much bad to say about this movie. My only gripe is that I don’t really care for any of the patrons of the Snuggly Duckling. The “I’ve Got A Dream” song was fun and the gimmick of a bunch of rogue villains actually being sweet was good for a bit, but I think they drew the joke out a bit too long. The old diaper guy in particular was stretched far beyond his usefulness. Why on earth does he get to be the final shot in the film?
I heard that Disney came under a bit of scrutiny for naming this film ‘Tangled’ instead of Rapunzel. Apparently the decision was made in an attempt to attract a wider audience. Boys wouldn’t go to see a princess movie, but a movie called ‘Tangled’ with a cool-looking guy on the posters might. There’s speculation that part of The Princess and the Frog’s relative underperformance was due to the fact that it had ‘Princess’ in its name. And who knows – maybe that’s part of the reason I didn’t see it at the time. I can’t quite remember my reasoning. Either way, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Yeah, ‘Rapunzel’ would’ve been better, but if calling it ‘Tangled’ means more people see it, then that means we’ll get more movies like this in the future. And I’m okay with that.
Tangled earns her place among the pantheon of Disney Princesses with her spunk, grace, and the sheer beauty of her story. The lantern scene alone would’ve done it, to be honest. Disney’s done it again!
Tangled: Before Ever After (***)
In which Rapunzel kind of turns into a reverse Samson where her hair is super strong but nothing else
The new animation style might bug a few people – as well as the fact that this is essentially the pilot episode for a kid’s television show – but ‘Before Ever After’ takes our hairoine (pun intended) in an exciting new direction.
Part of the trouble that this TV movie had was the fact that Tangled ended with Rapunzel’s iconic hair being cut off. Not only that, but a short film titled ‘Tangled Ever After’ had been released, showing Flynn and Rapunzel getting married with her short cut still prominently displayed. As far as the film goes, that’s no big deal. But you can’t make a Rapunzel TV show where Rapunzel doesn’t have long hair. It just doesn’t work.
What I’m glad about with regards to this show is that they took the best possible direction to take for the series. They could’ve made this a prequel like ‘The Little Mermaid’ series was, or they could’ve left Rapunzel with short hair. Both of these would’ve stunk – a prequel means we don’t get to see Flynn, Maximus, and our other friends from the film, and short hair is just not an option. So what they did was develop a whole backstory for this magical golden flower that gave Rapunzel her powers. Obviously the movie doesn’t get into specifics, but there was enough there for me as a grown-up to say, “Wow – they’ve actually got some sort of plan here.” This movie basically sets the groundwork for the show to come. You’d think that the movie itself would suffer as a result, but I actually liked how the film kind of ended on a cliffhanger. There isn’t a ‘happily ever after’ at the end of this film. If anything, it’s more of a call to action in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean 2 ended with our heroes deciding to go rescue Captain Jack. Was the story revolutionary? No. But I wasn’t bored, either.
I actually liked the animation, even though it’s clear that the producers were innovating off of a significantly reduced budget from the film. It’s essentially computer animation under the guise of traditional hand-drawn animation, but it’s a cute look that retains the artistic style of the film. There are a few dynamic shots in there that were nice to look at.
There’s nothing here that would make me call this a must-see for anyone other than young audiences who enjoyed Tangled. But if you’ve got a little girl who loves Rapunzel, this will be right up her alley.
Tangled: The Series
There’s not much I can say about the series that I didn’t say for the TV movie that set it up. What I CAN say is that while I only watched the first five episodes, my brother skimmed through the entire thing. He says that most of it didn’t interest him at all, which is fair considering this show is clearly directed at young audiences. But he also said that the direction they take Rapunzel’s powers in is really far out. I read some episode descriptions online for further ahead in the series – and let me tell you – if I was a kid, I’d be watching this thing from start to finish. There’s some serious stuff that happens down the line – not only in terms of Rapunzel’s development but in terms of her relationships with other characters as well. As for the first five episodes that I watched, they were fine. All I really care about is that Rapunzel and Flynn are still voiced by the same actors, and they still have the great chemistry that they had back for the film. The main thing is that it’s cool to see the show has a firm direction, as opposed to earlier Disney spinoff shows that were just an excuse for us to spend more time with the characters.
I do have one little gripe with Episode 2. Rapunzel finds someone in the kingdom who boos her, and over the course of the episode, she learns that it’s okay to not have everyone like you. But then, right at the end, she boos the guy who booed her when he wins something. Her defense is that she doesn’t have to like everybody – which is true. But just because we don’t have to like everybody doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat everybody with respect. That’s not very princess-like, Rapunzel.
Tangled Ever After (***)
In which we learn why you should never incorporate animals into your wedding day
This little short is nothing more or less than a bit of sidekick slapstick humour. Maximus and Pascal have lost Rapunzel’s wedding rings, and they end up on a mad dash through the kingdom to get the rings back. It’s not trying to be anything more than a funny few minutes – and it works. Nothing wrong with a simple screwball chase!