Movie Reviews: Tangled

I'll be the first to admit that Disney really hasn't had their game face on the past few years.  For someone who grew up in the second magic era of The Little Mermaid through The Lion King complete with Gargoyles on the Disney Afternoon, the more recent offerings from the House of Mouse have been ... lame.  Did anyone even see Home on the Range? Did anyone want to?  There are exceptions of course - moments of greatness have always eeked through.  Lilo and Stitch and The Emperor's New Groove both deserve a very special honorable mention.  But a whole movie able to make you gasp in horror, laugh in delight, and stare in simple awe?  Remember that Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture before the academy ever had an animated movie category.  It's been quite a while.

But when Disney gets it all right, no one does it better.  And, oh my, how they got it right.  I don't think I've enjoyed a movie so much in ten years.  I'll let you in on a secret that may well shock some of you: I think I may even like it better than Anastasia. How's that for a recommendation? Anastasia came out when Disney was beginning its downfall, and the short lived Fox Animation Studio was the best competition for animation at the time before Studio Ghibli made their presence known from Japan.  Anastasia is an excellent movie.  But even I will admit there are things that could be pared down from it to make a better movie.  It uses the formula of main character plus sidekick to extremes.  It probably doesn't need at least one of its songs.  And it's difficult to take something that actually happened like the revolution in Russia and death of the principal members of the ruling family and turn it into a fairytale.  That said, I'll probably watch it again this week cuz talking about it is making me miss it :)

So, let's get back to Tangled and Disney's ability to enchant when they get their act together.  I hope this movie puts to rest any ridiculous notions that fairytales and adventures and "the Disney formula" are outdated.  If you think back on your favorite Disney movies how many of them are fairytales?  When you think of stories to tell kids in general, how many of them are fairytales?  And isn't it the adults that are telling the stories?  How much of the folklore of the world would fall into that category?  So I'm rather tired of this "fairytales are out" nonsense.  Let's not forget what G. K. Chesterton said. "Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."  And from what so many of the critics are saying - that this is the best Disney movie since Beauty and the Beast - I'm not the only one who thinks so.  Disney always brings their A-game to the princess stories.

And since it's my blog and I'm just rambling anyway, let's chat about that for a moment, shall we?  Disney princesses that is.  A lot has been made of them over the years.  Remember what a big deal it was when Belle had that lock of hair that kept falling in her face?  It was so that she didn't always have perfect hair.  Cuz everyone is so terribly concerned about the impression that these perfect princesses have on impressionable young minds.  And, honestly, I think it's such a load of crap.  Ultra-feminism at it's worst.  Not very politically correct of me, I know.  Oh well.  I just think you can find much better things to blame if you want to start pointing fingers at what's screwing up society.  Those same people like to go on about how racist Disney is for only having one African American princess in all this time.  From a historical Disney perspective I'm sure that debate could go on and on and I don't want to go there.  I'm just going to say that from a story standpoint I think the setting of every fairytale has made perfect sense.  When you think about fairytales and myths I bet you think of Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen way before you think of Aida and the Anansi myth or the story of the Fire Bird, right?  Myth is intrinsic to culture, and most of it hearkens from a less racially-diverse world.  To my mind, a story is going to work best when it's told in a form closer to the culture it comes from.  And I dare anyone to find a more racially diverse show than Gargoyles.  End soap box rant directed at those who let politics mess up a good story.

Back to that traditional Disney formula.  The one with music, and a handsome couple, and outrageous villains, and animal sidekicks.  The formula works people.  Don't take out ingredients, just rearrange the amounts and types so that it's always something fresh.

Music:  I'm currently listening the soundtrack, if that tells you anything. Alan Menken composed and the songs are a wide mix and a perfect selection for the movie.  There's a lot of guitar used, which is somewhat different for Disney, but the acoustic sound of some of the songs keeps every song from being a showstopper.  As much as I like it when life resembles a musical, I generally prefer it when there is a more gradual introduction to the music.  So this is perfect for me.  The lyrics are fun and the song "I See the Light" is deeply moving.  And all the actors do their own singing, which is a big bonus.  Kudos especially to Zachary Levi.  Now that the secret is out and everyone knows you can sing the world will be begging for "Chuck: the Musical"

Characters:  One nice thing about this movie is how un-cluttered it is.  Remember how I said Anastasia could probably have done with a few less sidekicks?  Tangled doesn't make that mistake.  There are three principle characters.  Just three.  Flynn Rider, played by Zachary Levi.  Rapunzel, played by Mandy Moore.  And Mother Gothel, played by Donna Murphy.  There are a few scattered thugs and guards that talk too, but they don't really have much of a role beyond their functional place in the movie.  Rapunzel has a pet chameleon named Pascal, but all Pascal really does is gurgle.  He's cute and amusing and, yes, an animal sidekick, but he doesn't make any attempt to steal the show.  He works.  Perfectly.  There is also a horse, Maximus, who happens to be my parents' favorite character.  But he doesn't talk either, and he is completely unconventional in the role of animal sidekick.  He works too.  And the fact that they don't have human voices forced on them is wonderful.  In Mother Gothel we get a villain who works in a truly villainous capacity while also speaking to every difficult mother/daughter moment anyone has ever had.  Rapunzel is endearing.  Everyone should experience the world as she sees it for the first time.  And she paints.  How awesome is that?  As for Flynn - from an interview with the directors we are told that when designing his character they literally put hundreds of pictures of guys up on the walls and then had all the girls in the studio come tell them which features put together would be best.  So I gess you can judge for yourself how well they did.  And he's funny too!  I mean, really, played by Zachary Levi how could he not be?

Of course, for me the floating light scene is reason enough to watch the movie all by itself.  It is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring sights ever put on the big screen.  When the movie comes out on dvd and I need something to relax to, I think I'll jump to that scene and just admire the glow.  It is for this scene in particular that I'm glad they used computer animation instead of traditional animation.  Traditional animation would not have been able to do the vision justice.  And they would have never had the opportunity to invent new technology to tackle the hair.  (Which they did.  I guess when hair is a character all on its own you have to make sure you get it right.  Look at it closely when you see it, and compare it to the hair in Shrek or other computer animated movies.  I think you'll see a difference.)

Have I rambled enough?  See this movie.  Please.  In theatres.  Let's show filmmakers what kinds of movies are worth watching again and again.