Tangled
Written by Dan Fogelman (based on the Brothers Grimm’s “Rapunzel”)
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
Starring Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy, with Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, Paul F. Tompkins, and Richard Kiel
Disney’s newest animated feature, Tangled, continues the string of modern Disney princesses that started with Beauty and the Beast‘s Belle. Rapunzel, the newest princess, is a much more modern woman than her early predecessors Snow White, Cinderella, and so on. Rapunzel is an accomplished artist, very well read, with a sense of humor and a sense of self. But that modernism didn’t quite go all the way, which I felt was one of the disappointments of this movie.
As with nearly all Disney films, there’s never any real doubt how the film will end: the stolen princess will be reunited with her parents, the roguish prince will win her heart (and she his), and the villain will get her comeuppance. So there are no real worries in Tangled. There is, however, a new story line, so those familiar with the original Brothers Grimm version of Rapunzel will be seeing a new movie.
The movie starts with a good introduction. We meet Gothel (Donna Murphy, Star Trek: Insurrection), a very long-lived woman who has discovered the ability to rejuvenate herself using a specific magical flower. Then we meet the king and very pregnant queen, whose unborn daughter is in danger. She needs the magical ability that flower can provide, and it is found and brewed into a tea for her. Well, Gothel’s not happy, but the queen is saved, and Princess Rapunzel is born. What is Gothel to do? She’s lived so long, she wants to keep on living. Obviously, she has to take the princess.
Flash-forward 18 years, and now Rapunzel (Mandy Moore, Because I Said So) is living secreted away in a tower. The only person she sees or talks with is Mother Gothel, seemingly a very caring woman, who uses Rapunzel’s hair as her elevator up and down the tower. Rapunzel’s only other friend is Pascal, a hyper-intelligent chameleon (yet another in a long line of anthropomorphic Disney animals, paired in this film with the horse Maximus). As I said, Rapunzel is intelligent and talented, but the one thing she wants for her eighteenth birthday is to actually see the floating lights up close and personal (part of her studies have included astronomy, and she recognizes that those floating lights can’t be connected with the heavens, they must have an earthly origin, and it probably has some connection to her).
Mother Gothel, however, is pretty shrewd, warning Rapunzel of the dangers outside the tower. And reluctantly, Rapunzel agrees to remain sequestered.
But it’s been eighteen years, and darn it [this is Disney], she’s got to try. She manages to convince Gothel to take a three-day trip for her, and then finds her way out of the tower.
Meanwhile, we meet the roguish hero, Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi, Chuck), who is, of course, the good-natured only-seemingly ne’er-do-well we expect. When we meet him, he’s teamed with two giant thugs in an attempt to steal the tiara that just happens to belong to the missing Princess Rapunzel. They nab the loot, mayhem ensues, and Flynn loses his teammates before meeting up with Rapunzel. Can they team up? Will he take her to see the floating lights? Does he really like her?
These and other questions will be answered (this is not a mystery film), but before we get there, Rapunzel will again prove herself capable and confident. From overpowering Flynn herself (who needs magic when you’ve got a frying pan) to turning an entire tavern of low-lifes into her adoring fans (it’s Disney, she can sing, and convince them to do anything, because deep down, they all want to be good).
But Gothel can’t let her meal ticket (well, philosopher’s stone) get away so easily. She’ll connive and betray to keep her fountain of youth. We get a hint of romantic comedy (another barrier to keep the expected-to-be lovers apart), but of course it’s just misinformation, not really betrayal.
And finally, finally, the hero gets to be heroic, rescuing Rapunzel without actually killing the villain. It was here that I was a little disappointed. Rapunzel is so modern a heroine that I almost expected her to save herself, once she understood what there was in the much wider world. But at the crucial moment, Flynn had show his true—good—nature by sacrificing himself to save her. And then the magic comes into play one final time, so that the princess and prince can live happily ever after, and the villain manages to off herself, leaving everyone’s hands clean.
Disney’s films are the modern musicals, and this one is no exception. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of the songs are going to be hits on their own (I didn’t really remember any walking out), but the film makes ample use of the singing talents of Moore (who has produced several albums) and Murphy (who’s singing talents are most often experienced on Broadway). Actually, Murphy seems to sing more than Moore, and if you don’t know the actresses, it tends to overemphasize Gothel at the expense of Rapunzel. Levi, too, gets a few singing lines, and acquits himself adequately.
Obviously, as an animated Disney fairytale, the target audience is significantly younger than I am. The five- and three-year-old I saw the movie with seemed to like it. They managed to sit through the whole film (with only an “eww, gross” or two when the kissing happened). I think they liked it.
And as a modern animated Disney fairytale, they made sure to throw a few bones at the older audience, that we could sit through it without nodding off. Actually, it’s a very pretty movie (well, except I wasn’t thrilled with the oversized anime-style eyes the characters had), with some cute bits for the adults. Overall, I liked it.