Tangled
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
One of the perks of a Disney Cruise with friends & family is the chance to see some family hits that have somehow escaped me.
2010's TANGLED is, by far, my favorite of the new era Disney animated classics.
Disney's first CGI fairy tale film adaption, it features big laughs, physical comedy and real heart for kids and parents (and grandparents, hello!). This box office bonanza is a flawless example of how Disney got back to story basics after the box office disappointment of "The Princess and the Frog" the previous year, a film I really enjoyed but audiences were only lukewarm toward at the time of its release.
Kids of every era know the story of Rapunzel, stuck up in that castle with some very long hair and a very protective Mom.
Writer Dan Fogelman (This Is Us, Paradise) turns that old tale on its head, serving up a very modern Rapunzel (perfectly voiced by Mandy Moore) and a runaway thief named Flynn Rider, played by Zachary Levi in a hilarious, winning performance.
Rapunzel and Flynn's first meeting is a non-stop display of physical comedy that had all ages in our showing laughing out loud.
Of course, Rapunzel's Mom, Mother Gothel (Broadway star Donna Murphy) wants NO part of Rapunzel leaving her tower, but Rapunzel and Flynn have other ideas.
There are plenty of secrets woven in that 70 foot long hair and its magical powers.
The world beyond the tower is a complete mystery to Rapunzel and the film tees her wonder up perfectly, serving up some real suspense along with the belly laughs.
Disney brought back Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast) to write a beautiful new batch of songs, with lyrics by Glenn Slater. They are superb.
Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me) and Jeffrey Tambor belt out "I've Got a Dream".
Murphy betrays her stage roots with er powerful number, "Mother Knows Best".
Moore and Levi pair up for the moving Disney ballad, "I See the Light", providing the perfect moment that's melted everyone's heart for nearly two decades since the film's release. If it doesn't tug at your heart just a little, you might want to check your pulse or your curmudgeon status.
Check it out here:
There are over 45,000 animated lanterns in that sequence, it's a visual stunner!
The film is loaded with eye popping vistas. In the Kingdom Dance scene, there are over 3,000 people present, the largest crowd scene animated in Disney history.
At a cost of $260 million, this was Disney's most expensive animated film ever made. It grossed over $600 million and has become a modern classic.
Flynn and Rapunzel are a couple with film staying power. Eagle eyed viewers can spot them at Elsa's coronation in "Frozen" while Tiana and Naveen from "Princess and the Frog" are in the crowd below the balcony.
Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th feature film and its first one of the 2010s, TANGLED is one of the most enjoyable Disney animated films of all time for me. It's very entertaining for adults while being funny and exciting for the kids, not an easy blend to achieve and certainly a magic elixir that Disney has found more than any other studio for many decades.
Character designer Glen Keane brought in fifty Disney animators (both CGI and traditional artists) to discuss the techniques used in each style and how to, in his words, "bring the warmth and intuitive feel of the hand-drawn to CGI" in TANGLED. It's an undeniable success in that regard, feeling old school but on a spectacular new scale. Six years in production, its a modern masterpiece of Disney entertainment and gets an A.
One of my favorite Disney movies! 🍿