Tangled (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

For Disney's 50th animated movie, they have returned to their roots, sort of. They had added a new princess to the long line of fairy tale heroines in their stable, dating back to Snow White in their first movie. However, instead of traditional hand drawn animation, they've chosen to make Rapunzel their first computer animated princess. While this doesn't bode well for those who want to see both forms flourishing side by side, Tangled itself is wonderful.When the queen was pregnant with Rapunzel, she became sick to the point of death. The only way to cure her was to find a magical plant. The plant was the secret of Mother Gothel (voice of Donna Murphy), who used it to keep herself eternally young.Mother Gothel soon discovered that Rapunzel's hair had that magical property, but if her hair was cut, it lost it. So she kidnapped Rapunzel and hid her in a giant tower. Over the years, her hair grew long and continued to restore Gothel's youth.Fast forward eighteen years, and it's almost Rapunzel's birthday. More than anything, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) wants to see the floating lights that always appear on her birthday in person, but Mother Gothel is so controlling she won't let it happen. That's when fate enters the story in the form of Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi). He's the most wanted man in the kingdom, and he's trying to hide out in Rapunzel's tower. Only she blackmails him into taking her to see the lights. Where will this relationship lead?I must admit, I don't know much of the story of Rapunzel beyond the basics (young woman with long hair in a tower). A few times the thought crossed my mind wondering if something was in the original story or not. But as is usually the case with Disney, they take the basics and make it their own. While I'm sure most of the elements of the story are new, they feel like they've always been part of the story.The prologue, which sets everything up, is a bit on the slow side. But once the story really gets going, it's a complete blast. The plot was fairly obvious from the beginning, especially since it is a fairy tale. However, the story kept moving forward quickly, which kept me engaged. Plus, the Disney spins to the story made things much more interesting.And the humor was great. Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, and Maximus, the blood hound horse trying to track down Flynn, absolutely steal the show. Any scene they are an active part of is a complete hoot. The humans get some great laughs as well. I saw this with one of my roommates, and we were both laughing multiple times.The only complaint I've heard of the movie was the music. Yes, this is a musical in the grand tradition of Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin. The complaint I had heard was that the songs felt forced. I will admit that they didn't advance the story as much as they do in the movies I previously mentioned. However, I did feel like they were more a part of things than the songs in last year's Princess and the Frog. A couple of them are hauntingly beautiful (as you'd expect with Mandy Moore and Donna Murphy singing them), and there's one that is an absolute hoot. Zachary Levi does the singing for his character, and he holds his own with this cast.There's been some controversy with this film because they changed the name from Rapunzel to Tangled in an effort to attract boys. Trust me, this is a movie that boys will enjoy. It's got great action and the previously mentioned humor. In fact, I think the entire family will enjoy this one together. Yes, it does have romance to it, but this feel much like Aladdin to me, a movie that will appeal to everyone.The computer animation in this film is beautiful. They strove hard to create the look and feel of hand drawn animation with the computer, and the result is art like we've rarely scene in computer animation. Yes, it is still stylized, but it's a huge step forward.What I think surprised me the most about the film was how much I came to care about the characters. Flynn and Rapunzel are so nice, even though Flynn starts off as a thief. I really enjoyed spending time with them. On the flip side, I found Mother Gothel to be one of the most menacing villains in a long time solely because of her mind games on poor Rapunzel. I don't think she's scary enough to frighten young kids, but she is pure evil.If you are looking for a fun movie for the entire family, this is the film to see.

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Okay, I remember watching Disney movies when I was a kid and aside from maybe Aladdin and the Lion King, they were all pretty much awful. I just never liked them. Of course, I was never the target market for most of them, as I am not a little girl with aspirations of becoming a princess and being wooed by prince charming. I realize this, and have conceded that most of the stuff my girls are going to watch is going to be really sappy and painful for me to endure. However, I have to say I was really surprised by how entertaining Tangled was. From start to finish the Animation and voice acting is exciting and funny. The delivery of the lines is witty, and all of the characters are really well developed. The plot is entertaining and there is some action but it's pretty mild for the most part. There is one scene at the end that I won't mention here but I had some issues with my girls seeing it and had to do a lot of explaining over it, but other than that it seemed suitable for small children. Really though the most exciting part for me is the fact that I actually enjoyed watching it. I get the songs stuck in my head which is amazing because usually the songs are the worst part for me to watch. Overall I am happy to have something my girls and I can both watch and enjoy. My oldest daughter wants to watch this movie every day and if we didn't limit her TV I'm certain she would just have it playing all the time. She likes other princess movies, but none of them as much as this one, although that could just be because Daddy actually enjoys watching it with her. I would recommend this for anyone with little girls who want to be princesses and if you're lucky, they'll like this more than most of the other ones that make me want to vomit.

I grew up in the 90s, with The Lion King and Toy Story representing the pinnacle of Disney animation--the pinnacle of animation period, from any studio. With the pool crowding, however, Disney has had trouble since I've been a kid. Shrek took over; Kung-Fu Panda; Ice Age. Sure, Disney has been a major presence throughout, but it's had to put up with some stiff competition the past 10-15 years. For the record: I'm aware that there's always been competition. My point is, that for someone such as myself, Disney has always come first; no-one else could top them, even if movies from other companies make good money and get good reviews too. With these others I've listed, that has changed a little bit as I've aged. Plus I've paid less attention to so-called "kids movies", so the significance of Disney, to me personally, has waned.With Tangled, however, Disney seems to have finally found its footing in this modern era. Wall-E and other recent Disney flicks have proven themselves capable of holding their own, but the difference with Tangled--and what makes it so significant to me--is the general storyline of a princess rather than a robot or a pack of anthropomorphic automobiles. Lion King had this to an extent (although it was a Prince/King); Toy Story didn't have this, although the story illustrated the fact that CG animation could elicit genuine emotion. Tangled, although perhaps not as memorable as either of these favorites of mine (time, as they say, will only tell) but it marks a major return to form for the king of animation. Unlike other "kids" movies, Tangled--which is full of humor, drama, and character growth--does not incorporate inappropriate humor to attract adult audiences. Rather, Tangled's humor, despite the fact that the movie is aimed at a younger audience, is genuine enough that it doesn't _have_ to have kid-proof adult-humor (ie: kids see and hear it, but probably don't understand the double entendre) to attract adult audiences. That's what I love about this movie--it's funny without resorting to low-brow inappropriate humor. No, I'm not some angry parent who hates Shrek for its gross-out raunchiness (I in fact enjoy Shrek quite a bit); I just appreciate good, classic funny and Tangled has a plenty of it.Rather than take the easy way out, the writers and animators have done a wonderful job of making the comedy work. The dialogue is fine, but what really stands out is the character "acting". The horse, Maximus, is especially well "acted". His facial expressions and body language (that of another animal altogether, which is for some reason very hilarious) fit perfectly with every situation in which he finds himself. Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, also expresses himself very efficiently without having a line of dialogue in the film. As surprisingly good as Mandy Moore's voice acting is, the animated acting of Rapunzel herself is amazing. With just a look, a turn of the head, the way she walks, you know exactly what she's thinking. It's truly wonderful.Besides, the gags are all really funny too, without being raunchy. For instance, in one scene Maximus is hidden behind a peculiarly shaped and mossed-up rock, with a tree-branch conspicuously bent down--all of this with the effect of looking like a horse. All the sudden, Maximus jumps out from this situation. It may not sound funny on the page--and as I look at what I just wrote, I'm a bit unconvinced myself--but to actually see it is something else entirely. I was laughing when I saw it in the theater, along with my 35 year old aunt, 13 year old sister, and my 8 and 4 year old cousins.Pardon my random musings on this movie. I realize that it's not an in depth review, but as usual with any reviews I decide to make, I'm writing this for people like me, people who remember the Disney of _their_ childhood (not necessarily the "classic" Disney; Snow White, Pinocchio, etc); for the people who don't think Disney matters any more. It's like we've all grown up now, and no one bothers to watch a movie if it's not violent or R-rated. It's not gritty, it's not a representation of the real-world. It's a fantasy, a fairy tale, and so on. But so what? Who says that movies have to be that way to be deemed worthy of viewing? Tangled may be a "kids movie", but I like it quite a bit.I give it 5 stars not because I think it's a game-changing movie, not because I think it's perfect, or anything like that. Rather, it's a great "kids movies" that anyone and everyone can watch without feeling out of place. It's entertaining throughout, and that's what I look for in any movie.** UPDATE FOR 3D VERSION **[I apparently can't change this review to be specifically for the 3D version, so I'm just tacking this on here.]When I first bought my 3D TV, this (and Tron Legacy) were the first 3D Blu-Rays that I bought. Since then I've collected probably about half of the major movies that have been released in 3D, and of all of them (including Avatar) TANGLED 3D is my favorite in terms of stereoscopic 3D. The picture looks absolutely amazing and has impressed everyone I've shown it to. The 3D definitely adds to the experience, and the world really pops on screen (and "behind" screen). So if you're looking for just one 3D Blu-Ray to buy, this should be the one to add to your collection.