A very hairy situation traps a beautiful princess in Disney’s latest animated feature, TANGLED.
TANGLED is Disney’s version of the classic tale of Rapunzel, the long-haired princess who was kidnapped and left marooned in a tower. In Disney’s adaptation, Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, is captured by a gypsy after the gypsy discovers that Rapunzel’s hair possesses great powers. Rapunzel is forbidden to leave the tower, allowing the gypsy to hoard Rapunzel’s powers.
Flynt Rider, a thief and rebel, stumbles upon the tower. Flynt, as you may have guessed, is Rapunzel’s ticket to freedom. In exchange for her freedom, Rapunzel will return something to Flynt that he seized from the king and queen.
Mixing an old-fashioned fairy tale with modern-day technology and sharp wordplay, TANGLED is an entertaining princess flick worthy of both girls and boys attention.
This Grimm fairy tale seems aimed at young girls, with a princess heroine as the protagonist, and two cutesy sidekicks. Although the film works as standard princess fare, it also offers a few hair-raising action sequences, and some occasionally effective 3D work, that plays well to anyone, but even more so to boys.
TANGLED’s sense of humor and romanticism overshadow the bland nature of Rapunzel and Flynt, enough that the storybook fable works. The humor, built into Flynt’s dialogue and the animal sidekicks, a non-speaking horse and chameleon, are abundant, but subtle in comparison to today’s standards.
There’s even a touch of the old Disney magic. The opening sequence where Rapunzel’s birth parents send out a distress signal for their daughter, and later when both Rapunzel and Flynt view the signal while at sea is not only an affecting emotional moment, but also an aesthetically pleasing one.
Much like last year’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, Disney appears to be back on their game in the animated genre.
Grade: B
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