Dir. Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, 2010 , USA , 100 minutes,
Cast. Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy
Review by Michelle Moore
Disney animations are among the most enjoyable movies you will ever experience. No matter how old you are or even how old the film is, they never get outdated. Over the years the Walt Disney Animated Classic series has been responsible for the likes of Beauty and the Beast , The Jungle Book and of course their very first animated feature in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . 2011 sees the release of the 50 th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series – Tangled .
This animated musical is largely based on Rapunzel , the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It begins with a single drop of sunshine falling to Earth and creating a magical flower with healing properties. An elderly woman, Gothel (Murphy), keeps the flower’s whereabouts to herself, singing to it to keep herself youthful. Centuries later, the Queen, who is expecting a child, falls ill and is given a healing brew made from the flower. Rapunzel (Moore) is born and the flower’s regenerative properties filter into her golden hair. Gothel kidnaps the child and raises her in a tower as her daughter. As the years pass, Rapunzel grows curious about the outside world. She goes on a journey of discovery with a handsome but mischievous thief, Flynn Rider (Levi) and discovers who she really is along the way.
The movie was made using computer-generated imagery, although it is modelled on the traditional look of oil paintings on canvas from the time when the story was first created. The scenes are set beautifully and the characters are glamorous, together creating a lifelike and more visually satisfying image, enhanced by the use of 3D. The songs are not as catchy as previous Disney classics, but have moved with the times and developed in the same manner as in another recent release The Princess and the Frog .
Tangled misses out on being one of Disney’s greatest ever movies – Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast hold the top three spaces. However it certainly introduces the quality of old-fashioned Disney to a new audience. The film combines the right mix of romance between Rapunzel and Flynn, comedy in terms of the thug characters and of course adventure – all the features that make Disney classics so lovable, enjoyable and irresistible to any audience. Will Rapunzel be as influential as Belle, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella or remain in the background like Mulan, Lilo and Pocahontas? Only time will tell.
