Tangled (2010) voices Many Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett directed by Nathan Greno, Byron Howard Movie Review

Tangled (2010)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Tangled (2010) voices Many Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy

Regally Blonde

What happens when Walt Disney make one of their traditional animations with all the expected elements from being a fairytale to musical scenes but render it with the latest in CGI rather than going down the hand drawn root. What you get is "Tangled" a movie which manages to appeal to all ages with that traditional story and style element which many grown ups grew up with but with the modern animated look which will appeal to a young audience who might not be as wowed by hand drawn animations as grown ups are.

When the ailing Queen is given a special medicine made from a magical flower it not only restores her to full health but when she gives birth to a daughter, Rapunzel, the young child inherits the rejuvenating power in her long golden hair. But it is that power which leads to the dastardly Mother Gothel kidnapping her and taking her to live in a high tower in the forest, raising her as her own because by being near Rapunzel and her long golden hair she becomes young instead of the old woman she really is. But things are about to change when the roguish Flynn Ryder climbs into the tower as he tries to escape from some men chasing him. Having knocked him out with a frying pan Rapunzel bargains with him that she will return the satchel he was carrying if he takes her in to the outside world to where she has seen floating lights in the distance.

Tangled (2010) voices Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett

So "Tangled" is very much a traditional Walt Disney animation and that starts with the storyline as once again we have a well known fairytale but one amended so that it has a happy ever after ending and some other changes. Having said that it does amusingly start with Flynn telling us this is the story of how he died which is one of countless nods to other movies. This formula of taking a fairytale and then changing it works well because it appeals to children but also to adults who will remember it from their own childhood.

What this also means is that the writers can then mould it into everything you expect from a Disney animation. As such we have adventure, romance, a comical little animal, musical scenes and all the other elements which have been part of the Disney formula for years. That also means we have plenty of comedy and it is a fantastic mix with cute jokes, child friendly jokes, some adult humour which will fly over children's heads and some movie jokes. It adds to that mass appeal because as an adult I found there was plenty to keep me amused.

But what impresses the most about "Tangled" is the update on a tradition starting with the selection of actors chosen to voice the characters. Here we have some well known names such as Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and Ron Perlman but without this sounding insulting they have an almost generic quality so it never becomes about the star behind the voice. But there is also the look and here we have Disney giving us that traditional look, that detailed, beautiful look with great backdrops to attractive characters but rendered in a modern CGI way. It works surprisingly well and there is a beauty to this movie which you don't find in movies made by any one other than Disney.

What this all boils down to is that "Tangled" is another surprisingly good animation which manages to combine the modern CGI look with the traditional Disney look, storyline and style.


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