Tangled (2010)

Tangled is based on the brothers Grimm story of Rapunzel. Disney has taken this original story and modified it heavily. Rapunzel’s hair is magical and can give back youth and heal wounds when a magical song is sung. Rapunzel also doesn’t stay in her tower as long as was the case in the original story and there is no prince involved.
Did Disney change too much of the story or has it managed to give it a nice new twist to give it a breath of fresh air?

When you look at the budget of this movie, an estimated 260 million (which makes it one of the most expensive movies ever made) you realise that Disney has spent a lot of money to put itself back on the map. Although Princess and the Frog was good, it just didn’t have the magic most were expecting. Tangled however delivers the magic everyone was hoping for. The movie looks amazing and the animation can be compared to Pixar.
Rapunzel’s hair is long and move naturally and when the magic in her hair is activated it shines and gives light. The movie has some enchanting scenes, where I though a scene on the water where she’s surrounded by thousands of lights was the best. Disney shows it still has its magic after all.

I’ve seen the 3D version (as I couldn’t find a cinema that played it in 2D) and although it all looked beautiful in 3D I still don’t like it. So my opinion about it has not changed. I do have to say that not a lot of scenes are used with a lot of quick action as I just can’t follow it. So your eyes won’t be getting a workout constantly trying to focus.

The story is wonderful and adds a lot to the original story. Just like a lot of other Disney classics the film has a couple of songs which fit the story perfectly. Something I also noticed was that this movie had no talking animals, which normally always happens in Disney films.
The only two animal characters, a horse and a chameleon, don’t talk but express themselves well enough that they will generate some laughs. It was a pleasant surprise. Something I also noticed was that the movie’s villain, mother Gothel, wasn’t a constant threat. So the danger was not constantly her, but was sometimes just the environment Rapunzel was walking through together with Flynn Rider (who discovered her).

I really enjoyed Tangled. Although it definitely has the Disney feeling it all felt fresh. It just has the classic storylines you’d imagine in a Disney movie and adds enough extra ingredients to give it magic and make it stand out. So after some movies that were not as good as the real classics, Disney is finally back with a new classic.

Score: 8