Movie Review: Tangled

"Tangled" / Rated PG / Disney / 92 min. / Dir. by Nathan Greno and Bryon Howard

It is my happy duty to report that Disney is back. Yes, I'm aware that the conglomerate super-entity known as The Walt Disney Company never left. However, there has been an oddness about their animated output for roughly the last decade. An oddness that has made even their best films seem strangely "un-Disney". They've been trying to play catch up with the other big boys. "Chicken Little" was clearly an attempt as a DreamWorks style action-comedy. "Meet the Robinsons" tried to add a little Pixar-style sentimentality. However, none of it came naturally. Most of these films smacked of desperation mixed with committee thinking.

Last year, when I heard that the film "Rapunzel" was being renamed "Tangled", so it would appeal to both little boys and girls, I was worried that this movie would be one more example of how the corporate heads of the company can demographic a good story to nothing. However, this is far from the truth. "Tangled" is a sheer delight. It's bright, funny, tuneful and a visual feast. Again, with "Tangled", Disney, or rather the Disney magic, is back.

The story of "Tangled" is roughly the traditional story of Rapunzel, however, the prince has been swapped out for a thief and she has a chameleon companion to get her through the days. Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) has grown-up believing that the world is a wicked and frightening place and that her mother (the fantastic Donna Murphy) has been protecting her by steeling her away in a tower. In actuality her mother isn't her mother at all, rather an old hag who kidnapped her shortly after her birth in order to use the magical restorative power of her hair. That's why she never cuts it. It her hair gets cut, it loses it's magic. Therefore, life for Rapunzel is a never-ending schedule of various indoor activities (reading, cooking, painting and, of course, brushing her hair). That is until a thief by the name of Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) stumbles upon her tower and changes her life forever.

Being the Disney nerd that I am, I actually purchased the soundtrack to "Tangled" last week and have been listening to the songs, getting every little nuance and plot detail. I really enjoyed the music, but it works even better in the context of the story. Melodies that were merely enjoyable are transporting in the narrative and many of them are so memorably staged that they immediately draw ones mind to the early 90's Disney heyday of "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin".

Visually, this is truly a stunning movie. Plus, it's the first movie I've seen since last year's "Avatar" that uses the 3D presentation as an immersing and enhancing story element as opposed to a cheap "gotcha" gimmick. The colors are bright and warm, the backgrounds lush and the character animation is superb.

The only depressing thing about this movie was the opening trailers. Normally, I'm the biggest fan of movie trailers. I push to get there in time to see them all and relish in the ones that I love. However, the upcoming onslaught of horrible looking "family" entertainment (including next month's "Yogi Bear" and the next Disney/motion-capture film "Mars Needs Moms") just reminds me of how much producers talk down, not only to children, but to their families. If you want to experience something truly special with your children, take them to "Tangled" this week. If you want to see something at Christmas time that's truly special, skip "Yogi Bear" and see "Tangled" again. If quality films make a mint, we just might get more of them. And, if "Tangled" makes a mint, we might just see the completion of that return-to-Disney-magic that we've all been hoping for.

Grade: A