Review: Tangled

Directed by: Nathan Greno & Byron Howard

Written by: Dan Fogelman

Starring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Brad Garrett, Ron Pearlman

Rating: [4/5]

When interests align, just about anyone can join the same side temporarily. A way to mutually achieve desires even when teaming up with someone you cannot trust as seen in the wildly entertaining Tangled. A wonderful twist on a classic princess story utilizing its material in an engaging and and emotionally resonant manner. 

Taken from her parents from a young age because the magic of sunlight rests in her hair, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) lives with an evil witch named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), who has convinced her the outside world brings nothing but danger. When kingdom fugitive Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) finds Rapunzel in her high tower, they broker a deal to allow her to explore the outside world. 

For the general population, the knowledge about the story of Rapunzel starts and ends with the idea of her absurdly long hair. This gives something like Tangled the opportunity to swoop in and craft a story around why the hair exists and how it makes for an intriguing story, which this film absolutely nails. With a fun adventure promised, this feature also gets wrapped in a lovely journey for its protagonist as she learns more about the outside world and begins to loosen from the shackles placed upon her under the guise of protection. Through this journey, we have two characters with plenty of differences, but learn to appreciate what each brings to the table. 

Flynn Rider enters the fray as someone who knows how to sever relationships whenever necessary and convenient for him as displayed in his opening scene. A man who fends for himself, which clashes directly with his interactions with Rapunzel. She remains locked away in her high tower and lacks trust for anyone other than her mother because of the fear ingrained in her, which makes their interactions cold, at first, but this journey of exploration allows Rapunzel to open her eyes in ways she never has before and the metaphor this feature runs with certainly can get tied into many real-world circumstances. Situations where parents overstep in their protectiveness in a manner where it becomes the detriment of their child and, at times, just exist and operate as bad parenting. Mother Gothel certainly does not act in this manner because of overbearing love but rather her refusal to allow the gift Rapunzel has escape, which has assisted her in an immortality she has enjoyed for many years now. 

With the introduction of the long hair Rapunzel wields operating as the star of the show, this film demonstrates how she can utilize it almost to an absurd degree. Her hair has grown to the length because of magic but also because if cut, everything that makes it so special would dissipate, therefore immensely long. It’s almost impressive how she manages to keep the hair somewhat contained and the amount of brushing she must engage in to not have knots formulate must be a full-time job. However, magic lies in the hair allowing for a suspension of disbelief and fully accepting that she can use her hair as a weapon and a tool unlike anything anyone has ever seen making for some very fun moments. 

Going on this journey to witness the sky lantern annual tradition she can see from her tower becomes her main goal in the feature but reveals something larger about herself. Something she does not quite expect but begins to fracture the idea of her identity and how she figures into this world. In these moments, the animation works so well in handling the emotions of the circumstances. A sense of joy and wonderment exists through everything Rapunzel experiences, taking us along with her for the ride. It allows the emotional moments to land that much harder in demonstrating how much this journey means to her. In addition, this path she takes unravels ideas about what her hair represents to her and others fortifying the idea of this narrative serving as a coming-of-age in discovering herself outside of the hair she wields. An emotionally powerful idea and one brilliantly woven together by the writers. This allows this feature to stand out on top of having several fun-loving moments with bandits and frying pans being swung. 

Bundles of fun and providing effortlessly likable characters to follow on this whimsical journey, Tangled demonstrates the magic of Rapunzel’s hair while also expedition of self-realization. The animation aligns with the great work done by Disney animation making for some visually gorgeous shots throughout this story. With a strong voice cast to boot, these characters have distinct personalities in what they present to the story and all of the coloring needed for this film to wow through its action sequences and emotional gut punch moments. One of the best films of this particular era of Disney animation supplanting many others released around the same time.