Review of Tangled (2010) by Ben L — 18 Sep 2016

Tangled is a real mile marker for Disney animation. With this film they regained prominence and seemingly stole all the originality and quality Pixar once possessed. It's a movie that follows the classic Disney Princess formula, but slowly makes the Princess herself a strong individual instead of a total damsel in distress (although this movie only takes baby steps in that direction.

) Rapunzel is a goofy character that reflects some of the strange quirks one might acquire being locked in a tower for well over a decade. She gets a lot of the laughs and Mandy Moore gives her a very sweet and innocent voice.

I think Zachary Levi has a good voice for the wise-cracking Flynn Rider, a definite twist from the classic strong-voiced princes of the past. Perhaps the biggest vocal highlight is Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel, who brilliantly pulls off both sweet moments and also viciously overbearing moments (sometimes within only a few sentences of one another.

) The songs are tons of fun, particularly in The Snuggly Duckling with all the kindhearted thugs. My biggest complaint is that Tangled doesn't divert enough from classic Disney tropes in order to stand on its own two feet.

They still have the needless animal sidekicks (Maximus actually has a role in the plot but Pascal is utterly useless just for selling toys,) they still have the same predictable story beats, and in the end the Princess still needs her man to rescue her.

There's nothing particularly wrong about these things, it just makes the movie feel a little derivative. However, for any fan of Disney animation or any parent of Disney fans, watching Tangled is a must.