Article by Cameron Spink

The idea of Disney doing another princess movie should be getting quite cliché by now. However, in Tangled, Disney has brought together a formula that is both fun and heart-warming. Perhaps it is their best princess movie ever, but I should not be the judge of this as the earlier ones were never catered for a male at my age.

Tangled takes, at a very basic level, the Grimms Brother's story of Rapunzel, the lass with undefinably long hair, and yanks it into the 21^st century. You'd think that this would be in bad taste but it manages to avoid any sort of squeamish pop-culture references which would make this movie age very quickly indeed. Instead, Tangled sticks to Disney's tried-and-true method of musical animations. And this is to great effect. While the songs are not as brilliant as those in the company's history they do compliment the storyline, perhaps as good as any animation movie that I can recall.

Tangled has a budget of $260 million (indeed, at the moment, it is the second greatest official budget ever). With such expenditure comes a great amount of stress over the final product. I am thankful to say that this has survived much better than other lucrative-budgeted movies like the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie ($300 million), Spider-Man 3 ($258 million) and 2012 ($200 million) which were all generally displeasing to most of the senses and not worth the price of admission, let alone their own budgets.

What makes Tangled so successful is that it is so accessible. We have the two protagonists Rapunzel and Flynn Rider who are complete opposites. Flynn does not like to be tied down to anything and runs around in a carefree manner with no thought of the consequences because he is able to stay one step ahead of them. Rapunzel, on the other hand, is sheltered by antagonist Mother Gothel and has no real concept of individualism. As the movie progresses both realise that while it is fun to be free being dependant on someone you trust is something else altogether.

As the two protagonists are given a more-than-usual amount of screen time they had to be cast by the right actress-actor duo. After some casting reshuffling Mandy Moore was cast in the role of Rapunzel and she suits it pretty well. Her clear voice is great for sparring with Flynn's Zachary Levi and the generous amount of songs given to her reflects her musical background. Despite this it is Zachary Levi who steals the show. While it must be said that it is easier to get the timing of humorous lines right in an animated movie there is no accounting for Levi's brooding drollness nor the elevation he gives this movie. So many of his comments are comic and ironic gold which go unappreciated by the masses of children who go to see the movie. It is great that a "family" movie caters for an adult audience without having to stray into "adult" content.

In some ways Tangled typifies a Disney movie. For instance, Levi takes the task of commentator as the movie opens. It seems that even with forty-nine previous attempts at children's movies Disney cannot find a more creative way to inform the audience of the back-story. Then there is the way the movie deals with the antagonist Mother Gothel. While she does display more complexity than other evil characters such an attempt to "gray" her up may send a mixed message. Mother Gothel is clearly keeping Rapunzel hidden for her hair but there is part of her that is displayed as caring and motherly to Rapunzel. This is good, to a point, as it shows that she does have human nature.

However, there is something about their relationship that is similar to many parent-children relationships in the real world. Namely, children exist for what they can do for their parents rather than for existing in their own rights, given by God. Thankfully we see a contrast in her real parents who have a connection beyond the selfish desires of Gothel for the power of Rapunzel's hair.

There are other themes that present slight dangers in their messages. Flynn's beginnings are not dissimilar to Aladdin's in that he is content to flaunt and break the law to his own interests. Unfortunately, this looks so much fun on the large screen it has the ability to influence the minds of the young. Flynn is a robber and a bandit and, no matter if he does it in style, such a lifestyle is destructive. Finally, there is a song in the movie entitled "I've Got A Dream" which is a real turning point in the storyline and exemplifies Rapunzel's quest. Such an outlook is reasonable as long as it is tempered that selfish dreams do not overwhelm other things, like human relationships.

Tangled follows a similar storyline to Anastasia without having to worry about treading on so many historical feet. It also does it with far more style. While Anastasia's Bartok depended upon Hank Azaria's awesome vocals two of the lead characters in Tangled were not voiced at all. Both Maximus (the detective horse) and Pascal (the chameleon with attitude) are charming and humorous without broaching upon being vexatious or cringe-worthy. Also the romance feels less rushed than Tangled's counterpart and the play between Flynn and Rapunzel benefits from approximately 15 minutes of extra time over Disney's previous animation classics.

In summation Tangled is an excellent film which was not hindered by a late title change that can resonate with children, parents and adults. If you are not sick of princesses on quests then I highly recommend this movie.

4.5/5 stars