By In this day and age when most children’s movies are attempting to appeal to adults as well as youngsters with sarcastic asides and jokes just above a child’s head it’s easy to forget that at one time in the not so distant past children’s movies were actually made for children. It might also be easy to forget a little company called Disney who once had a chokehold on the animated movie market.
OK, no one forgot about Disney, but their star hasn’t really been rising over the past few years animation wise. This is why when Tangled, Disney’s 50th feature-length animated film, was first revealed I was a bit worried. Had the company finally crossed over to the dark side and decided that the years of mocking meant they too had to grow up and stop telling straightforward fairytales? Was the switch to CGI (and 3D) an omen of the death toll for Disney’s gorgeous animations? Was the childhood of almost every person living about to get a bit more tarnished?
In this day and age when most children's movies are attempting to appeal to adults as well as youngsters with sarcastic asides and jokes just above a child's head it's easy to forget that at one time in the not so distant past children's movies were actually made for children. It might also be easy to forget a little company called Disney who once had a chokehold on the animated movie market.
OK, no one forgot about Disney, but their star hasn't really been rising over the past few years animation wise. This is why when Tangled, Disney's 50th feature-length animated film, was first revealed I was a bit worried. Had the company finally crossed over to the dark side and decided that the years of mocking meant they too had to grow up and stop telling straightforward fairytales? Was the switch to CGI (and 3D) an omen of the death toll for Disney's gorgeous animations? Was the childhood of almost every person living about to get a bit more tarnished?{{page_break}}
Nope. Disney is back or at least for this movie they are. And more importantly they're back while still being Disney. This isn't some Shrekified attempt at a Disney movie it's a straightforward fairytale with a princess for little girls to fall in love with, a dashing hero and a wicked witch. Throw in a smattering of catchy songs and that one love ballad all the boys pretend to hate and you've got a classic Disney film through and through. More importantly though it's entirely enjoyable and most likely the best animated Disney movie to land since Beauty and the Beast.
Story wise you're getting a retelling of the classic fairytale Rapunzel. You know, long flowing hair, locked in a tower, yada yada yada. However, with the injection of humor and a wonderful evil witch who kidnaps Rapunzel and pretends to be her mother the story explodes off the screen fantastically. Even more impressively things aren't quite as black and white as they usually are in a Disney film, though I wouldn't quite call them gray either. However much evil and good stir it up, was is true is that the movie keeps you entertained throughout, and while I could have stood for one or two more musical numbers the ones that are in the film are toe-tappingly good and will most likely be sung along to for years to come.
While the story and songs might be great, the biggest worry for me was that Disney had finally jumped over to CGI animation. The longest holdout for traditional animation, it seemed Disney had finally given up after The Princess and the Frog didn't do as well as they thought it should. While it's sad to see the studio veer away from its roots (maybe they'll come back to it?) it's hard to argue that Tangled is anything but stellar looking. Whatever animation magic Disney manages to capture in most of its animated films is on at full force here and a beautiful scene with floating lanterns rivals the awe and spectacle you felt when Beauty and the Beast first stepped into the ballroom to dance. Add to this a spectacular use of 3D that not only adds to the film, but doesn't burden it down and you've got one of the best looking Disney animated films to come along in a long time.
There are, of course, complaints to be made, especially if I put my critic hat on and take my small child hat off. But isn't that the point of a Disney movie? To put your kid hat on and believe in princesses and fairytales and musicals and love? I think it is, so you'll excuse me if I leave my kid hat on as I've got some princesses that need saving and I have to think of a catchy song to do it to.
Overall Score: 8.50 – Spectacular. (Movies that score between 8.50 and 9.00 are some of the best films its genre has ever created, and fans of any genre will thoroughly enjoy them.)
Tangled is everything a Disney movie should be. Beautiful animation, catchy music and a classic tale.
