What is there to say about Disney’s latest computer animated movie, “Tangled”? It’s quite similar to almost every other “Princess” movie Disney has ever come out with. Musical numbers, a beautifully cute main female character, a dashingly handsome male character, some magical helping animal friends, a plot that somehow just doesn’t seem original, and a sweet- albeit sappy, ending. That isn’t to say that Disney’s “Tangled” is a bad movie. Because it’s not. “Tangled” is actually quite a cute movie, and I enjoyed it a lot. But after a while, even though the characters and the plot may keep you entertained, the singing, dancing and magical animal friends get a bit tedious.
Rapunzel, the heroine of the movie, is very lovable. She’s spunky and sweet without being sickeningly so , and the way she wielded her frying pan like a weapon of mass destruction was likable. The innocence she portrays as she explores the unknown world outside of her tower is not only a joy to watch, but also believable. This is a story about a young girl coming to terms with the outside world and realizing that not everything is as safe and protected as her life in the tower. Overall, I like Rapunzel. She may not have been the strongest Disney female character, or the most admirable, but she definitely had her moments.
Flynn Rider (Eugene Fitzherbert), sadly, was not as much fun to watch as Rapunzel. The male hero in our story, he is the devilishly handsome, almost bad-guy male figure that is tangled up (quite literally) in our heroine’s own adventure, and eventually falls in love with Rapunzel. Yawn. He’s just a weak character all around. His humorous lines are obtuse, he doesn’t really get any great scenes, and overall, he just doesn’t ‘wow’ me. I’m not saying I hated him, but there was nothing about him that stuck out. Much like Prince Charming and Prince Erik, Flynn Rider was just another male character that Disney created to keep the story moving along. He’s likable enough, but lacks the spark that makes you smile whenever he comes onscreen.
The character that really is fun to watch is Mother Gothel. Her biting, almost mean humor is a nice change of pace from Rapunzel’s sweet ditziness and Flynn Rider’s predictable lines. She’s odd, and slightly creepy. Mother Gothel is a bit like the mother from “Coraline”. Her wicked, desperate attachment to Rapunzel really makes one wonder: After all these years, does she still only see Rapunzel as a path towards eternal beauty, or has she actually become fond of the girl who calls her “mother”? The wicked villain Mother Gothel, more than anyone else, keeps the movie moving along.
There were only two things about ‘Tangled’ that seemed a bit off, starting with the horse Maximus. But maybe “horse” is the wrong word. Last time I checked, horses and dogs were two different things. However, Disney seems to have forgotten that important fact, and instead turns “Max” into some hybrid dog/horse that can walk on it’s hind legs, as well as sniff out any troublemaker. Disney’s idea of a joke? Perhaps. But there is just something deeply upsetting about watching a horse sniff the ground like a bloodhound.
Secondly, the sing-along songs in ‘Tangled’ just didn’t flow. I don’t know what it was about them. Maybe it was the lyrics, maybe it was the people singing them, or maybe it was just something else completely. For whatever reason, the songs sung by people in Tangled just didn’t feel right. They seemed awkwardly placed, and the transitions into the songs just weren’t right. Unlike in other movies (“Cinderella”, “Mulan”, “The Princess and the Frog”), where the songs actually fit, the songs in Tangled seem to be in the movie solely for the reason that all Disney Princess movies must have singing (and the occasional dancing). You getting the feeling that little attention was paid to the songs. Instead, someone came up with a couple corny lyrics, they had the characters sing the songs, and then slapped the songs into the movie.
But all movies have their flaws. I’m not going to sit here and tell you all about how perfect “Tangled” was. But I’m also not going to sit here and rip it out. “Tangled” was a cute movie, and enjoyable enough. I would suggest it for anyone, of any age, who wanted to just lose themselves in the bliss of a children’s movie for a couple hours or so.
