Review: Tangled

Cynics are going to have a hard time believing this, but there is a moment of pure, magical animation during the second act of Tangled. As the two main characters share an intimate date by the lake, the background suddenly fills up with thousands of Chinese lanterns, each one a different shape and size, all of them gently illuminating the night sky. Rest assured, this is the closest Disney has come to reaching the creative heights of Aladdin’s carpet ride, or the ballroom scene in Beauty & the Beast.

Now that’s not to say the Mouse House finally has a new modern classic on its hands. After all, Tangled is really just a re-tooling of the Rapunzel fable, with instantly forgettable songs and characters that, while by no means un-likeable, they will not stay with you the same way Ariel or Simba did.

It is, however, a step up from the unremarkable Princess & the Frog. It is also very funny. You could almost say Tangled is Disney’s very own Shrek, a fairy tale which takes great pleasure in giving a modern, tongue-in-cheek spin on the conventions of its own genre (which is ironic, considering Shrek was parodying Disney’s back catalogue most of the time).

As a result, the early scenes in which Rapunzel interacts with her evil stepmother Gothel resemble the exchanges between an earnest teenager and her sardonic mom (“Don’t make me the bad guy”), while cocky beau Flynn Rider often seems like he is all too aware of being caught up in a Disney film (“Sorry fellas, I don’t sing”). It is also refreshing to see a pair of animal sidekicks who are amusing and amiable without ever needing to talk.

The proficient animation also deserves to be mentioned and not just because it is realised in top-notch 3D. Apart from the afore-mentioned lanterns, a sequence involving a shattering dam and a flooded mineshaft shows what can be accomplished nowadays with CG water, while Rapunzel’s golden hair is such a faultless and eye-catching creation, it could be a character itself. It flows, it glows, is used in all sorts of inventive ways: as a swing, a whip, a safety harness for painting frescoes, and much more.

Tangled is no masterpiece, but it should definitely be regarded as a triumph in self-improvement on behalf of a company that has not delivered a true animated hit in decades. It is far too early to tell, but if Disney’s next few films are of the same calibre, the people at Pixar might have to start watching their backs. 

4/5