Tangled!

Nearly 2 months since its US release, I’ve finally seen Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 50^th animated feature Tangled. The film doesn’t officially open in Hong Kong until February 3, but I managed to get tickets to a “special preview” screening after joining several online lucky draws. Tangled was one of my most anticipated flicks of 2010 and it bugs me to have to see it so late… but I digress. The movie is a complete delight and the strongest non-Pixar film from Disney in a long time. If you think fairytales are outdated, you are gravely mistaken.

True, Tangled may sound like a mishmash of previous Disney animated classics: our heroine Rapunzel, tired of her monotonous life, longs to venture outside (Beauty and the Beast), despite being locked up in a tower by an evil guardian (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Later she meets a handsome thief who “shows her the world” (Aladdin), and adventure ensues, leading to a touching climax very reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. Oh, and there’s a couple of cute animal sidekicks too. But these similarities are harmless, for Tangled manages to have a distinct personality of its own while maintaining a high level of excellence in terms of story, characterization, music and animation.

Truthfully, I don’t think Tangled is as good as the undisputed classics of 1989 to 1994: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. I don’t know if my nostalgia has to do with it, but I believe these four gems simply have a level of charm yet to be equaled. However, Tangled comes pretty close to achieving that, something that The Princess and the Frog tried but failed to do. In fact, I consider Tangled to be the best Disney animated classic aside from the aforementioned four and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The character of Rapunzel is just as feisty and brave as earlier Disney princesses, but her naivety and cute silliness make her unique (the scene where she hits herself with a frying pan is priceless), and Mandy Moore’s voice acting perfectly captures these characteristics. Flynn Rider, the swashbuckling bandit, is a very appealing male lead that never reduces to an Aladdin rip-off. His chemistry with Rapunzel may not be as strong as, say, Belle and Beast, but it works very well nonetheless. And the film would not be complete with Mother Gothel, the deliciously deceptive villain who locks Rapunzel up in the tower and pretends to be her mom. She’s an evil but elegant woman similar to Lady Tremaine (Cinderella), and one of the strongest Disney villains in a while.

In the music department, Tangled has a powerful asset: legendary composer Alan Menken, responsible for timeless Disney songs like “A Whole New World”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Colors of the Wind”. Granted, he’s unable to achieve the brilliance of his past work, but the catchy songs in Tangled still give me a tinge of excitement, with two highlights: “When Will My Life Begin” and “I See the Light”.

The animation is drop-dead gorgeous. Although some people wish Disney had used hand-drawn animation instead of computer animation, I don’t see a problem with it: it still feels like an authentic Disney fairytale, with natural-looking characters and lush, colorful surroundings (the grass, the sunlight, the stunning lanterns…) Plus, Rapunzel’s flowing hair really benefits from the use of CGI; it would have been a nightmare for an animator to draw the strands of hair by hand!

Also, Tangled is probably the most action-packed fairytale made by Disney. That’s clearly an attempt to attract more male audience members, but the action sequences make clever use of Rapunzel’s swinging long hair without ever feeling forced or goofy: it's just a fun, exhilarating ride.

I couldn’t avoid comparing Tangled to the early Disney classics in this review, but I hope that doesn’t make Tangled look bad in comparison; it’s merely “not as good”. It’s a truly wonderful movie on its own right, a worthy addition to the Disney canon, and it will prove to be an enduring classic decades from now.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars