Disney princesses are the studio's staples, and Tangled stars one of the best royals to date. Everyone has a favorite Disney princess, and Rapunzel is mine. She possesses all of the best qualities of her royal predecessors: the dreaming lifestyle of Ariel, the bravery of Mulan, the infectious spirit of Snow White, the intelligence and wit of Belle, and the vocals of...well, all of them. However, what makes Rapunzel such a phenomenal character is our ability to instantly relate to her. I am not implying that the other princess don't possess that quality; they most certainly do, but there is just something extra special about the way Rapunzel is brought to life. We know from the beginning that Rapunzel is the lost princess, but she has lived her entire life away from the kingdom. Therefore, just like everyone else, Rapunzel struggles with discovering when her life will truly begin (shameless incorporation of song lyrics into the review: check). She is confidently innocent. She has no idea how to obtain this dream of seeing the floating lanterns on her birthday, but that is not going to stop her from finding a way to do so by any means necessary (just ask Flynn Rider). Mandy Moore turns in a career-best performance as the lost princess, flawlessly executing the jovial spirit of Rapunzel while additionally displaying an incredible ability to elicit emotion in the film's dramatic moments (no surprise here: more on Rapunzel below).
Flynn Rider is an equally impressive character and undoubtedly the best leading man in a Disney fairy tale to date. Flynn is not just a pawn in the film's grander scheme. He is just as integral to the story as Rapunzel is, and that is what makes him so fascinating. By all accounts, we should not care for Flynn whatsoever. He is a thief on the run. He is wanted throughout the kingdom, and his first encounter with Rapunzel is solely due to the fact that he had nowhere else to hide. Flynn has lived his life with a target on his back, but leave it to Disney to make us genuinely care for the well-being of the former Eugene Fitzherbert. As he journeys off with Rapunzel to see the lanterns, we begin to notice a stark change occurring within Flynn. He discovers that the riches of this world will never satisfy, and true happiness and contentment can not be obtained with dollar signs. He witnesses this in the life of Rapunzel. She has nothing of her own other than Pascal (a bonafide scene-stealer that never ceases to make me laugh hysterically), and yet she still possesses something that Flynn is devoid of: joy. This change of Flynn's character comes to a crescendo in the "I See the Light" sequence where he finally admits that his old life must go in order to make way for this new life with Rapunzel. Zachary Levi is spectacular as Flynn, effortlessly delivering hilarious dialogue while also exhibiting some serious dramatic chops.
The remainder of the character ensemble is simply phenomenal. Mother Gothel is a tremendous villain, clearly drawing inspiration from the dastardly Judge Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. However, instead of holding an individual captive for their ugliness, Gothel prohibits Rapunzel from leaving the tower because she supposedly knows best and wants to keep Rapunzel's magic all to herself. While Frollo was certainly evil, Gothel's motivation may be even more vile. Like Lotso from yesterday's review of Toy Story 3, I despise Gothel from beginning to end more so than any other character in the Disney canon, and that is why she is such a remarkable villain. Pascal and Maximus never speak, but they don't need to because they are awesome as is. The Snuggly Duckling ruffians take full advantage of their limited screentime to become instant legends. The primary reason the third Golden Age began and continues to this day is due to Disney's concerted effort to make characters a top priority again. That's what worked for Walt, and that's what worked in the Renaissance. If audiences don't care about the characters, they won't care about the story, and if they don't care about the story, your film is pretty pointless. Tangled features some of the studio's finest character creations of all-time, and that is why it has obtained classic/masterpiece status.
Alan Menken makes a triumphant return in Tangled as he has crafted one of the best soundtracks in Disney history. The amazing thing about this soundtrack is that each song is not only thoroughly entertaining or emotionally engrossing, but every song serves a purpose to developing a character. "When Will My Life Begin" is Rapunzel's way of expressing how routine her life and how much she desires to truly experience all of life's offerings. It is a catchy, infectious tune that exquisitely kicks off the film and the development of our legendary princess. Gothel's "Mother Knows Best" and its reprise expertly give us a glimpse inside her twisted mind as she attempts to justify harboring Rapunzel inside the tower for eighteen years. It is a superb villain song that offers great insight into her madness. The show-stopping "I've Got a Dream" is probably the song you will finish Tangled singing along to. This is such a fun song featured in a supremely entertaining sequence filled to the brim with iconic characters. Then, of course, you have the masterpiece known as "I See the Light." I am literally getting chills just thinking about this song. Without question, this is one of Menken's finest songs to date, and I will definitely be discussing this one in more detail below.
As I wrote in my review of Toy Story 3, I could write about the greatness of Tangled forever. I haven't even mentioned the groundbreaking animation or the incredibly emotional finale. I truly feel as if words cannot do this film justice. I know for a fact that I cannot conjure up the appropriate words to describe my love for Rapunzel and all of this film's characters as well as Menken's incredible soundtrack. Therefore, I will try my best to summarize my thoughts this way. Tangled is a modern day masterpiece, an instant classic that Walt would be proud of and a film that deserves a spot among the pantheon of Disney greats.
Rating: 10/10
Historical Significance: Despite The Princess and the Frog being a success among critics and audiences, the box office results were not what Disney anticipated or desired. With a budget of $105 million, the film grossed only $104 million in the United States (factoring in the international returns, the final gross travels north of $267 million, equating to a less than stellar box office performance). Disney executives believed that the obvious princess theme discouraged young boys from seeing the film, which in turn caused some families to stay away all together. Tangled's original title was simply Rapunzel, but this was changed in order to demonstrate just how vital Flynn Rider is to the story in addition to Rapunzel and to attract those elusive males. Early marketing heavily pushed Flynn Rider as the main character with Rapunzel essentially appearing secondary (watch one of the trailers here). Also, for Disney's fiftieth animated film, Idina Menzel auditioned for the role of Rapunzel. While Mandy Moore was cast instead, a casting director recorded Menzel's audition and stored it away. When casting got underway for Frozen, Menzel's audition for Tangled got her the part of Elsa. Additionally, Zachary Levi was originally cast to portray Flynn with a British accent. He won the role by doing this, but obviously, the accent was dropped in the final product.
Behind the Scenes: Tangled features Disney's first computer animated princess with Rapunzel, but from the beginning, animator Glen Keane intended for the film to look and feel like a traditional hand drawn film that just so happened to be three-dimensional. Keane hosted a seminar entitled "The Best of Both Worlds," where fifty Disney animators were brought in to discuss the techniques used in each style and how to "bring the warm, intuitive feel of the hand drawn to CGI." Keane wanted the computer to "bend its knee to the artist," not the other way around. He wanted to make computers "pliable as the pencil." In response to the concerns about the lack of interest in fairy tales, Keane stated, "I think that's what Disney needs to do right now. No one else can do it. We should not be embarrassed or make excuses for doing a fairy tale." Due to this reinvigorated focus on computer animation, Tangled's budget inflated to $260 million, the most expensive Disney film to date. It ended up grossing over $590 million worldwide, though, so the gamble certainly paid off. Also, as a strange bit of information, Mother Gothel becomes the eighth Disney villain to fall to her death, following in the footsteps of the Evil Queen, Ratigan, McLeach, Gaston, Frollo, Queen Narissa (Enchanted), and Charles Muntz,
Favorite Character: I have already revealed that Rapunzel is my favorite Disney princess to date, so it should come as no surprise that she is my choice for this section. Rapunzel has been locked away in her tower for her entire life, but what makes her such a fascinating character is that she still finds a way to dream. Her wish of seeing the floating lanterns in person is a simple one, but it fits her character so perfectly. Rapunzel exudes innocence, and this may just be the most innocent wish of all-time. However, when her dreams are seemingly squandered by Mother Gothel, that does not stop Rapunzel. As she so eloquently states in "I've Got a Dream," she just wants to see the floating lanterns gleam, and she will stop at nothing until she finally gets her wish. What elevates Rapunzel to the top of my princess leaderboard, though, is the conversation she has with Flynn while awaiting the lanterns to appear. Her dream is about to become a reality, but instead of sheer excitement overtaking her, she admits that she is terrified because she is unsure if there will be another dream comparable to this one in the future. In a moment of pure honesty, Rapunzel asks a profound question never before uttered in a Disney film: "What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?" Rapunzel is a dreamer deeply rooted in reality (as evidenced by her internal war when debating whether or not to return to the tower upon first entering the real world in a hilarious scene), and that what makes her such an endearing character. Mandy Moore knocks this role out of the park as she brings to life not only the best Disney princess to date, but one of Disney's greatest characters in its history.
Favorite Scene/Song: Alan Menken strikes again! The "I See the Light" sequence is one of Disney's finest scenes to date. We have been anxiously awaiting that climatic breakthrough between Flynn and Rapunzel to occur, and as the floating lanterns begin to light up the night sky, Menken comes along to give us one of the most perfectly beautiful songs in the Disney canon. I especially love how the music starts as the internal thoughts of Flynn and Rapunzel before transitioning to the dynamic duet. By setting the song up this way, Menken allows these characters to be extremely honest with themselves as Rapunzel admits to having found her true belonging in life while Flynn confesses his love and appreciation for how Rapunzel has changed him for the better. Then, as the two start singing in unison, chills travel up and down my spine like never before. Stellar songs that also develop the characters are always going to be my favorites, and "I See the Light" is one of my favorite songs ever. All this is playing out with a backdrop of thousands of lanterns illuminating the sky. This is my favorite scene not only because of the song and the incredible characterization, but also because it is seriously one of the greatest pieces of animation I have ever witnessed. I distinctly remember watching this scene unfold for the first time, and I fairly confident that my jaw hit the floor due to my awestruck demeanor. Those lanterns with the picturesque kingdom background and the boat on the water combine to create a scene that should find its way into a museum someway. A conversation focusing on the greatest scenes in Disney history cannot be complete without mentioning this one, a confirmation to the world that Disney still has magic left to share.Updated Ranking: I warned you that there would be some major shifting going on atop the rankings in the last few days of the Summer of Magic. Still don't believe me? Check out my ranking of Tangled.
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Lion King
- Aladdin
- Tangled
- The Little Mermaid
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Peter Pan
- Cinderella
- The Jungle Book
- Sleeping Beauty
- Lilo & Stitch
- The Princess and the Frog
- Hercules
- Mulan
- The Emperor's New Groove
- Tarzan
- Pinocchio
- Lady and the Tramp
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Alice in Wonderland
- Dumbo
- Bambi
- 101 Dalmatians
- Pocahontas
- Treasure Planet
- The Great Mouse Detective
- Fantasia
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
- The AristoCats
- Fantasia 2000
- Meet the Robinsons
- The Rescuers Down Under
- Fun and Fancy Free
- The Fox and the Hound
- Robin Hood
- Bolt
- Dinosaur
- Melody Time
- The Three Caballeros
- Saludos Amigos
- Brother Bear
- Oliver & Company
- The Rescuers
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire
- The Sword in the Stone
- Make Mine Music
- The Black Cauldron
- Chicken Little
- Home on the Range
Tomorrow, I will unleash on Pixar's weakest film to date: Cars 2!
-Cody Fleenor
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