Tangled

This movie hits the mark on all levels. It is beautifully illustrated and the story is simple, yet works and keeps your interest. I'm not a big song guy..... but the songs in this movie are very good. Either very funny or, when the love songs begin, nicely done with some good lyrics and music. It's a '10' all the way across the board. In keeping with the Disney animators reputation for hiding phallic symbols, this has maybe the most blatant one of all. When the mother is standing near the window, her shadow is unmistakably harder than Chinese arithmetic. Keep an eye out for it..... But, this movie really is well done. The song and visuals in the tavern with all the thug characters is pretty funny. Definitely see this one!!

A few days ago I saw "Megamind", and thought it was just okay. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I didn't think it too spectacular. My faith in CGI entertainment was on the wane.

Well, tonight Disney pulled me from that depression, and help reinvigorate my belief in, well, just plain Disney.

What we have here is Rapuntzel turned on her head, with a dash of "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty" stirred in to keep our interest.

The film was charming, clever and witty without being too much of either. The comic timing was toned down for the young kiddies in the audience, mostly little girls and some younger boys, but the comedic aspect itself did not lose luster for this. If anything it showed just what good clever comedy was. Note Rapuntzel's improvised weapon, and how she brings it to bear on the baddies in the local tavern. Classic character sketch comedy, and I don't care if I was the only one who noticed it and was laughing. You're supposed to laugh!

The story itself regards fleeing the nest from a "Mime" like character, whose interest in our heroine is less than altruistic. The dashing rogue comes in to ground the story and keep Mandy Moore's character from running amuck and falling into despair.

All in all, even though a middle aged dude like myself is no where near the target audience, I enjoyed it immensely.

Some criticisms; the villainess seemed marginally cliché. She had the liberated 70s woman gone bad thing going on for her, but it almost seems like we may have seen this character before. Not sure, really. The horse was extremely likable, but his rider could have played more of a role. In fact the supporting cast almost seemed as if they were denied screen time so we could revel in Rapuntzel's golden locks. For all that, and even though the action did dive into classic Warner Brother's cartoon territory, "Tangled" does make a very respectable showing.

That, and it was good to hear the voice of Richard Kiel play a big galoot who turns out to be a good guy. :)

My final note is that there was a very good message for young girls at the end, and in fact anyone with some sense will have caught on to it. It's a message that won't last too long, but hopefully will serve as a reminder to those who paid attention. Remember, hair isn't everything. Regardless of color *wink*

Take the family, but, if you're the father, then please, PLEASE, do not spend countless minutes like the idiot in front of me paying for his four member family with several credit cards while the ticket taker next to him managed to whiz through four or five parties of several members each for the 7:20 showing at the Redwood City theatre on Theatre Row.

Yeah, if you're reading this, you know who you are. Stop being a putz!

Everyone else, go see and enjoy the film :)

I was apprehensive, to say the least, when I went to see Tangled, after the disappointment that was Princess and the Frog. First, Disney's back with CGI animation, which hasn't really worked that great except, maybe to some extent, Bolt. Second, the trailers made it look really slapstick -- I'm rather wary of today's animation features that try too hard to be hip and fast-paced and silly.

I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there were slapstick and broad humor sure to make little kiddos laugh. But I was surprised by the sophistication as well. The screwball comedy between the hero and heroine is very well done; adults can appreciate that. The sidekicks, in particular the Max and Pascal, are hilarious. The hero and heroine are very likable and not flat. And there's a sense of sadness/wistfulness throughout the whole show that the adults will understand.

But what really is great is the animation. This is Pixar-worthy great. In fact, after a while I forgot it was CGI (which tends to be a bit stiff and crude when it comes to character animation). The human characters have that hand-drawn quality even though they're CG. In fact, they're more expressive than the hand-drawn characters in Princess and the Frog. The backgrounds are gorgeous (I can count every blade of grass). And there's an iconic scene where the kingdom rouses from darkness to light with thousands of floating lanterns -- it really is magical. It reminds me of classics such as Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty.

Best of all, the movie is not just all laughs and slapstick. It has heart too. Even the minor characters such as the King and Queen -- you can feel the emotions. And the romance is believable and not cheesy.

Like I said, I was very pleasantly surprised. It's something that is worthy of Pixar, and I'm glad to see Disney back on their game. While Princess and the Frog was a missed opportunity, Tangled is almost perfect.

I was very sketchy walking into this movie. I didn't know what to expect, it's Disney which is promising, but it's also Disney's first CGI Disney movie that got a PG rating, so it seemed different. It was pretty hard for me to choose between 'Tangled' or 'Burlesque' but I'm glad I made the decision to watch 'Tangled'.

This film has everything, for everyone, boys girls and tongue in cheek humor for adults. It's Disney's answer to Shrek, but in a classy way, that doesn't feed off of pop culture.

The story of the film is simple. Rapunzel is a princess that has hair that has power to heal and keep people young, but once it's cut, it loses all power. When Rapunzel was just an infant she was kidnapped by an old woman who locked her away in a tower to keep her hair all to herself. Rapunzel grows up thinking that her kidnapper is in fact her mother, and the reason she's locked away is because her 'mother' wants to keep her safe from the hardships of the world. I'd tell you more about the movie but I don't want to ruin it. Let's just say she runs away. Very simple, fairy tale plot.

I was kind of saddened that Disney has succumbed to making Princess movies using CGI, but watching this movie I realize that some scenes wouldn't have the power it had, if it were in 2D. The lantern lighting scene, for example, was amazing. It wouldn't have been the same in 2D. The music, was perfect. Enough musical number to keep Disney fans more than satisfied and not enough to where it's overkill. The songs were heartfelt and meaningful, they all served a purpose, it wasn't just a nameless song thrown into the movie. The voice acting, by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi were amazing. I was a little sketchy about Mandy. I'm a long time fan, but I wasn't sure if she had the right voice to be a Disney Princess. She gave Rapunzel so much life, and innocence, I couldn't think of any other actress who could play her better. Zachary gave Flynn life, and humor, and made him a very likable character. However, the two characters that stole the show were Pascal, the chameleon, and Maximus, the horse. Although these supporting characters have no speaking lines, through actions and emotions, you know exactly what they want to say, and the message comes in loud and clear.

This movie has enough action and comedy to keep boys happy and enough emotion, romance and drama to keep the girls happy. There are a few scenes that made me tear a little, well maybe more than a little. Some scenes have so much emotion and depth that it tugs at your heartstrings, and gives you goosebumps, especially the lantern scenes. Disney is testing the waters of their film making with this one. There were many alcohol references and even references about being drunk. There's violence, people getting stabbed, and yes, even blood. Which you never see is Disney movies.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie, to everyone. Anyone could enjoy this movie. It's very hard not to like it. With theater prices so high, I suggest you don't spend 10 dollars to watch Cher and Christina, but watch 'Tangled' instead. They don't make movies like this anymore. It's much better than last year's 'Princess and the Frog'. Rapunzel is now in the line-up of classic Disney princess. I cannot stress how amazing this film is. Go out and see it.

Honestly, when is the last time you saw a decent Disney Animated feature? No no, PIXAR does not count. I'm talking about just a regular ol' straight laced Disney flick. If your like me, I'm sure your answer falls somewhere in the mid 90's. But isn't that a shame? What happened to the totally awesome Disney movies? If your excuse is because of technology, i assure you that your wrong. You can make a great animated movie without resorting to actual hand drawn art. But where is that old feeling we all use to share? Well i can tell you this much....i already knew that Disney had something special here, mainly because the VP of PIXAR jumped ship and decided to fund this project. The first time anyone from PIXAR has ever done so, let alone the freakin VP. So needless to say, Disney finally had enough, and pulled out all the stops for this one.

I kid you not when i say this...."Tangled" is easily the best Disney Animated feature i have seen since "Aladdin".....yes, it is that good. They finally let go of trying to find something new and different and settled with what was working for them almost 20 years ago. It's a princess tale that easily falls into the same category with the classics. So wait, does that mean i'm comparing it to the likes of "Snow White" "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty"? You damn right i am! Sure the storyline is cliché' and relative to other Disney classics, but it felt so good to see and feel something that helped recall your childhood. But other than those minor speed bumps, the movie is spot on. The animation is spectacular, and you would be a fool not to see it in 3D. The musical sequences didn't seem forced and were never boring. And i can almost guarantee you that it will snag the best song award at the Oscars. I'm just glad that they didn't work the story around the music, which is what a lot of animated features tend to slip up on. But this one did an amazing job of hybriding them together.

Bottom Line, ladies and gentleman, this is the Disney picture you have been waiting for. It will definitely win your heart and please audiences both young and old.