If THE LITTLE MERMAID dreamed of being somewhere up there, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), the heroine of Disneys latest animated musical, TANGLED, dreams of being somewhere down there. Out of the tower, that is, where she has been kept since being kidnapped from her royal parents as a baby by a Gothel (Donna Murphy), scheming woman passing herself off as Rapunzels mother. TANGLED evokes MERMAID in one other important way. with an enchanting mix of action, adventure, romance, and humor animated with pure artistry, it is every bit as sublime as the earlier film.
Rapunzels hair is not only long, 70 feet of it, its also magical, which is why she has been locked up in the tower for almost 18 years. Gothel uses it to keep herself young, a ritual that involves Rapunzel singing and the blonde hair going all glowy. To insure perpetual access to the rejuvenation process, Gothel has convinced Rapunzel that the outside world is a dangerous place, and though Rapunzel believes that without question, shes also curious about the hundreds of stars that float through the air every year on her birthday. Gothel flatly refuses to hear anything about Rapunzel leaving even for a day but while she is gone, her plans for eternal youth go badly awry in the person of Flynn (Zachary Levi), a thief on the lam with a royal crown and with both his disgruntled ex-partners, and a very determined palace horse on his trail. Rapunzel may know nothing about life outside the tower, but she swings a mean frying pan and between that and her ability to whip her hair into all manner of useful tools, she convinces Flynn to be her guide through the scary world beyond the tower. Little do either of them realize that Rapunzels brash innocence is more potent that Flynns glib charm or savvy street smarts.
The writing is smart, rich, and brisk. This is storytelling that respects every age group as it goes for both the heart and the funny bone. The characters are vivid, even those who never speak, like Rapunzels constant companion, Pascal, the soft-hearted but no-nonsense chameleon, and especially Max, the hyper-alert palace horse whose sense of duty struggles against his innate sentimentality. Thugs and rascals abound, but none more sinister than Gothel, an emotionally manipulative villainess for the ages, voiced with suitably malevolent panache by Murphy.
The animation is even better. A sequence involving flue, a flood, and fleeing characters is a new apex of technical wizardry. Show- and heart-stopping at once, yet not the most lyrical moment of the film. That would be when Rapunzel and Flynn find themselves on a boat (shades of MERMAID) on the bay or, as Flynn puts it, the best place to watch the annual lantern show. Technically, the reflection of the floating lanterns in the rippling water is amazing, but aesthetically, it is a marvel. There is a perfect confluence of emotion and music and visuals as Flynn and Rapunzel drift through a field of stars and burst into song as they fall in love. The same skill is invested in even the smallest nuance in the film. From facial expressions that speak more profoundly than words, to the refined, subtle humor that informs everything from a shrug to a pratfall.
TANGLED is as vibrant as the best Broadway show, taking a time-honored story and dressing it up in new finery without losing what made the original tale so beloved.
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