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i must have seen a different film!!

Admirable film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

I've been avoiding this in an attempt to heighten the minimal amount of masculinity that I've acquired throughout my life. Rapunzel on a pink front cover doesn't convey laddish testosterone. So I reluctantly gave in and watched it...and oh boy I'm glad I did. Disney keep astonishing me with their animations, I really shouldn't be surprised anymore. A reinterpretation of the story of Rapunzel, a princess kidnapped and locked in a tower where an evil woman utilises the power of her hair to remain youthful. A nearby thief encounters the tower and is locked in a promise to guide her to the neighbouring kingdom, against the behest of her "mother". Tangled singled handedly put Disney's animation catalogue back on track after many lacklustre titles during the mid 00s. Incredibly easy to see why, this animation had it all. Developed memorable characters brimming with personality and harmonious voices, apparently everyone can sing in this kingdom. Ranging from royalty, thugs and peasants to a determined stallion and an expressive chameleon, this array of colourful characters breathe life into the plot. A fleshed out story dealing with dreams, internal conflict and romance. A witty screenplay boosted by sarcastic dialogue that creates plenty of smiles and laughter. Whether it be the various inaccurate wanted posters of Flynn, "that smoulder" or the constant requirement and usefulness of the average frying pan, it's these little details of self-awareness that enhances a basic narrative into the realms of memorability. The animation was absolutely stunning, plenty of fluid motion. The scene involving the lifting of lanterns just floored me. Beautifully crafted. The musical numbers were catchy which is all one needs for a Disney musical. Sure, the plot was predictable and the ending was far too rushed (underwhelming demise of the antagonist) but these shortfalls hardly detract from a entertaining animation that the whole family can enjoy. Well, maybe I should tackle 'Frozen' next...

An underrated a high quality Disney film, Tangled succeeds in good story, good voice-acting and stunning animation and visuals. While falling just short from being in the same league as Disney in 90s like Aladdin and The Lion King or even the golden age of Pixar (Toy Story Saga, The Incredibles, Up, Monsters Inc) Rapunzel retained the charm of Disney movies and enhanced it with clever and well-written characters. Rapunzel here is such a good and likeable character and her backstory is so on-point and tight there is hardly any flaw in it. And what's good here is that Rapunzel isn't a damsel in distress but rather simply a girl wanting to grow up. Rapunzel is a coming of age story of the best kind, because most of the adventure here is watching Rapunzel get into and out of trouble, watching her overcome challenges and learning what she is capable of, as well as watching her suffer from the choices that she has made (e.g. that scene where she was at war with her conscience is hilarious). This is different from earlier and later incarnations of Disney princesses where Rapunzel actually takes a proactive role in her life, taking responsibility and accountability for her decisions and actions. This is what it means to grow up and Tangled nailed it. In this regard, Tangled is far superior than The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Where Tangled falters however, and arguably why it doesn't quite reach the heights of the Disney greats, is the songs. They aren't bad but they are on the more generic side, but on the whole, each song is well crafted, performed admirably, the lyrics thoughtful and meaningful, appripriate to the scene, in short, much better than Frozen. The voice-acting is also high quality. I already know Mandy Moore can sing but she shines as Rapunzel for the role, not the singing. Moore's Rapunzel is perfect as the doe-eyed, naive but defiant and courageous girl, her expressions are believable and convincing. Donna Murphy is also well cast as Gothel and her songs are perhaps the most entertaining (Mother Knows Best). Zachary Levi was just being himself with Flynn Rider and quite frankly, that is good enough. Special mention has to be noted on Pascal the Chameleon and Maximus the Horse, who have no lines but who both have great scenes in the film. Pascal and Maximus are simply charming and adorable, with both of them having crucial roles on the plot. And the plot is tight. It is so good. No Disney story ever had this good of a plot that are without discernable plotholes. There aren't even a single hint of Feminist dogma and propaganda here; it is that good. So no, Tangled isn't a typical Disney Princess movie; it is better. It has a lot of substance. It's a shame that the songs don't stand out more, but even without it, this film is still good.

For a Disney classic in this decade Tangled did rather a good job actually. Now, before I name my cons for this film, I am happy to report that this film does a lot of things right compared to Frozen or Moana, which both of them have obviously bigger plot holes and not to mention, weaker characters. Moana for instance really lacks a caring-character that will drive the plot instead of making fun of the demigod all the time in desperate times and Frozen should have really considered telling a story of a well developed central character(Elsa, Anna or Hans) that we all can root for, instead of telling different stories of different characters all at once with no direction to it as a result. Now Rapunzel still sits kinda in the safe zone here, It is a fine movie, yet I can't call this a Disney Classic. At least the songs are here a lot more bearable and I even liked some of them, 'I See The Light' is definitely one of them! The comedy is also a lot a lot better compared to Moana or Frozen(Main Characters trying to act stupid in order to be funny), sure some of it were ineffective, but especially the role of Maximus paid off well. The animation is gorgeous, but the main characters are too awfully good looking to be honest. Rapunzel and Flynn look just like advertisements, but that is subjective. As far as plot goes, well not bad, but not good either. For starters there is no reason for Mother Gothel not to change the birthday of Rapunzel, which sounds nitpicky, but since this problem could have been solved so easily, I really couldn't let that one slide. Also why does no one ever thought of Rapunzel being the daughter of the King and Queen. Her obvious long blond hair is not likely easy to miss or did they forget that the princess had long hair as a baby? Seriously, there was this gigantic painted wall in the royal village with Rapunzel as baby with extremely obvious long blonde hair, yet every person that Rapunzel interacts with, is just ignoring that question. Even Flynn Rider has never asked that himself, which is dumb. Speaking of interactions. Why can Rapunzel propper interact instantly with every person she meets? It is not likely that she has learned many social skills after spending many years in that tower, so why does the film assumes that she can? I understand that she was so eager to meet other people, but she stayed her whole live in isolation with only one real person to talk too.Other than that the story goes rather solid, except the last part which really ruins everything that was built. In this part the crew of that Duck inn decided to help Eugene to escape. They somehow knew that Eugene is caught in the first place, oh and also where he is exactly held, I mean, am I really supposed to believe that Maximus did all this(Seriously this film could have been great if this film was only about him, because this horse gets more done then everyone else in this film). The worst part of this, is that the Duck Inn gang have no good reason to rescue Eugene. Why would you sacrifice yourself for someone with 'A Dream of Gold'? Because that is what they knew about him, right? Okay so they somehow managed to reach him, but then Eugene just left them inside the prison as soon as he got the chance to escape by himself while the guards are storming in from every corner surrounding the Duck inn crew. Man he sure is a rogue alright, it seems that nothing is changed after all since he was Flynn Rider. Anyway he went to the tower but got stabbed by Mother Gothel with a dagger, then Rapunzel convinced her to save him in return that she will remain hidden, which Eugene then said: "No, if you do this than you will die." Okay that line is just stupid. He probably said that because plot, but it does not work. Firstly: Why does he assume that Rapunzel will die? Gothel needs her alive otherwise she can't be young again. Okay Eugene probably did not know that(it took some speculation), but then why even refuse help from Rapunzel. He sounded really heroic, but there is no reason to. Rapunzel will be gone out of sight under Gothel's care anyway, so why not let her help you in order to improve the odds a bit? However, Eugene instead took a shard and cuts Rapunzel's hair all at once, which he also could have done it right after being cured not to mention that he did not thought of Gothel could kill Rapunzel afterwards for vengeance. Luckily, Mother Gothel fell from the tower instead and Rapunzel sits there crying while Eugene's wound still continued bleeding. I guess trying to press the wound was not worth a shot, but accidentally a tear appeared to have healing powers, convenient isn't it? But wait how does this work? So, the sun magic reaches more area's in the body it seems. But if that is the case, then it would not seem very logical that Rapunzel loses her healing power if her hair is cut, because the powers of the sun drop is inside her whole body, but I degress. So tears have magical powers too, but why didn't she know that? She must have cried sometime during the 18 years in captivity, and why does Mother Gothel never found out about this secret, while she comforting her in her arms as she cries or am I suppose to believe that this never happened, or do the tear drops not have anti-aging powers? Or they were not the right drops, because she was upset for other reasons, mayby? So how does the film end? With a cliché ofcourse, but that is not what bothers me here. It is just very weird that the parents just accepted that Rapunzel is truly her daughter after 18 years not to mention that she has short brown short hair now instead of long blond just like when she was abducted. But I know why they just accepted her, because plot! In conclusion: The logic of this film is compromised by too many holes, which many of them could have been prevented if the writers focused more on 'why it happens' instead of 'what happens'. Still this film managed to show a dreamy experience, especially if you just sit back and enjoy the ride for what it is, without asking too many questions like I did. But if you really want to see a good Disney animation film this decade, then I suggest to give Zootopia or Big Hero 6 a chance.

Every once in a while, my children and I revisit movies to see how they've aged. We were happy to say that Tangled still holds its magic superbly. As one reviewer said, Rapunzel is a hero like the 90s Belle, is full of love, life and curiosity. She is also the equal of her friend, Flynn Rider whose types no longer appear in Hollywood as the concept of an equal has been killed off in modern movies (absent in Moana, ridiculed in Smurfs 3, noting these 2 modern movies are from the same writer who, in my view, does not understand empathy or compassion or equality in any way). If you're looking to see how quickly Hollywood has changed, look no further than Tangled. A beautiful story full of heart and lovable characters (including Gunther and his unicorns). It's more than OK to have dreams and to want to know who you are. Watching Tangled again has made me realise how amazing the story actually is. Superb! A modern classic! Worth the rewind!