SYNOPSIS: Walt Disney Pictures presents “Tangled,” one of the most hilarious, hair-raising tales ever told. When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. In theaters this holiday season in Disney Digital 3D™, “Tangled” is a story of adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair. 

REVIEW: A couple of years ago, Disney began releasing their classics on Blu-ray. I found this to be a great opportunity to get acquainted with classics like Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio and Snow White. I found that while these were still very good animated movies, they didn‘t age so well. So, it was only a matter of time before someone took a princess classic like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White and re-made it into something contemporary. Disney’s Tangled has taken the princess genre and made it into one of the best movies of the year.

Tangled tells the classic story of Rapunzel originally by the Brothers Grimm. In the movie, Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) is a princess who is kidnapped soon after birth because of her magical hair. The kidnapper, Mother Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy) raises Rapunzel as her daughter and uses the power in her hair to stay youthful. Rapunzel is not allowed to leave Gothel’s Tower. Her only friend is a chameleon named Pascal, but as she grows older she yearns to learn of the world outside the tower. One day, Rapunzel is accidentally visited by a thief, Flynn Ryder, (voiced by Zachary Levi ) and her adventure begins.

While I’m not big on musicals, the musical numbers in this movie are great. They add to the movie, instead of interrupting it. The absolute best thing about the movie is the comedy and there is a lot of it; starting with the first bang of misfits that Rapunzel and Flynn meet and sing a song about having a dream. Pascal the chameleon also lead to a bunch of funny bits. Last but not least is the chemistry between Flynn and Maximus, the horse. They have great comedic timing. To top things of, the 3-D is about the best I’ve seen and just as good as Pixar did on Toy Story 3. Who would have thought that a Disney animated movie about a princess would be one of the best movies of the year. 

Review By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com

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