Disney is known for its
animated retellings of fairytales. Many of us have seen the classic films Snow
White & the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping
Beauty. Then in the 1980s and 90s came some new fairytale movies: The
Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin are
just a few. In 2010, Disney returned to the princess fairytales they were so
well known for. They released the family musical Tangled, centered
on the story of Rapunzel of the long hair.
Tangled is, to this date, one of the best-selling
Disney DVDs of all time and broke records in theaters when it was released. In
theaters, it is Disney's third highest-grossing film (just behind Frozen and The
Lion King). The film includes the voices of Mandy Moore as Rapunzel,
Zachery Levi as convict Flynn Rider, and Donna Murphey as "Mother"
Gothel.
SUMMARY
In a magical land, a king and queen are going to have
a child. But the queen becomes very ill, and so the king initiates a search for
a mystical flower that was grown from a drop of sunlight. The plant is found,
but little do the royal soldiers know, they were being watched by a mysterious
woman who would use the flower's magical healing powers.
The queen is cured, and she gives birth to a baby
girl. The girl's hair shines golden, just like the sunlight from which the
magical flower grew. But in the middle of one night, the mysterious woman,
named Gothel, kidnaps the baby girl.
She takes the baby, whom she names Rapunzel
(nicknamed "Flower") to a hidden tower. There, Rapunzel's hair grants
long life to Gothel, just as she had from the flower many years ago. Her hair
has the magical powers to heal.
The king and queen launch floating lanterns every
year on the birthday of their missing daughter, hoping against hope that she
will one day reappear. From Gothel's tower, Rapunzel grows up seeing the
lanterns every year.
As she grows older, she longs for the freedom to go
find these floating lanterns (which her "mother" Gothel says are
merely stars). One day, while Gothel is gone, a fugitive thief sneaks into the
tower to hide. Rapunzel, not quite sure what to do, knocks the man out with a
frying pan. Once the man, Flynn Rider, is conscious, she informs him that she
has hidden his bag which contains a precious treasure. The two make a deal:
Flynn takes Rapunzel to see the floating "lights," and she will then
return his bag to him.
So the two set off on an adventure (accompanied by
Rapunzel's pet chameleon Pascal), though it is the first time Rapunzel has been
outside of the tower since she was kidnapped as an infant. Eventually, Flynn
takes Rapunzel to a pub full of rough, dangerous-looking customers in an
attempt to scare her away from her quest. However, it turns out that the
people, just like Rapunzel, have dreams that they wish for to come true. They
help Flynn and Rapunzel escape from guards, who are tracking Flynn.
Rapunzel and Flynn, now joined by the royal horse
Maximus, arrive at the kingdom. They enjoy an afternoon of celebrations,
treats, and dancing. To watch the flying lanterns, the two take a boat out on
the lake. This is where they realize that their new dream is each other.
However, Gothel has joined with two former
partners-in-crime of Flynn. The criminals kidnap Flynn and turn him over to the
royal guards, while Gothel takes Rapunzel back to their tower. But Flynn will
not give up until he saves Rapunzel from the imposter, Gothel.
CONTENT
Any violent content within Tangled is
pretty minimal. It is not too unlike that of the classic Loony Toons.
Rapunzel knocks Flynn out with a frying pan. He also gets knocked about while
tied up in a chair. Later, they nearly drown while trapped in a cave. There are
several sword fights throughout the movie. The most violent scene is when a
person is stabbed unexpectedly. Also, a lady's appearance becomes gruesome, and
she falls from a building, though she turns to dust before hitting the
ground.
Any sensual content is pretty minor. However, both
Mother Gothel and Rapunzel wear dresses that show at least a little bit of
their chest. In one scene, Gothel briefly flirts with a short, bearded man
wearing a diaper (apparently supposed to be like Cupid, as he carries a bow).
There are a couple of kisses between Rapunzel and Flynn.
Throughout Tangled, magic is used.
Rapunzel's hair heals wounds and grants long life to Gothel.
It is interesting to note that this film, in 2010, is
the last Disney film to date in which the princess finds true love with a
prince. 2013's Frozen and 2014's Maleficent both
found the princesses discovering their happy ending through family love, rather
than romantic love. It's an interesting trend that the princess no longer is
happy with the prince. This can have both positive and negative effects,
but Tangled still held to the classic Disney prince-princess
relationship.
Tangled is certainly one of my favorite
cartoons from Disney Pictures. When our family went to see it in a theater, I
was assuming I would find it boring and dull. I was very wrong! Tangled is
a delight for all ages of both genders. It includes adventure, romance, comedy,
and great music. The songs are great Disney tunes, including When Will
My Life Begin?, Mother Knows Best, I've Got a Dream,
and I See the Light. The musical numbers were done by Alan Menken,
a veteran Disney composer, who has previously worked on The Little
Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Enchanted (with
lyrics by Glenn Slater, who also did the lyrics for Little Mermaid).
In one scene, Rapunzel expresses concern at what she
will do once her dream of seeing the "floating lights" is fulfilled.
Flynn tells her that the great thing about dreams is that, once one has been
found, we get to chase another one. This is true! God gave us a great gift when
He gave us the ability to dream and wish for things. Chasing your dreams can be
wonderful, yet there is also a danger. As fallen humans, we can easily fall
into the temptation to place our desires in front of God's plan for us. Our
plans can often conflict with God's plans. We need to be careful not to let our
dreams become idols. How do we do this? God has not said it is evil to want
something (assuming it is a good thing), though it is evil to covet something;
it is wrong to want something so badly that we believe we cannot find happiness
without it. When we find ourselves dreaming for something, we need to remind
ourselves that we can be happy without it, no matter how much we wish for
it.
This is truly an enjoyable movie. If you are a fan
of Frozen, you will likely fall in love with this film as well.
This is definitely feels like a classic Disney fairy tale, but with some new
twists. I'm sure Tangled will have your family laughing and
maybe even crying. 5 stars!
GENERAL INFORMATION
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: PG (for brief mild violence)
Directors: Nathan Greno, Bryon Howard
Producers: John Lasseter, Roy Conli, Glen Keane
Music: Alan Menken (score and music), Glenn Slater (musical
lyrics)
Year of release: 2010
Primary audience: Kids, family, pre-teens
Primary audience: Kids, family, pre-teens
