November 27, 2010 -- After 73 years and 50 classic animated feature films, Walt Disney Studios is, sadly, quitting the business of putting fairy tales on the screen for mass audiences. That being said, “Tangled” is a worthy 50th film in a line that dates back to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937. A couple of Disney's animated films that were in the works have been canceled. Disney as yet has no animated films scheduled for 2012. Disney's highly praised and profitable Pixar division will continue to release films, of course, but “Tangled” appears to be the last fairy tale film from Disney for the foreseeable future. This is a huge loss to animated film fans everywhere, and to our culture as a whole.

“Tangled” is loosely based on the German folk tale of Rapunzel, recounted in Grimm's fairy tales. The story is modernized somewhat into a story about a girl becoming a woman and throwing off the shackles of childhood and seizing power for herself. Rapunzel, born a princess with magical healing powers, is stolen by an old witch, Gothel, and locked away in a tower in a hidden forest valley. Gothel tells Rapunzel she is her mother and uses the power in Rapunzel's hair to keep herself looking young. Gothel keeps Rapunzel in the tower, in part, by telling her the world is filled with evil people who would hurt her.

One day a charming rogue, Flynn Rider, stumbles upon the hidden valley with a stolen crown and climbs the tower. Rapunzel overpowers him and makes a bargain with him. She will give him back his stolen crown, which she has hidden from him, if he will take her to where the floating stars are. The floating stars are actually lanterns released every year on Rapunzel's birthday. This is a ceremony started by Rapunzel's mother and father, the very king and queen from which Flynn stole the crown. Rapunzel is unaware of her royal heritage, or of the meaning of the floating lanterns.

Flynn is not anxious to go back to the kingdom where he is a wanted man with a price on his head. Not only are the king's men after him, but the two crooks from which he stole the crown. Flynn and the two other crooks were supposed to share the loot, but Flynn escaped with it. Flynn agrees to take Rapunzel to the floating lanterns. When Gothel finds out Rapunzel has left the tower, she goes off in pursuit of Rapunzel.

So, Rapunzel and Flynn are being pursued by two large, mean crooks, the royal army, everyone who wants to collect the reward, and Gothel, whose very life depends on Rapunzel's magic. That would be quite enough, but there turns out to be one more pursuer, the toughest, smartest, and most persistent of them all, a soldier's horse named Maximus. This horse is perhaps the most interesting character in the movie. He seems to combine the characteristics of a policeman, a police dog, a bloodhound and a horse. He is smart, tough and relentless, but also fair. He is a unique character. Another interesting character in the film is Pascal, Rapunzel's loyal and brave pet chameleon.

The artwork and 3D animation on this film are superb. It is filled with bright imagery and glorious colors in the grand tradition of Disney animation. This film uses computerized animation that is somehow blended with the style of hand-drawn artwork. It looks like a three-dimensional painting that has come to life. The techniques used to create this look were reportedly developed specifically for this film. As is common in Disney fairy tales, there are some good musical and dance numbers, too. The music is written by veteran Disney composer Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid” and several other films) with lyrics by Glenn Slater. While neither the story, nor the music quite comes up to the level of that fantastic artwork, this is a very good film, a worthy 50th animated feature. Let's hope Disney decides to do this sort of thing again sometime. This film rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2010 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .