May 30: Tangled

"The magically long-haired Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is."

Disney has had an iffy last decade or so. Never capturing the magic of the past, the studio has seemingly struggled to make another classic. However, things are very different with Tangled, as it is an amazing return to form for Disney and quite the adventure in itself. It has great voice-acting that fit the characters perfectly and cute, comical animal sidekicks (a deadly chameleon, Pascal, and a horse, Maximus, who thinks he's a dog). The film is genuinely funny (no stupid pop culture parodies and song "covers" a la Alvin and the Chipmunks) and incredibly beautiful. The animation is amazing and actually has the first Disney princess, Rapunzel, to be rendered in 3D. 

Aw, look at the little chameleon. 

Tangled follows the story of Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), the timeless damsel locked away in a tower. However, instead of waiting for her prince or whatever, she's kept "prisoner" by her adoptive step-mother who kidnapped her when she was a baby. Rapunzel actually has magical glowing hair that has the power to give youth back to her mother whenever she sings. Her mother is a really greedy and selfish b**ch and keeps Rapunzel locked away so she can essentially live forever. When Flynn Rider (Chuck's Zachary Levi), a thief on the run, stumbles upon Rapunzel's tower, he's blackmailed by the long haired girl into taking her to the castle's annual lantern festival. The two escape the tower and head out on a road-trip adventure through the land, escaping thieves, Rapunzel's awful step-mother, and the royal guard. Tangled is not your average princess story and has a lot more going for it than frilly, pretty dresses and whatever else little girls like. 

Yes, Flynn is shocked that boys can enjoy this film too. 

If you can't tell, I would definitely recommend Tangled. My one complaint is that the scale of the film isn't as grand as one would expect as the story is rather contained in a small area. But you could also look at this as a strength, as the film never bloats into over-the-top nonsense and focuses a lot on the great characters at its core. Tangled is worth a watch and reinvigorates Disney and shows that more soon-to-be-classics can still be made at timeless studio. 

The Good:

the fact the film is actually funny and earns quite a lot of laughs

The Better:

two central characters that are written perfectly and have voice actors clearly made for the roles

The Best:

a reminder that Disney still has mojo and can produce quality films again

Overall: 8.4/10

Trailer: