Review of Disney's Tangled

 There are many moments in my bloggy life when its good to be me.  Watching Disney's Tangled before its general release on November 24th was definitely one of them.  This morning it was a gloriously sunny day in Hawai'i nei and we were in the minivan, racing into town, trying to get to the sneak peek of Tangled on time. (I won't talk about the last PR sneak peek that we missed because I sent us to the wrong theater and then, when we we got to the right one, we were too late--nope, I won't mention that.)

If you know a recent contemporary re-telling of the Rapunzel fairy-tale, then you'll be familiar with the story line of Tangled.  While the main characters of the fairy-tale in this movie are engaging, perhaps the peripheral characters that Disney adds into the mix are even more so.  In particular, I enjoyed the stormy bro-mance between Maximus the Royal Guard horse and Flynn Rider the common thief/Casanova.  Rapunzel as well was captivating as the main character--loved her giddy angst at finally leaving the tower.  The film is rated PG but there was only one part I would worry about with sensitive kids.  The end--as in one character's demise--was not as visually scary as it could have been.

I think the biggest star of Tangled was look of the film (and, by association, that hair!).  When I was poking around for info about the film on IMDB, I noticed that the producers talked about how Jean-Honore Fragonard's "The Swing" inspired the look of Tangled.  It is gorgeous and the 3D technology just makes the palette of the film even more stunning.

In short, Tangled was a great family film that was funny, endearing and beautiful to look at.  As we waited for our lunch after the movie, I interviewed my family about what they thought about the movie.  I asked them the following questions:

1. What did you think of Tangled?

2. What was your favorite part of Tangled?

Second Born, 8 yrs old (SB):
1. It was really good!
2. I have no idea, oh wait! The chameleon (Pascal)!

First Born, 14 yrs old (FB):
1. It was a good movie! I think people of all ages would love it.
2. My favorite part was when the ruffians talked about their dreams (and sang about them as well). Oh, and the boat and lanterns scene!

Visiting Tutu, age undisclosed (VT):
1. It was totally fabulous and cool! Each character had an individual personality and there were lots of laughs.  I've always been a Disney fan but Tangled was the best of the best!
2. I loved every scene with the horse, Maximus.  He had a great attitude!

The Hub, older than me (the hub):
1. Tangled made great use of the 3D effects without being heavy-handed.
2. I enjoyed the song and dance parts.  They really connected the audience to the characters.

The Blogger, 40-ish (me):
1. Loved the look of it.  Tangled is a visual feast and I thought the 3D effects were mobilized well in some scenes.  This was a movie where the special effects helped drive the story for viewers (as opposed to other recently 3D-ified kids movies: nudge, Toy Story 3, nudge).
2. The boats and lanterns scene was gorgeous--a real treat for the eyes! I might just buy this DVD when it comes out so I can watch that part over and over again.  It was my most favorite hair fetish movie ever!

I did not receive compensation for this review from Disney although my family and I did view the film free of charge in order to facilitate this review.