I don't tend to get many requests for reviews (mostly because not a lot of people read these) but once people knew I was doing lockdown reviews there was one film that got requested more than once, and that was 'Tangled' (2010). Your guess is as good as mine as to why this was the film people wanted to see me write about, but it is the most requested film I've ever had to review and I got to a point where I struggle to say no. And, to be honest, the only reason I was putting it off was all thanks to my niece who would play this day after day on repeat to a point where I wanted to gauge my eyes out, so shout out to her. The film follows Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), a princess who was stolen from her parents as a baby. The thief was the evil Gothel (Donna Murphy) who stole Rapunzel due to her magical hair which has de-aging and healing powers. She keeps Rapunzel trapped in a secret tower so that she can horde this power to herself, convincing Rapunzel that the outside world is dangerous and she must never leave. However, on her 18th birthday she wishes to go to see the 'floating lights' that appear every year on her birthday. When a thief, Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), stumbles across the tower whilst escaping guards Rapunzel convinces him to take her to see the lights. Leaving the tower for the first time she embarks on an adventure filled with excitement and danger, or while Gothel is hot on their heels.
For the people who requested I watch this I hope you weren't expecting me to shit on it because I'm not going to, mostly because I can't. This is a very good film and there is very little about it that I can criticise on a filmic level. Did I love the film? No, not even close but it just isn't a film for me. It is your formulaic kind of Disney fair which is always brilliant made even if it doesn't capture my imagination as much as it does other people. But just because it isn't for me doesn't make it a bad film. For starters the animation in the film is superb. The way the characters and environments move and react to one another is brilliant and the film manages to capture a level of realism whilst also keeping the cartoonish nature of the world clear. It is also animation that just has some stunning visuals, especially the 'floating lights' scene, and the lighting throughout is genuinely spectacular with the shadows and shade on the characters and environments being done brilliantly. The film also has a great pace to it. Yes the narrative is quite standard and cliche, but I never found myself bored watching this as the film moves from scene to scene well and lets the narrative flow. It helps that the film is funny, especially with some of its physical humour, and there is one joke that got a genuine audible and prolonged laugh out of me (the scene involves a rabbit for those who have seen it). And of course I couldn't do a review of a Disney princess film without mentioning the music which is also great. This might be the Stockholm syndrome of hearing these songs over and over again speaking, but all the songs are super catchy, memorable, and most importantly fit the scene and enhance the narrative. Characters grow and change during these song numbers and they're not just there to have a song for the sake of it.
I do find it hard to speak about performances when it comes to animated films, mostly because voice acting and live-action acting are very different and I tend to focus more on performances in live-action films then I do in animated ones when there are other things to distract me. However, what I do know is that without a good voice performance you are not going to get fully rounded and fleshed out characters, a problem with which this film does not suffer. Yes it is probably a super simple way of looking at it but whatever, sue me. The film only really has three central characters to talk about. Yes there are side characters, but one of these is a horse and one is a chameleon so they're not speaking (it isn't one of those Disney films). The first performance of note Donna Murphy as Gothel. As the big bad of the film she has to be intimidating and evil, and she captures one of these aspects. She has a properly evil feel to her but I feel like Murphy doesn't particularly feel all that intimidating in her performance. Where she is best is where she is being super motherly towards Rapunzel. We know she is evil at this point and her performance captures this while also capturing a motherly nature really well. Zachary Levi is very good as Flynn Rider. He captures the cocky, suave Han Solo-ish nature of the character well but is also very effective in the more emotional moments during the film. He also has great comedic timing throughout the film (it's his line that I was referring to earlier). Mandy Moore plays Rapunzel and she is also great. She is playing a very conflicted character who is both super confident and super scared throughout the film and she captures this brilliantly. She also has a naivety to her performance that suits the character brilliantly. As with Levi, her comedic timing is great in the film and they also have a great chemistry with one another.
Thanks to a certain 3-year-old girl this a film that I hope to never see again after this viewing. It isn't a bad film, in fact, it is quite the opposite, but it just isn't for me and for a film that isn't for me and for a film that isn't for me I have seen it far too many times. All that aside I can't deny it is a good film. The animation is superb and the performances are all really solid. The narrative is pretty standard, but it works and the film has a good flow and pace to it. The film also got a couple of genuine laughs out of me which is always a positive. Hopefully I have appeased those who requested this film and for those who haven't yet seen it I'd say its worth the watch. Just don't show it to anyone under 5 who may want to watch it on repeat for weeks at a time.