Voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, and Brad Garrett
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Glenn Slater
The idea of Disney doing the Grimm's fairy tale Rapunzel apparently went back to 2001, but then-CEO Michael Eisner wanted it to be computer-animated. The original idea was to have two normal kids end up playing the roles of Rapunzel and her prince, but this was dropped around in favor of something somewhat closer to the original fairy tale. It went over well enough in 2010, but how does it look now, after other fairy tale stories from Disney and elsewhere have come and gone? Let's begin with thief Flynn Rider (Levi) narrating the story of how he died...and how a king and queen lost their child and her magical hair to a vain witch...and find out...
The Story: Rapunzel (Moore) has never known any home but the tower she was reared in. Her adoptive mother Gothel (Murphy) has convinced her that the world is a terrible place filled with people who will only want her long, golden, magical hair that can glow and heal. She finally gets her chance to see the outside world when she catches Flynn hiding the tiara that belongs to the lost princess in her tower. If Flynn wants the tiara back, he has to take her to see the floating lights that appear every year on her birthday.
He agrees to it in order to get the tiara back...but as they travel through the countryside and into town, they gradually fall in love. Gothel is determined to get her ticket to immortality back and follows her, claiming Flynn isn't loyal. Rapunzel and Flynn have to dodge Gothel and Flynn's former partners before they learn that some dreams are worth sacrificing for, especially when they're dreamed for the ones you care about.
The Animation: Part of the reason this took almost 10 years to debut was Disney couldn't decide how they wanted it. The directors wanted it to be two-dimensional, and the executives wanted computer animation. They finally decided on computer animated, but with a glowing, painterly look like in the work of romantic European artists. They certainly did that. The artwork here is still very good, glowing with jewel tones and the brilliant shine of Rapunzel's flowing tresses. The characters have faces that are just as expressive and detailed as 2-D - check out the wild and weird thugs at the Snuggly Duckling, for instance, or Flynn's perpetual deadpan smirks.
The Song and Dance: Along with the animation and music, the major selling points are the wonderful performances. Moore badly wanted to play a Disney princess since childhood, and she's adorable as the eager, hopeful teen who dreams of seeing the lights and learning more about the outside world. Levi is hilariously snarky as the thief who claims he only wants riches, but may have more dreams in mind than chasing money. Jeffery Tambour and Brad Garrett are among the seemingly frightening thugs at the Snuggly Duckling who turn out to be far less scary than they appear at first.
And there's Mother Gothel, one of Disney's nastier female villains. She's not as over-the-top as some other Disney bad people, but that makes her even more effective. She's the ultimate abusive parent, manipulating Rapunzel back into her tower by claiming the world outside is selfish and evil...when the only really evil character around is her and her overriding vanity.
Favorite Number: Our first proper number is "When Will My Life Begin?" as we see Rapunzel go about her daily chores. She tries to fill her day with activities, but the truth is, she's bored and longs for adventure. Gothel's "Mother Knows Best" sounds like concern, but her only real concern is keeping her teen daughter from running off with the golden hair that's her ticket to immortality. Its reprise is even more manipulative as she claims Flynn only cares about the tiara. Rapunzel sings to the thugs at the Snuggly Duckling how "I've Got a Dream." They're so charmed by her, they tell her about their secret wishes, and even manage to get Flynn to reveal his.
"I See the Light" is the big ballad as Rapunzel admits how happy she is to see the lights...but even more, how even happier to be with Flynn alone on the lake as they admit their feelings for one another. The movie ends on an upbeat note with the bright but unmemorable pop song "Something I Want" sung over the credits by Grace Potter.
Trivia: While it was only a mild hit critically, it went over far better with audiences. It was the third highest grossing animated movie of 2010 (behind Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3), and was even more popular on home media. It was that success that led to the short Tangled Ever After in 2012, the TV movie Tangled: Before Ever After in 2017, and the TV show Tangled: The Series (later Rapunzel's Tangled Adventures) a year after that.
What I Don't Like: I really wish this was more of a musical. I suspect Disney may have been wary of out-and-out musicals after The Princess and the Frog didn't perform to their expectations at the box office. There's only four full numbers and an instrumental dance routine in town, plus the pop song "Something I Want" over the end credits. Of the songs, only the Oscar-nominated "I See the Light" is really up to the standards of Menken's earlier work.
And no, this doesn't have anything in common with the original fairy tale, other than a girl with long hair who was kidnapped in infancy by a witch and locked in a tower. In the original story, Rapunzel was the daughter of a peasant who stole the witch's greens for his pregnant wife. The witch was so offended, she took their child. The guy who rescued her was a prince; the witch blinded him for invading the tower after she knocked him in the windows. In some versions, Rapunzel even has his children after being abandoned in the desert, which really wasn't going to fly in a Disney movie.
The Big Finale: Adorable characters and gorgeous animation makes this one of Disney's better animated films of the last decade or so. Check it out with your favorite little princess or thief.
Home Media: Easily found in all formats. Disney Plus currently has it, Tangled Forever After, Tangled: Before Ever After, and Rapunzel's Tangled Adventures with a subscription.
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