Disney gets its hair in a twist

Costing Disney a whooping $260 million in production budget alone, it comes as no surprise that the studio has announced they will no longer make animated films based on fairytales after the release of their latest, Tangled. It’s time for the original ideas of Pixar to thrive and Disney knows it. The most recent Disney non-Pixar efforts haven’t exactly turned huge profits and, as the bar is continuously raised, the cost of animation isn’t getting any cheaper.

Good news, then, that the film they’re releasing as their fairytale send-off is actually of a very high standard, mixing a well-known children’s story with some gripping action, adventure and song-and-dance numbers we have all come to adore. There are the usual Disney ingredients – a young princess in trouble, a wisecracking, handsome princely man, a wicked woman who starts off the story by creating a mess of a situation, cheery tunes, and funny supporting characters. It’s really no different from many Disney classics, but Tangled recycles this well worn-out set of plot devices and still makes the whole film surprisingly watchable.

First things first: the $260 million is money well spent. Tangled looks stunning and the artwork cannot be faulted here. It may be one of the best looking of all Disney animated films. Unlike Disney’s previous works, Tangled is not a purely hand-drawn animation, but a computer-animation integration that truly shows the modern appeal.

The plot follows the classic fairytale character, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) whose hair is a central theme of the story and is beautifully animated, flowing across the screen in most scenes. When Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) discovers that the newborn baby princess Rapunzel’s hair has a special power of healing that includes maintaining youth, Gothel kidnaps the poor princess, locks her away in a tower and raises the baby as her own. The power of her hair only remains when it’s not cut – so it’s important to grow her beautiful long golden hair. Eighteen years later, a local bandit, Flynn (Zachary Levi), fleeing from some palace guards, runs into a forest, and stumbles upon Rapunzel’s place of imprisonment. At first, they get off to a bad start – mainly when she attacks him and holds him prisoner. But, when it transpires that she is dying to venture out into the world, she strikes up a deal with Flynn. If he helps her, she will let him go.

The relationship is superbly voiced by the two leading actors: Levi as the narcissistic but often clueless thief and Moore as the lovable, naïve and cute little princess. They make a great team and there is plenty of humour between them to keep things fresh. Some jokes are more childish and immature than others, but there are more than enough enjoyable developments to keep the older members of the audience hooked. Mother Grothel, one of Disney’s very few non-magical villains, relies brilliantly on her master manipulation skills and passive-aggressive words to mess with everyone’s heads. Murphy has the perfect voice for the role: her sly intelligence and uncanny ability to work every single situation to her own advantage makes her one slick villain.

Films like The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast have come up with so many epic, catchy tunes that it would be simply unrealistic to expect the same sort of breakthrough musical standard, but Tangled does come up with its fair share of likable songs, though they’re nothing on the enduring classics of early Disney.

There is a lot of hectic action in the middle sequence – a lot of which is made head-spinning by the eye-popping special effects. The 3D is once again not something groundbreaking and doesn’t add a whole lot to the film’s content. It’s more distracting than anything else – Rapunzel’s hair flows swimmingly no matter what and her big eyes sparkle even without the added extra dimension.

Despite the directors’ attempts to be creative, the final moments are a tad daft, and the cheesiness surrounding its finale can be unbearable. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either, and relies on the argument of “love conquers all” as its final motto. Though it’s an easy way out, a neat conclusion with a happy message, something the kids will no doubt be pleased with but most viewers will be left wanting a little more. Perhaps we should all remember that this is a Disney film, and therefore, should ultimately be kid-friendly but Tangled is still another demonstration that Disney doesn’t quite get the difference between “sub-standard film” and “children’s film”.