|
 It’s
hard out here for a princess. Especially one whose royal mum nearly
died before she was born, was infused with the power of a magical flower
to save them both, which caused her kidnapping by a wrinkle-phobic witch
who locked her in a tower for nearly two decades with no one but a tiny
lizard for company and nothing to do but listen to her hair grow and
grow and grow, wondering what she’s missing in the world outside.
I’ve
just given an extremely abridged version of the set-up for this
retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Rapunzel. What I couldn’t
possibly include in that passage was the sheer excellence of the Disney
company’s fiftieth animation feature, which in its quality and
brilliance place it in the highest echelons of the canon amongst Snow
White {1937}, Cinderella {1950} and Sleeping Beauty {1959}
and later triumphs like The Little Mermaid {1989}, Beauty and the
Beast {1991}, or the overlooked Mulan {1998}. Tangled is
the best Disney film to come along for ages.
On its
most basic level, the film is gorgeous to look at. Hyper-colourful,
against rich, storybook-like backgrounds, Tangled’s characters have the
smooth CG skin of plastic dolls come to life crossed with the
handsomeness of classic Disney designs. Rapunzel’s hair is a gorgeous,
lush technical marvel; one can practically differentiate every golden
strand. The lightness with which Rapunzel wields it around either as a
rope to rappel herself and others up to the tower’s high window, or to
bind her errant saviour, Flynn, the home-invading thief, to a chair for
interrogation, is on a Pixar level of brilliance. After Rapunzel
bargains with Flynn to help her escape the confines of her home prison
and visit the village where mysterious lanterns light up the sky every
year on her birthday, the thief does all he can to dissuade the
unwilling hermit from taking him into the very town he’s stolen crown
jewels from. His sidetracking forays lead them into an alehouse full of
ruffians called the Snuggly Duckling and eventually on the run for their
lives across the base of an unsturdy dam. Unsturdy dams being what they
are, this one doesn’t hold up too long and the image of tons of water
busting through is amazing. As with the shots of Rapunzel’s hair, the
weight of the water surging is wonderfully realistic. Everything is
textured beautifully and in terms of its design, scenes like Rapunzel
and Flynn’s boat ride in the middle of a lake to watch thousands of
paper lanterns sail overhead is the stuff of lovely dreams.
Directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno have reimagined this classic
story with some of the fast-paced humour that seems to be so popular in
fairy tale cartoons post-Shrek {2001}, but with none of that
film’s cynicism. If Tangled’s laughs resemble anything, it’s probably
closest to the absurd, surreal comedy of Monty Python’s Flying Circus,
particularly moments like the big “I’ve Got a Dream” production number
wherein the rough and ready denizens of the Snuggly Duckling share their
innermost -- often bizarre -- yearnings with the plucky Rapunzel. Even
the captain of the royal guard bears more than a passing resemblance to
Monty Python’s John Cleese. Two dialog-free characters Rapunzel’s best
mate, the chameleon Pascal and the upstanding and determined military
horse, Maximus, steal a lot of Tangled. Pascal is the Greek chorus to
Rapunzel’s innermost thoughts; leery and suspicious of the
devil-may-care Flynn. Maximus is the over-the-top, long hoof of the law
obsessed with bringing Flynn to justice, who delays only because of
Rapunzel’s kindness, quickly becoming as protective of her as the tiny
lizard.
Rapunzel herself may be a complete innocent, but she’s no fool. She’s a
Disney princess for the ages; sweet, charming, smart and talented. The
resourceful girl wastes no time in commandeering Flynn, the first man
she’s ever clapped eyes on, to be her guide into the unknown world
outside. He may be cute, but she’s got things to do first. Rapunzel is
a loving daughter to the parent she doesn’t realise is her kidnapper and
is fraught with guilt after deceiving her by running off to the lights
while Mother Goethel is gone. The scene of Rapunzel’s
not-entirely-inner turmoil upon leaving the tower is one of the funniest
in any Disney film. Also a scream is anytime she brandishes her weapon
of choice, her trusty frying pan (I’m sure Cuisinart and Calaphon are
kicking themselves for missing the golden merchandising opportunity
there.). Her warden, the beguiling (uncannily Cher-like)
witch Goethel keeps Rapunzel captive not only by locking her in a
remote, ridiculously high tower, but by alternating affectionate love
and fear; both of the cruel world outside and passive-aggressively
enflaming Rapunzel’s own shaky teenage self-esteem. As with many Disney
animated movies, the songs in Tangled {composed in part by Alan
Menken, best known for the iconic Little Mermaid and Beauty and the
Beast scores} are a huge component to figure in. Happily, Tangled
features some of the best songs for many a moon. “Mother Knows Best,”
makes the most of having Broadway luminary Donna Murphy in the cast as
she belts out Goethel’s well-played guilt trip against her adopted
child. Rapunzel’s opening song , “When Will My Life Begin” is all charm
and exposition, while there’s no doubt that Debbie Allen should come up
with some kind of inappropriate dance number for “I See the Light,” the
dreamy ballad that highlights the gorgeous flight of the lanterns and
Rapunzel and Flynn’s budding romance. That one’s Oscar-bound, as is the
whole production, very likely for a Best Picture nom. Tangled owes
a lot to the fabulous pipes of former pop baby Mandy Moore as both
Rapunzel’s speaking and singing voice, giving the character and the
songs a sweetness, strength and emotion that’s hard to imagine in anyone
else’s hands. There is a notable set piece that has no voices; a
sequence where the ebullient runaway dances with pure joy after arriving
in town and falling in love with everything she sees, catching the
entire village up in her happiness. The rhythmic medieval instrumental
that scores the scene is as mesmerising and enthralling as the moment.
Even
with its well-worn fairy tale premise and the folks at Mattel going
crazy with thoughts of the ‘super-long hair Rapunzel’ dolls it’ll be
wheeling out by the truckload come Christmastime, Tangled is anything
but your typical Disney Princess story. It goes to pains to include
boys in the equation by providing quite a bit of action like the dam
bursting scene and featuring Flynn as its narrator and often its main
protagonist. Flynn actually gets more screen time than Rapunzel, who is
only one of three female characters in the film (- and only two of
those have dialog). Luckily, Rapunzel is such a winning character
that she makes up for whatever time she’s away by virtue of pure charm,
and along with Pascal and Maximus (- and the frying pan) as comic
relief, a balance is found that will entertain everybody.
Extremely well done, this. Hilarious, charming, heartfelt and featuring
loads of action-packed fun, Tangled isn’t just a return to form or the
best of the “Princess films” since Beauty and the Beast; Tangled takes a
high place amongst the jewels in the Disney crown.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
November 24th, 2010
Click here to read our Exclusive Interview with Tangled directors Byron
Howard and Nathan Greno
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