If you’re going to make a movie based on one of the best-known and most-beloved fables ever written, wouldn’t it make sense to also use the fable’s highly recognizable title? If you’re going to stray far from the original source material, lighten the tone, and make an animated family film, the answer is a resounding no.
“Tangled” was Disney’s 50th animated feature film, and to the studio’s immense credit, it resisted naming it “Rapunzel”; that key decision served them and the throngs that saw and loved it very well. The original Brothers Grimm story is far too dark and intense for the average child, and it would have almost certainly generated major negative word-of-mouth.
Welcomed Tweaks
For purists put off by Disney’s heavy tweaking of this particular piece of classic literature, take note: The 1812 Brothers Grimm “Rapunzel” is based on the 1698 “Persinette” by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, which was based on the 1634 “Petrosinella” by Giambattista Basile. If “Tangled” accomplished nothing else, it proved that a great story can be told in many forms.After being born to a nameless king and queen in an unnamed land, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is stolen by Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), an elderly and extremely vain woman who, as pointed out in the opening scene, knows that just the touch of Rapunzel’s golden locks accompanied by song can act as a fountain of youth.
Gothel houses Rapunzel in a remote tower and forbids her to ever leave, citing that the world outside her perch is a mean and dangerous place—a self-serving lie not totally without merit. A shut-in teen, Rapunzel’s street smarts are limited, but she is astute enough to notice that once a year on her birthday, airborne, fire-lit lanterns fill the distant sky.
Love on the Horizon
Rapunzel makes Flynn an offer he can’t refuse. She’ll return the now-hidden crown if he takes her to the place where the lanterns are launched. The pair is, of course, at odds the entire time, a clear sign that romance can’t be far off.Now characters in a road flick, Flynn and Rapunzel must stave off his disgruntled former partners, determined soldiers, a band of drunken misfits, and the never-say-die Gothel on their march to destiny.
Fluff and Snark
For every dollop of fluff, there’s an offsetting pinch of snarky attitude, and not a single second passes that doesn’t further or enhance the narrative. The movie’s intelligence more than matches its immense charm, wit, and beauty. Perhaps best of all is the fact that the two highly entertaining animal characters (a chameleon and a horse) don’t talk.Despite a handful of 11th-hour gems, 2010 proved to be not only the worst year for movies in over a decade, but also the most dismal year for live-action films in the last half-century. Offering almost enough high-quality counterbalance was the more-than-superb roster of animated titles. The year 2010 was by far the best year for animated features since the invention of the medium.
In addition to “Tangled,” 2010 saw the release of “Despicable Me,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Megamind,” and the little-seen French import “The Illusionist,” which lost the Best Animated Feature Academy Award to “Toy Story 3.”
In the dozen or so years since “Tangled,” Disney’s animation division has nosedived into a woke cesspool that has all but thoroughly repelled its once-diehard nuclear family/Middle American base. From “Big Hero 6” to “Moana” to “Encanto” to “Strange World,” not to mention the recent train wreck that was “Wish,” the once mighty Mouse has besmirched the legacy of the brand built on core family values and dyed-in-the-wool patriotism.
If you listen closely, you’ll hear a faint whirring in the distance. It’s the sound of studio founder Walt Disney spinning in his grave.
