Tangled's story goes like this - once upon a time, a golden drop of sun fell to the earth and from it grew a marvelous flower that had healing properties. An old crone by the name of Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) found the plant and hid it from others, using it to regain and then maintain her youth and beauty. She did this for hundreds of years, until one day, the very pregnant Queen of the neighboring kingdom became deathly ill. Mother Gothel still wouldn't give up the location of the plant, but the King's soldiers found it and with it, they saved the Queen's life and unknowingly imbued her unborn daughter with these same healing qualities. Naturally, Mother Gothel then kidnaps the lovely infant with the golden hair as revenge, hiding her away in a very tall tower so that she alone can benefit from the child, whose hair can once again return Gothel's youth when the little girl sings a particular song.
Fast-forward 18 years and Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is getting a little stir crazy. She's been locked up in this tower with only Mother Gothel and her little chameleon buddy, Pascal, to entertain her. Tomorrow is her 18th birthday and what she wants more than anything else is to see the lights that fill the sky every single year on her birthday, not from her tower window, but in person. What she doesn't realize is that these lights are lit to commemorate her, the missing princess who disappeared all those years ago. Of course, Mother Gothel goes nuts and a fight ensues, with Gothel leaving Rapunzel to stew about her choices in life. Here's where things get really interesting. A handsome thief named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi, Chuck) has just stolen a crown from the neighboring kingdom and has fled, with his two accomplices, the Stabbington Brothers (Ron Perlman), whom he promptly double-crosses. When he spies the tower as a means of hiding, he climbs up the side, only to be conked on the head by a frying pan-wielding Rapunzel. Once Rapunzel realizes that Mother Gothel will never let her leave the tower, she devises a plan to use Flynn as her guide to see the lights and in return, she'll give him back his stolen crown.
Once Rapunzel leaves the tower, she and Flynn are in for quite an adventure. The unlikely pair will meet up with thugs and hooligans at a seedy pub called The Snuggly Duckling, and they'll be chased by castle guards and specifically, a royal white steed by the name of Maximus, all of whom are still seeking the stolen crown. Maximus turns out to be my favorite character in the entire movie as his facial expressions are absolutely hysterical and he becomes an unflappable nemesis to poor Flynn. As they continue their journey, Flynn and Rapunzel will find themselves falling for one another, but can true love win out over the evil Mother Gothel as she plots to break the pair apart and spirit Rapunzel back to her tower, even if it means committing murder?
Tangled has some pretty dark moments. It really reminds me of older Disney movies like Snow White and Cinderella where the villains weren't afraid to get their hands dirty... treacherously and murderously dirty. Donna Murphy is simply superb as Mother Gothel and she quickly becomes a really hate-worthy character since she is so selfish and evil. While I have never been a fan of Mandy Moore, she has certainly outdone herself in the role of Rapunzel. She is precious and so lovable; she's completely believable as this character. As for Zach Levi as Flynn, everyone who knows me knows I love Chuck, so I went in convinced I'd enjoy him in the film, but he outdoes himself and totally becomes the character of Flynn. Brad Garrett, M.C. Gainey and Jeffrey Tambor all make appearances and the voice acting for all couldn't be more spot on.
Disney continues to make great strides in its animation, but the real star of Tangled is Rapunzel's 70 feet of magnificent golden hair. It's prehensile and she uses it as a weapon, a tool, a swing and anything else you can imagine. It's quite amazing to watch, actually. While this film looks great on DVD, it is spectacular on Blu-ray and you can almost count the stands of hair in Rapunzel's glorious mane. The soundtrack is very upbeat and modern and while Disney is well known for its soundtracks, I found myself humming these songs long after I had watched the movie.
Special features are pretty slim for a newer film, but what's there is top quality. There are a number of deleted scenes, which are always fun to watch since they are in various stages of completion. There are two alternate storybook openings, which I really enjoyed, plus a brief making-of. The making-of is hosted by Mandy Moore and Zach Levi and combines trivia sessions where the stars ask questions and wait for responses, with explanations of how the film was made. Honestly, the animation feat with the hair was so incredible, I wish they had a more in-depth featurette on that alone, but what's there is good. My favorite special feature is called Tangled Teasers and although I never saw one of these on TV or in theaters, they seem to be designed more for parents than the kids who might be watching the show. One is an infomercial on a miracle youth-restoring product called Rapunzhair, while another is a Home Shopping Network style piece on the Frying Pan as a weapon. The best is the news flash on the police chase of a white bronco (Maximus) and the live eye-in-the-sky coverage. It's all great stuff.
I can't recommend this movie more. It's fun for the entire family and will probably get worn out with the multiple viewings in your household. I've already seen it twice and wouldn't hesitate to watch it again and again. This one comes highly recommended; it's a must-buy movie for your collection.
