My (concise) review of Tangled

February 27, 2013 by jasonite75 4 Comments

To get to the point. What worked: the look. This film is gorgeous, particularly on Blu-Ray! The villain: Mother Gothel is the most manipulative of any Disney or Pixar character, awesome. You WANT to see her go down and it’s satisfying when she does. The female empowerment stuff: Rapunzel is definitely the hero of this film, and only rarely is she annoying. The ending: excellent, surprisingly emotionally affecting.

What didn’t work: the songs. A grand total of only two songs were firing on all cylinders, the best of which is the reprise of “Rapunzel Knows Best” about 58 minutes in. Almost none of them came together that well, a real disappointment in an integral part of any animated Disney movie. The humor: intermittent at best. You’ll chuckle, but don’t expect consistent laughter if you’re an adult viewer. The plot: incredibly simplistic, don’t worry about having to use your brain at any point. The sidekick: that stupid, pointless gecko. You can always rely on Disney’s dogged determination for every protagonist to have a sidekick. He gets kicked at one point by the villain, and it made me so happy! Tangled also tries to be a bit too modern, particularly with the dialogue–it can pull you out of the fairy tale. Overall this film is certainly entertaining, but doesn’t have the magic to be a classic like the early Pixar films or the Disney films we know and love. Definitely worth a watch, you’ll absolutely love it if you’re a teen or younger; adult viewers will not be quite as enchanted. 3.5 of 5 stars.