Tangled (2010)

Today's awesome movie is a recent Disney classic, the musical Tangled.

The Movie:

Tangled is the 50th movie in the Disney Animated Canon.  (As part of the promotion of this movie, Disney put out a video counting up each of their 50 movies up to that point.  Check it out on YouTube, it's a great video.)  Due to a protracted production period, Tangled is by some accounts the most expensive animated movie ever made.  Luckily, it is also one of Disney's highest earning films, and it was well-received by critics and audiences.  As a follow up to The Princess and the Frog, Tangled also solidified Disney's return to the animated musicals that were the hallmark of the Disney Renaissance and kicked off their second and current Renaissance, also known as the Revival period.

Tangled is based on the fairy tale of Rapunzel as told by the Brothers Grimm, but with some new twists.  This version begins with a magic flower that sprouts when a drop of sunlight falls to the earth.  A woman named Mother Gothel discovers the flower and uses it to keep herself young, but when the pregnant queen of a nearby kingdom falls ill, the flower is taken to heal the queen.  As a result, the magic of the flower is transferred to the newborn child, Rapunzel, through that child's golden hair.  However, when Gothel arrives to steal the hair, she finds that when Rapunzel's hair is cut, it loses its power.  Gothel kidnaps Rapunzel and locks her in a hidden tower.  Years later, on the eve of Rapunzel's 18th birthday, a thief named Flynn Rider is on the run from the guards of the kingdom and climbs Rapunzel's tower to hide.  Rapunzel, wanting to see the mysterious lights that appear on her birthday, persuades Flynn to take her to see them, setting off out of the tower for the first time.

Ok, so the thing about Rapunzel is that it is a fun movie, a light-hearted musical adventure comedy.  Now, it doesn't ever get to the levels of silliness as say The Emperor's New Groove, but it knows better than to take itself too seriously most of the time and gives the right amount of tension to dramatic moments without dragging the movie down.  Rapunzel is one of Disney's most adorkable characters and has a wonderful blend of charm, spunk, and naivety.  In many ways, the story is as much Flynn's as it is Rapunzel's, and the movie makes sure to give him some character development as well, which can be rare in a "princess" movie.

Tangled marks a glorious return of the Disney legend Alan Menken, here providing the score and writing the songs with lyricist Glenn Slater.  Between 1989 and 1997, Menken had provided the songs and score for ever musical of the Disney Renaissance except for The Lion King, from The Little Mermaid to Hercules.  Since that time, his only other work with Disney Animation came on the poorly received Home on the Range, though he did also do Disney's self-parody Enchanted.  But here, he brings Disney back to what made so many of the Renaissance films so magical.

As a whole, the songs aren't quite as strong as the more recent Frozen and Moana, but each has its charms.  "When Will My Life Begin" does a nice job setting up Rapunzel's plight, and "Mother Knows Best" might be the most quaintly charming villain song ever.  "I've Got a Dream" is simply a blast, but the highlight track is the movie's ballad, "I See the Light," which is also one of the most gorgeous scenes in the movie.  As for the score, it has several wonderful cues, including the Irish-style reel in "Kingdom Dance" and Rapunzel's sweeping motif.

Presence in the Parks:

In the Magic Kingdom, Tangled has one of the more interesting themed areas.  It's not a ride, but instead some restrooms with very detailed theming.  These restrooms were built next to It's a Small World in the area where the Fantasyland station of the Magic Kingdom Skyway used to stand.  These were needed when the extended queue to Peter Pan's flight took over the previous restrooms on that end of Fantasyland.  The restrooms include plenty of wanted posters and frying pans.

As a meetable character, Rapunzel often appears in the Princess Fairytale Hall.  Rapunzel, Flynn, and other Tangled characters also appear in the current castle show, Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire.