After hearing person after person rave about how "Tangled" is Disney's greatest film in ages, I finally broke down and ventured out to see it. If you recall from a previous post on the latest trend in mis-marketing films (which you can read, HERE), my assessment of this film was that the trailer didn't know how to market the film. I also went on to say that the film would suffer at the box office because of it.
I was half right, and half wrong. I correctly predicted from the trailer, that the film didn't know what it wanted to be. Unfortunately, I was wrong in the fact that audiences have seen the film in droves.
The primary problem with the film is that it has so many out of place tonal shifts that detract from the overall flow of the story. First it is a drama, then a slapstick comedy, then an action piece, back to a comedy, then a drama, then a shoehorned in musical number (don't worry, since we have Mandy Moore as the voice of the princess, Rapunzel...you'll get several more of these). After this goes on for the length of the film, you feel as though you've been subjected to a story written by committee in the psych ward.
The problems don't stop there. The feel of the film doesn't jive with the animation style. This type of a film would have been better in traditional animation, as opposed to the overused CGI that is in use here. You also get the feeling that they tried too hard to imitate the Shrek franchise while spinning the Rapunzel tale around. It also comes off as another weak attempt at trying to continue to cash in on the Disney princess craze. Trust me folks, we put that baby to bed with the far superior "Enchanted." It simply doesn't get any better than that.
I haven't even covered the terrible, contirved and hackneyed manner in which the princess discovers who she truly is. It's so unbelievable (even for an animated film) that I literally yelled "Are you kidding me!" from my seat. Oddly, I had about two dozen eight year olds give me the stink eye. Luckily, I refrained from also yelling out that Justin Bieber is gay, Miley Cyrus smokes weed and Santa Claus isn't real. I figured that I would like to get out of the theater alive.
It also should be mentioned that for an animated tale, this has one of the most grim death sequences that I have seen. I won't say much about it, but suffice to say, it caught me off guard...and is kind of offputting.
The film isn't getting a total trashing, however. This is due to the servicable voice work done by the film's principles. Mandy Moore as Rapunzel and Zachary Levi (TV's "Chuck") as the hero, Flynn Rider do a decent job. The same can be said for Donna Murphy as the villain and several of the minor voice cast. What's nice is that you don't spend the entire film playing "I know that voice." It allows you to concentrate on the story...unfortunately.
Kids will still likely enjoy it (hey, its flashy colors and lights on the screen), but I was mostly bored...that is when I wasn't cringing from the constantly shifting tones. I suppose, I underestimated middle America. Sorry you found this movie great, folks. Yes, it kept your kids entertained for a little while, but hey, so did their own shit in their diaper at one point.
Can I interest you in "The Princess and the Frog," instead?
"Lesson Number Three. Always Trust Centauri."
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