Sunday 13 February 2011

REVIEW: Tangled ( 2011)

  Disney’s fiftieth animated feature, Tangled, feels like a return to the fairytales of old with an evil, though non-magical witch and a lead princess. Matching this with post-Shrek knowingness, with the prince role being played by a thief and over the top animal sidekicks, Tangled is a film that aims for somewhere in between post-modernism and tradition.
  A child-friendly Dogtooth, Tangled centres on Rapunzel, the longhaired prisoner held in a tower in the middle of a forest. She is the unknowing princess of a nearby kingdom, held captive by the evil Gothel for her magical hair, which can return youth to those who sing to it. Gothel keeps her imprisoned, teaching her a new vocabulary to explain the natural phenomenon that she sees outside her window. Desperate to see the outside world, Rapunzel is cowed by her false mother, who warns her of its danger and treachery. With the arrival on the scene of Flynn Rider, a thief who is on the run for stealing the lost princess’ crown, Rapunzel sees her chance to escape.
  Seeing a film like Tangled, not unlike the superior, though it falls apart towards the end, live-action Enchanted, makes it clear the irreparable harm that Shrek has done to the fairytale. Though that series of films very quickly fizzled out in its subsequent instalments, the damage was done. No longer possible is the saccharine cuteness of early Disney without a few nudges and winks. Tangled begins with a voiceover introduction from Flynn, making it clear that the conventions will be mocked as much as they will be reaffirmed. Beneath the obligatory spoofing, however, remains the stuff of early Disney.
  Quite a large part of the film’s first half is used to set up the various strands of narrative. It’s not really until Rapunzel and Flynn’s visit to a pub full of disreputable criminals that the film’s comedy and characters are allowed to shine. The jokes are very much of the Shrek kind, but do manage a few laughs. The refreshingly silent Maximus, a horse with a grudge against Flynn, is a very funny creation if not because of its deadpan knowingness. Flynn is also likeably untrustworthy and Gothel is a well-handled character, presented in an intriguingly ambiguous light. Like Rapunzel, we too are unsure whether Gothel’s commands are for the best or not. The finale is all the more convincing, as the characters are all clearly making choices one way or another. Pleasantly, the film gains confidence, taking on Disney sweetness without a hint of irony until Flynn’s voiceover conclusion.
  Some of the best sequences in the film are far removed from the mockery of Shrek, making Tangled appear a much more sincere and, hence, child-friendly work. The in-jokery is there, though it is clear that that is not where the heart of the film is at. That said, the film manages to be rather funny and, though within the confines of a very conventional storyline, rather entertaining.

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