MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Tangled Rated PG

Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard.  Animated Feature.

Photo © 2010 Walt Disney Studios
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

There’s not much to be said about Tangled, except that it’s the classic Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), the girl with the long hair trapped by an enchantress and kept in a tower. 

It’s a Disney film, so we have: a) a few musical numbers by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (clever and also forgettable at the same time); b) a couple of charming and funny animal sidekicks (a horse and a pet lizard); c) a hero (Flynn Rider, voiced by Zachary Levi) to the rescue (and Disney heroes these days always work alongside of strong women characters); and d) a really evil villainess. 

Rapunzel’s Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) is not really her mother at all, but a woman who snatched her away as a baby and has led her to believe that the entire world she needs is to be found inside the tower walls. 

This psychological control is so well executed by the movie, that some viewers may find it hard to watch.  But, once the princess escapes with her new boyfriend, the movie is fairly joyful and sunny, with computer generated chases and some truly beautiful uses of 3D effects. 

In spite of its title, Tangled is not another one of those amped-up hipster versions of children’s fiction (a la the Shrek films), but a good story well told, with no big surprises or disappointments. 

I found it to be a big improvement over Disney’s The Princess and the Frog but in no way equal to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or Aladdin. 

I was glad to have seen it, I wouldn’t mind watching it again, and if you’re in the mood for a good old-fashioned computer animated family film, Tangled is a very enjoyable hour and a half.

Pitchfork/Halo Ratings:
Three halos.
A decent and entertaining fairy tale film that is content to be simply entertaining and decent.

Two pitchforks.
For its scary and honest depiction of emotional abuse.

COMMENTS!

Do you have comments about this movie or movie review? Email comments. (Your comments will be posted to our web site.)