Tangled

Disney’s previous film was the highly enjoyable The Princess and The Frog, but that sadly died a box office death, with one of the main reasons cited that it failed to attract the male audience (seriously though, what did they expect with a title like that?). That film was also “old style” 2D animation and no matter how wrong it may be to say it, that must surely have caused the modern audience to shuffle their feet past the multiplex as well. Therefore, Disney have gone all out here, switching to 3D computer animation. The good news is, all the standards of an animated film (hell, any film) are present and correct and the whole thing is a blast. Based on the Grimm brothers Rapunzel fairy-tale (also the title of the film until a switch near the release date) Tangled see’s Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) released from her tower by dashing thief Flynn (Zachary Levi) and so begins a roller coaster journey of buddy movie, romance, scares and many, many laughs. Its clear Disney put some serious effort into this both script wise and animation wise, though the songs are hit and miss. There are luscious visuals throughout from Rapunzel’s superbly rendered hair (six years in the making according to reports) to the deeply green forests and trees. It’s a shame therefore that the colours are muted by the 3D (take your glasses off during the film and you’ll see what I mean). All successful animated films seem to have an animal as the best character and it’s no different here as Flynn’s horse steals the show, made even more impressive by the fact it’s all based on his mannerisms and facial gestures alone. There’s also the added attraction of not being distracted by any A-List stars providing the voices (though if the rumoured budget of $260 million is to be believed, there couldn’t have been much left in the kitty anyway to entice any big names). If there is a quibble, that would be most of the characters are a cliché and won’t become firm Disney favourites (which is probably why the horse sticks out so memorably) but after some lean (in comparative terms) years, that’s now back to back crackers from The Mouse House. More to come, please.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

It’s not a classic, but it is hugely entertaining and hopefully it’s the start of a new period of quality from Disney. Rating: 8/10