Disney Animation have been trying to resurrect their cartoon fairy tales, which defined the company in their early Golden Era of the 40's and 50's and again in the late 80's and 90's, for a few years now. First they had a go with 2007's Enchanted, which was a blend of live action, CGI and traditional hand drawn animation with a fairytale story told with a contemporary hipness. Then they tried again, this time with the Golden touch of Pixar's John Lasseter producing, with the wonderful Princess And The Frog, which saw a return to 2D drawings and dependable Alan Menkin songs. Very good though that was it turns out that Disney were only warming up as Tangled blows them both out of the water.
Tangled is, unbelievably, Disney's 50th full length animated feature and it's amazing that in all those movies that they hadn't got around to adapting the classic Rapunzel until now. There are several elements that elevate this tale above the dregs of Dreamworks fluff, aside from the fantastic script and flawless direction you'd expect from a production touched by the hand of Pixar. The decision to animate classic looking Disney fairytale characters in spanking new CGI gives the classic Disney look a much needed visual overhaul. The songs, again by Alan Menkin, have a much more modern edge to them than Princess and the Frog, once again making the movie much more relevant and appealing to a contemporary audience. The dialogue is amazing, coming across as a touch Whedonesque on occasion, being completely character based but laced with wit, warmth, emotion and a cheeky irreverence.
The character animation is of a staggeringly nuanced quality it's hard to take your eyes of the screen...if CGI characters could get Oscars...or stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame then it would be Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and Mother Gothel. It's helped that they're voiced with attitude by Mandy Moore and Zachery Levi, coming across like they've been possessed by the Whedonverse's Gellar and Fillion, being charming, soulful and offbeat. And it's all topped off by some of the best comically timed gags in a cartoon since the scrat sequences in the first two Ice Age movies. Thanks to the subtle glances and gestures of a chameleon and an over enthusiastic stallion called Maximus, I was giggling like a maniac.
Tangled is a riot from beginning to end, gripping, exhilarating, moving and very, very funny. A bit like a Pixar movie really. Rumour has it Tangled went through so many rewrites and reshoots on it's way to the screen it amassed a mighty $260 million budget. But, in all honesty, that was money well spent.
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