Movie Review: Tangled!

Last Saturday, after lunch with Lindsay, I headed over to the local dollar theater.  I go there to see movies that either I missed in theaters OR that I couldn't get the hubby to go see with me.  Tangled qualified as the latter lol.  That said, his loss!  This movie was awesome!  I would even go so far to say its the best Disney animated movie in awhile--and I really enjoyed Up! and The Princess and the Frog.

Tangled is a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, and I am a complete sucker for well done fairy tale retellings.  Without giving too much away, I thought the retake on Rapunzel's hair and the REAL reason the witch puts her in a tower was even better than the original tale, and yet they still managed to work in the mother needing a specific plant and that leading to the witch taking Rapunzel.

The cast of characters and voice actors they worked into this retelling was amazing.  I have to admit, when I saw the previews and they kept showing the "Flynn Rider" wanted poster, I was a little worried--after all, Flynn Rider has his own literary existence.  However, I worried for naught--they handled it expertly, as I would expect from a good Disney movie.  

I thoroughly enjoyed Mandy Moore's voicing of Rapunzel and the spunk and intelligence as well as the innocence in the characterization of Rapunzel.  Zachary Levi was perfectly cast for Flynn Rider, and I loved that they made him such a complex character.  Mother Gothel--expertly voiced by Donna Murphy--was also amazingly characterized--the evil of her selfishness, her self-centered and manipulative nature, and her desperation made for an arresting combination.  Two of my other favorite actors--Brad Garrett and Ron Perlman--added their voices flawlessly.  Heck, even the voiceless characters added to the movie!  The King and Queen added such depth to the movie, and Maximus the palace horse and Pascal the chameleon made the movie's humor.

 

Speaking of humor, I haven't laughed so hard during a Disney movie in years!  This movie was hilarious!  Maximus, Pascal, the ruffians, and the inflections from the voice actors had me rolling.  The musical numbers were pretty awesome too--I've had The Healing Incantation stuck in my head for days now.  That said, the first time I saw it, a few felt a little awkward in their placement.  And every once in awhile the animation of Rapunzel singing was a bit cliched "princess singing with her arms up in the air".  But, now that I'm watching it for the third time, none of that really bothers me anymore.

That's right--I said I'm watching it for the third time lol.  I like this movie so much that, instead of waiting on NetFlix, I went to WalMart and bought the combo 3D/BluRay/DVD/Digital Copy.  Which of course means that while Bryan missed out on seeing this in the theater, I'll make sure he gets to see it sooner or later!

I hope y'all enjoy this movie as much as I have!