Movie Review: Tangled

I recently went to the cinema to see the latest Disney movie with my siblings. I honestly didn’t have very high expectations even with the inclusion of Chuck’s Zachary Levi among the cast. The fact that the screenwriter of Bolt and much to my surprise, Fred Claus…ugh, was behind the writing really didn’t help either. At most I expected something along the lines of “Chuck: The Fairy Tale Version” to fill up the run time of the movie. To my pleasant surprise that’s exactly what I got plus a little more. To my unpleasant surprise, they only had 3D tickets available.

The movie is Disney’s take on the Rapunzel fairy tale making this another one of Disney’s princess movies so it’s basically guy saves girl from evil thing as they grow from their experiences together and fall in love with one another. It’s been a while since I watched one of those but I knew what to expect of the ending. Personally I didn’t mind it so much with this movie but the scenes at the end just didn’t strike a chord with me. I get that it was made to be a family movie but I feel that they could’ve gone in another direction with what they set up on the way to the ending.

Like I said before, this is basically “Chuck: The Fairy Tale Version” and as such you should expect brilliantly witty humor, great characters and an enjoyable if predictable plot. The only difference is that instead of the sharp and formidable Sarah you get the naive, wide-eyed and absolutely adorable Rapunzel. That and Casey’s a horse. Seriously, that is the most badass cg animal I’ve ever seen and I suspect it might even have the same rank as Casey or at the very least its medieval equivalent. “Chuck” puts on a braver face in this movie and snarks a little more frequently but it’s still basically Chuck and we still get some hilarious reactions from the guy. My favourite line is one of his and it’s given while he’s in a swordfight with !HorseCasey wielding a frying pan, “I have to tell you this is the strangest thing I have ever done!”. As for the adorable Rapunzel you should know that she’s got a “Moe” trope listed for her on the movie’s TvTropes page and it is well deserved considering the antics she gets up to in the movie. I really wouldn’t be surprised if I run into a doujinshi of the movie sometime in the future. All these great materials might actually spawn a decent sequel but given Disney’s tendency to drop the ball when it comes to them I wouldn’t count on it.

Now onto the bad points or rather the really bad point and the forgivable and expected snags that seem to very tenacious and hard to stamp out of the movie industry. These snags that I speak of can basically be attributed to the wanting to make movie more marketable resulting in the simplification of the writing and the outright black and white morality in the movie. Going by, well, most of the movie, you get the feeling that there was actually more to the story and that it could have gone for a more complex and more unorthodox ending. You don’t go out of your way to make such well written characters to have them play out such a simple conclusion. It’s something worth a short lamenting but not something would ruin the overall feel and fun of the film. What is worth lamenting over and over again however is the fact that they sold it a 3D movie when there was minimal 3D work done in there. The previews looked far more impressive in 3D than the movie ever did and that’s just sad. I would have preferred to watch it in 2D with more vivid colors and pay for it at the standard ticket price. 3D is an element that shouldn’t have to take away from the movie experience but when used badly it becomes easy to denounce its wonders. When used properly it would make even make me want to watch the Sorcerer’s Apprentice again in 3D and I just abhorred that piece of crap.

To sum it up, Tangled is a fun and surprisingly well done movie that I’d recommend to those curious enough to solicit my opinion of it. In fact, I imagine I’d enjoy watching it again but I suppose I’ll have to wait till the Disney, HBO or Star Movies channels start showing it sometime next year as I do not want to have to sit through another hour and a half of fun with 3D glasses over my own spectacles. I really hope they clean those damn things.