Review: Tangled

Last night, I was lucky enough to get the chance to catch a preview of the movie Tangled.

A week or so ago, I got an email letting me know that they were doing previews in our area in and if I signed up (and did it fast enough) I'd get the chance to see it.  Well, I was psyched!  So, I signed up and actually did it fast enough to get in!  (These previews go QUICK!)

After rushing like a mad woman to get to the theater on time, I manged to make it with only minutes to spare.

As I went in, I was surprised when they handed me 3D glasses and then I remembered, Oh yeah!  This movie is in 3D!  That was such a great surprise and quite unexpected!

So, I know you didn't come here to see me ramble on about my experience with the process of getting to see the film...you want to know what the movie's like...

So, in a nutshell....

I LOVED IT!!!

But I bet you're going to want more than 3 little words, so here is a (more than likely) spoiler free review of the movie.  (I promise I'm not revealing things that are giving away big details of the story.  But if you don't want to know ANYTHING really from the film, then, I guess maybe you shouldn't read this...although if you don't want to know ANYTHING from the film, well, I guess you wouldn't be reading a review about the movie Tangled, now would you?) 

If you look on IMDB, the storyline is labeled as "The long-haired Princess Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but when she falls in love with a bandit who was passing by she must venture into the outside world for the first time to find him."   Which truthfully, going into the movie is what I was thinking it would be like.  

This actually is so not what this movie is about.  This outline is completely wrong.  To not share too much, story-wise it is more about Rapunzel following her dreams than falling all googly eyes in love.  (Of course, this is a Disney movie, so I hope I'm not sharing too much by saying that there is some romance thrown into the mix.)

As the film goes, I really thought that it had a great story line.  Of course, for those who don't know, the underlying story is all focused towards Rapunzel.  Now, I don't know if it's just because I'm not really super familiar with the original story or because Disney did a great job of fleshing the story out, but I thought the plot was way better than I originally thought it would be.  I felt like it was more than just your average Disney Princess movie and it wasn't a movie that was overly fluffy.  It really did feel more action-adventure with a few minor princess touches underneath. 

Part of what made this story so different from it's previous Disney predecessors was the fact that they not only told things from Rapunzel's point of view, but Flynn had large chunks that were focused solely on him. This was a nice touch and added so much to the movie.

Also in regards to the plot, it wasn't as transparent as you necessarily thought it would be.  There were things that definitely surprised me.  While watching, I didn't really see where the story was going to take me, but I liked where it went.  

And, get this...it was actually funny!  Now, I was in a room filled with a good number of children, but there were quite a few jokes that the adults laughed at as well.  I know I chuckled quite a few times.  (Let's put it this way, I don't think there was one fart joke in the whole movie...which was a big plus, considering I think a lot of animated films lately have revolved around that kind of crude humor to make people laugh.)    

As for the characters in this film, I thought the character development was great...much better than you'd expect with an animated film.  There seemed to be more behind the 3 main characters than you'd originally expect there to be.  (The main 3 are Rapunzel, Flynn, and Mother Gothel.)  

Speaking of Mother Gothel, she is a FABULOUS villain.  She's truly evil in her ways and her evilness has multiple layers to it for sure. 

Another thing that really stood out to me about this film is how absolutely visually stunning it truly is.  The effects are simply amazing!  I don't want to give too much away but the best scene in regards to this has to do with lanterns...and that's all I will say about that.  But you need to watch Rapunzel's hair too.  And there are some amazing water effects that happen in the movie as well.  Really, I can't say enough about the movie visually.  Disney did a knock out job with the visuals.  I'd go see the movie alone based off this!  

Now, of course, I did see the movie in 3D and I definitely think it was worth seeing it in 3D.  I think the 3Dness enhance some of the stunning visual effects immensely.  However, I don't think it is 100% necessary to see it in 3D...though I do strongly suggest seeing it that way if you can.  

There was one thing that I found to be a bit lacking...the songs.  This movie has some musical undertones to it, which is something that's not been highly publicized.  Maybe I can see why, because it's been a day later and there's not one song that's gotten stuck in my head from this movie.  I did enjoy the song that took place in the bar though, which was probably one of the best ones.  Nothing had the pop and pizazz of Under the Sea, Beauty and the Beast, or I Just Can't Wait To Be King.  The songs on the whole, were enjoyable, but not outstanding.  

Something a lot of people worry about when movie trailers come out is that it will completely ruin the film for them.  I can tell you with certainty that any clips that have been shown on the internet or trailers that can be seen in theaters or on television are things that are not "crucial" to the plot line at all.  The trailers thankfully do not give too much away.  Although, unfortunately, because of this, the trailers also do a poorish job explaining what the movie is actually about...something that may hurt Disney in the long run.

The one bonus for me was that there's more funny portions to the film than what you see in the previews too, which is a common problems with trailers as well. 

Because I brought my husband, I did ask him what he thought.  Now, he is a man who is not the biggest Disney film guy and also, let's face it, wouldn't go to a movie like this on his own accord, but he actually really liked it and to him, it didn't feel too princess-ey at all!

So, final call on the movie...where would I place it in the Disney Legacy.  I think it is a solidly good movie.  Definitely a step in the right direction for Disney animation.  Is it as great as the movies from the early 90s?  No...but I do think it's 100% worth seeing.  And it is for sure a movie that has something for everyone. 

Tangled is rated PG for some mild violence and stars Mandy Moore as Rapunzel and Zachary Levi as Flynn Ryder.  The movie gets released nationwide Nov. 24th.