Rapunzel

"Rapunzel" also known by the hideous American title as "Tangled" is Disney's fiftieth* animated film.  Being the fiftieth, "Rapunzel" stands on a long and glorious legacy stretching all the way back to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", which includes such highlights as "The Lion King", "Sleeping Beauty", "Pinocchio", "The Little Mermaid" and also... um... "Chicken Little" (can't forget that!).  Considering that "Rapunzel" comes out just one year after the beginning of Disney's second revival with "The Princess and the Frog", can it manage to keep up the quality family entertainment?

Luckily, it has!  Oh yes, "Rapunzel" or "Raiponce" like in that French poster I have linked here is far and beyond superior to "The Princess and the Frog" (which I liked) and easily one of the best movies of the entire year.  Bravo, Disney, bravo.  After seeing a movie like this, even I hope to one day discover that I too am in fact a lost princess of a magical kingdom.  And considering that this is the second most expensive movie ever made in all human history, Disney better damn should have made an entertaining flick.

When I first heard that the title of the film was changed to "Tangled" I immediately felt the worst foreboding about this movie.  Suddenly Disney wasn't going to make an adaptation of a classic fairy tale Princess story like they had been doing since the Great Depression, no instead it was going to be some awful preteen Disney Channel "Cheetah Girls"-esque nonsense.  The trailer** actually seem tailor-made to make me absolutely despise this product:  super-fast edits, loud annoying Pink song, 3D animation, and that stupid stupid stupid name.  "Tangled".  Uch.  I feel like such an idiot even saying it.  Just imagine this back and forth:

"Guys, I'm leaving for the afternoon, I'm going to see a movie."

"What movie?"

"Um... er... tangled".

"Jesus Christ, what an idiot!"

But despite that trailer, I saw quality behind the nonsense.  For one thing, being an animation buff, I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous effects.  Yeah, the movie was 3D animation, but it certainly didn't feel like 3D animated film.  The characters bounced and moved with fluidity, and the world was properly cartoony.  This is easily the most cartoony 3D cartoon ever - which is a good thing since these movies are supposed to cartoons.  Remember?  Also, one can never hate on classic Loony Tunes slapstick.

The basic plot of the movie is this:  evil witch needs the hair of the newly born Princess to stay young, so she kidnaps her and raises the baby all alone in a tower as her own.  Rapunzel, after eighteen years, wishes to one day leave home and go on an adventure.  But the witch, Mother Gothel, is a full-on creepy possessive mom, totally mind-screwing her daughter into never leaving.  Lucky for Rapunzel, a bandit by the name of Ryder Flynn has just stolen the her crown from the castle and now is being chased by a hard-core royal horse by the name of Maximus.  Ryder runs up into Rapunzel's tower only to be cold-clocked by the most powerful weapon in the universe, a frying pan.  Rapunzel will let him go only if he takes her on that magical adventure she's been wanting.  And so it begins.

Of course, out on their journey they'll have to deal with Maximus the awesome unstoppable horse, Mother Gothel's showstealing evil (in a matter of seconds she became my favorite character also she has the best song), and all kinds of humorous battles.  Then, along the journey, being attractive young people alone, they fall in love.

The movie is funny, well-acted, and every character has a very well-done character arc.  Mother Gothel is not just some evil witch out to kill the girl with a spinning wheel, she seems to actually love Rapunzel - but she loves her looks more.  Rapunzel and Ryder's scenes work well enough, but the real killer is the boat scene which actually made the three extra dollars I paid for the 3D glasses completely worth it.  (If "Saw 3D" was an example of how 3D is killing cinema, than "Rapunzel" is an example of how its making it a more glorious art form.)  The movie is funny, but it also has its mercilessly sad scenes.  Just wait for the crying king, just wait.  That will get you.

And need I comment on Rapunzel's hair?  Hair is typically the hardest thing to ever animate in 3D cartoons, but somehow they managed to give her fifty feet of flowing perfect blond hair.  By the way, it never gets tangled once, making the American title that much more stupid.

Other than the title, "Rapunzel" is a great movie, one of the best of the whole year.  It manages to have the emotions of "Toy Story 3", the artistry of "Tales of Earthsea", and the humor of "Despicable Me".  Definitely worth a see, definitely.

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* Its #50 by Disney's reckoning, but they seem to be very poor at counting.  Those fifty animated films do not include the dozens of mediocre straight-to-VHS/DVD sequels, like "Beauty and the Beast's Christmas" or "The Little Mermaid 2:  Sticking a Corporate Cock up Blue Highwind's Childhood".  It also doesn't include the recent Jim Carry disaster "A Christmas Carol", since I assume Disney forgot about that one like everybody else.  Some of the exclusions are truly inexplicable, I mean, I can understand not wanting to count the Tinkerbell movies, but why did "The Brave Little Toaster" not fit the bill?  That one really makes me sad.  You don't mess with "The Brave Little Toaster", Disney, damn you.  "A Goofy Movie" doesn't count, nor does "Doug's Ist (and Last) Movie", nor does "The Jungle Book 2".  Not even "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" counts.  Forget "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - even if the "Kingdom Hearts" series counts it as a full movie.

But don't you worry, "Chicken Little" is still in the canon.  They're never going to give up on that little turd.

** By the way, there is not a single shot in that trailer that is in its proper context.  Half the shots don't even occur, like nobody ever fights Rapunzel's hair.  And that honestly was kinda awesome.  As it turns out, Disney made the animators create all kinds of scenes specifically for the trailer... which is inexcusable.  I feel bad for the people who went to see "Tangled" and instead left seeing "Rapunzel".  ...Actually no, that crowd could use a "Rapunzel" in their lives.  They're probably the same people who go see DreamWorks crap every year, they need culture.