Tangled

Disney's fiftieth feature could've been a reference-heavy and easily-aimed celebration of Disney's greatest hits. I don't think anyone would've begrudged them that, but (surprisingly) this isn't the route that Tangled takes. Tangled pays homage to the first Disney animated feature (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) by offering a modern century take on a traditional fairytale. Refreshingly, it achieves this mostly through attitude and a modernist maturity, as opposed to packing the film with nauseating pop culture references. It subverts fantasy tropes and even subverts the cliches of Disney itself to create something fresh but still entirely in tune with Disney's values and house-style. In short: I was impressed.

The heroine of Tangled, in case you haven't guessed, is Rapunzel (Mandy Moore). Rapunzel is held captive in a tower by an evil stepmother named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) - but she doesn't knwo she's captive, and she doesn't now that her stepmother is evil (or not her real mother). To her rescue comes Flynn Rider (Zachery Levi), only he's actually a thief who recently betrayed his comrades and hasn't really come to rescue her at all. Together they set out into the world, working at cross purposes and followed by various parties intent on their downfall.

There's a moral complexity evident in the characters that seems to see Disney finally moving beyond simplistic depictions of good and evil. The villainess Mother Gothel is domineering but not in a cliched way, she exerts control in a passive-aggressive manner and is generally more subtle than the usual Disney depictions of the 'evil stepmother' archetype. She's able to achieve her ends through coercion and emotional abuse. Along the same lines, Flynn isn't particularly heroic at first. He's a master thief and an opportunist, but also likeable and a little bit nebbish. Rapunzel doesn't fit into the normal Disney mold of female cipher or gutsy heroine either, she's enthusiastically naive and one of the more three-dimensional protagonists (in both sense of the phrase) Disney have ever put into an animated film (as evidenced by the entertaining montage where she switches back and forth between feelings of guilt and elation at finally being free).

The very nature of the story itself also ventures into greyer areas - the life-giving flower at the centre of the plot is actually stolen by the 'good' guys for the good of the royal family, meaning that the villain actually has a rightful claim to it if you are to interpret the film in Disney's usual terms of black and white morality. Tangled moves beyond this worn-out formula to break free of the cliches and move in the most organic directions that the story needs to go in.

When Tangled starts we more of less know how it's going to play out (despite the subversions), we know the traditional beats but the energy and the heart (schmaltzy, I know) gives it a real sense of life that makes it more enjoyable. There's a clarity of focus, and it's the right time for a homage to Disney's roots that also combines with the freshness of modern animation techniques. The fiftieth film is a good time to really push a new CG look at Disney's traditional animation style - in this sense Tangled looks forward and backwards.

The film doesn't pay attention to current trends and fads and is confident enough to just do it's own thing - such as the scene where Rapunzel reaches the city markets on her birthday. A lot of care and affection has gone into the animation too, there's a mature use of space that allows for dynamic camera angles like the introductory shot of Flynn sliding down a roof. It's inventive too, I really liked the way Rapunzel's hair is rendered and used. And, most importantly, it looks like a Disney movie despite all these big jumps forward... suggesting a newfound sense of artistic integrity that will hopefully enter a new period of creative success.

DIRECTOR: Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
WRITER/SOURCE: Dan Fogelman, based on the fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.
KEY ACTORS: Mandy Moore, Zachery Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M. C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, Paul F. Tompkins, Richard Kiel.

RELATED TEXTS:
- Rapunzel, the traditional fairytale popularised by the Brothers Grimm in the early 19th century.
- Disney have also 'updated' the following traditional fairytales as animated features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Princess and the Frog.
- For more subversions of fairytale cliches, see Shrek, Hoodwinked and The Princess Bride.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Song (I See the Light)
Golden Globes - nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Song (I See the Light).