Tangled’s Triumph — What Makes Disney Great

Nathanael Smith returns with Hope Lies In Animation, his weekly look at all things animated. This week Nathanael takes a look at the latest feature from the Walt Disney company, their take on the Rapunzel fairytale, Tangled.

2009’s marked Disney’s return to hand drawn animation, the medium that made them great, with The Princess and the Frog. Although not fully welcomed with open arms by the cinema going public, it was, for this writer at least, a magnificent achievement that felt like a glorious return to Disney of old, shot through with a vibrant New Orleans soundtrack. It was so refreshing to see an alternative to the influx of CG that had dominated the medium for 6 years. So when I found out that Disney’s next film was going to be CG and not hand drawn, my heart sunk. Princess had not done overwhelming box office numbers, and it felt like the studio were back tracking in the hope of making money.

Then the situation got worse. In more desperate bids for bigger box office they changed the name from Rapunzel to Tangled in the hope of appealing to both genders. The marketing campaign tried to suggest that the film was some sort of Dreamworks-esque ‘our characters have attitude’ film. The familiar raised eyebrow of so many movie posters infected the way the film was promoted, and the trailer featured a poor attempt at slapstick that completely put me off of the film (for a really interesting video on the way the film was influenced by Dreamworks advertising, check this out). In spite of this, the positive reviews rolled in.

So let me get one thing clear. The film has been entirely mis-marketed. Far from being the cheeky, pop culture referencing, Dreamworks-alike the film pretended to be to make money (which it did, very well), it’s actually a wonderful throwback to the Princess films of old. Rapunzel can gladly join Cinderella and Belle in any respectable Disney parade. In fact, the scene featured in the teaser trailer isn’t in the film at all. So fear not. This is Disney through and through, and as such, it is a great film and one that will endure.

Which is making me rethink my prejudices against CG, or particularly when used by Disney. Pixar have used the medium to unforgettable effect in films like Wall E, the Toy Story series and Monsters, Inc. but Disney’s hand drawn magic always felt to me to be the defining aspect of the studio. Tangled forces a reassessment of what makes the House of Mouse so great. So it’s fitting, with this being the studio’s 50th official animated feature, to discuss why exactly Walt’s world has endured for so long, and why it remains a powerful voice in the film world today.

Since the days of Snow White, their first feature length animation and one of the keystones in cinema history, Disney films have been memorable for their characters. Everyone has a fondness for Dopey or Baloo, Pumbaa or the Genie. Tangled is no different. Whilst Rapunzel and Flynn make a warm and engaging central pair, the show stealers are the supporting cast. The hook-handed thug; the horse who thinks he is a dog; the passive aggressive villain: they all serve to make the film utterly charming. Yet what most will remember from the film is Pascal, the cheeky little chameleon who is Rapunzel’s only companion in the tower before Flynn turns up. Managing to be both hilarious and cute, he’s one of the all time best animal sidekicks, and should really get a spin off short film of his own (a rather cynical friend suggested that he was merely there to sell as a soft toy).

Where Tangled does perhaps under perform when compared to its ancestors is in the songs. There is no ‘Hakuna Matata,’ ‘Bear Necessities,’ or ‘Make a Man Out of You’ here, and this is amongst Alan Menken’s weakest work in terms of the actual songs. Yet at the same time his score is brilliant and adds to the overall joyous tone of the film. It is a shame that such an interesting, powerless villain doesn’t get a song to rival ‘Be Prepared’ or ‘Friends on the Other Side’. Not only that, but Tangled bears all the more negative aspects of a Disney film. The plot takes predictability to a whole new level, and be warned, this comes with a whole smorgasbord of cheese. Also, it’s not as good as Princess and the Frog and I still want Disney to invest in hand drawn films, please.

Not only that, but the first half occasionally drags, and at times it feels like slightly middle of the road work. Yet when the two heroes make it to the town — a gorgeously animated medieval style city that is straight from the classic fairy tales of old — there is a dance/painting/reading montage in which the film transcends from being good to being great. That this is then followed up by the absolutely stunning lanterns sequence makes it even better. And these scenes work because it is at this point you realise you are fully invested in the story and characters. You’ve fallen in love with Rapunzel in the same way Flynn has. And it’s magnificent. That’s why this film deserves to be a part of the prestigious Disney canon. Like all the best Disney films, computer generated or not, Tangled has that most indefinable of qualities: heart.

Nathanael produces In The New World, and can also be found on Twitter.