It’s hard to believe that with “Tangled,” the latest Disney animated feature, there have now been 50 of these magical movies since “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” back in 1938.
I wrote in my “Princess and the Frog” review that the recipe from which Disney concocts their magic spell has gone a little stale, and that is no less true in this retelling of the Rapunzel story, but come on; it’s a Disney movie. It’s at least what you would call “good.”
To say the least, the goofy thugs, animals and slapstick that populate “Tangled’s” ranks inherently charmed me. The characters’ big droopy eyes and the colorful animation are also a treat.
But I’m more interested in the things “Tangled” does differently, the first of which smacks you right in the face from the first frame. The film was shot in 3-D, and the camera is granted the freedom of movement in a whole new dimension. There are swoops, spins and flurries of cinematography in this digital world that is unlike anything ever seen before in a Disney film.
At times it’s done to glorious effect. There is a scene where this world’s kingdom releases thousands of lanterns into the night sky on the missing Rapunzel’s birthday, and for a moment you think you’d never seen anything quite so beautiful.
The rest of the film is not as lovely but certainly tries to be. Disney alum Alan Menken returns with about four new songs, perhaps only one or two richly memorable. They’re certainly not bad songs, but the orchestral compositions feel very much more classic Disney than the lively and fresh bayou sound that accompanied “The Princess and the Frog.”
What more can I say? “Tangled” is as “magical,” if not as strikingly beautiful or original, as the 49 movies that came before it.
3 stars