Title:
Starring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy
Directed by: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Written by: Dan Fogelman, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
Studio: Disney
Rated: PG
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Release Date: 3/15/2011 Movie: 
Video: 
Audio:
Extras:
Overall: Synopsis:
When the queen becomes gravely ill while pregnant, it is up to the citizens of the kingdom to search out and find a fabled golden flower that is believed to hold healing powers. The flower is finally found after years of being hidden by Gothel, an old woman who has been using the flowers unique healing powers for hundreds of years in an effort to keep herself from aging.
Once the flower is found, it is used to make a tea that is given to the queen who is miraculously healed by it and who goes on to give birth to Repunzel. Sometime later, Repunzel is visited in her crib by Gothel, who sings the song that she used to sing to the flower in order to get it to make her young again. Gothel snips a lock of Repunzel’s golden hair to take with her, but the hair turns brown and withers as does the remaining strands on Repunzel’s head from where the lock of hair was removed. Desperate to stay young forever, Gothel steals the baby and vanishes into the night.
Eighteen years pass and we find Repunzel locked in a tower just days before her 18th birthday. We learn that Gothel, now ‘Mother Gothel’, has kept Repunzel locked in the tower since that night so many years ago. Gothel has raised Repunzel to believe that Gothel is in fact her mother and that she must never leave the tower because the world is such an evil and unforgiving place and that the only safe place, is in the tower with mother. That is until the day that Repunzel meets Flynn Ryder, a stranger from the outside who happens across the hidden tower while running from local authorities.
Now with her mother gone for three days, Repunzel convinces Flynn to take her out of the tower so that she can see the floating lanterns that are launched every year on her birthday, but Repunzel is about to learn a lot more about the world outside then she ever imagined.
Tangled tells the classic story of Repunzel and her long flowing hair. I have to be honest; ‘Tangled’ did not strike me as the type of film that I would really enjoy. However, my wife had wanted to see it so I threw it in Bluray player and my response is WOW! This is a perfect family film. Tangled is the first film I can recall to combine the imagery of CGI animation with a classic Disney score successfully and the results are phenomenal! If I had to nail it down, I would say that Tangled is a mix between Shrek and The Little Mermaid and all the fun that goes with both of those titles.
The characters are fresh and the story and music are truly inspiring. It has been a long time since I have seen a family film of this caliber and I truly hope it isn’t the last.
Rating:
Rated PG for brief mild violence.
Video
Presented in 1080P MPEG-4 AVC with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, Tangled is absolutely stunning! The colors are rich and extremely bold with every shade standing out in vividly and untamed. The green in Repunzel’s eyes are the color of the purest jade and the detail within the iris is just awesome. I don’t know the last time I have seen such detail in an animated movie. I feel that this presentation even outshines 'How to Train Your Dragon', and that is saying something. The resolution is crystal clear and black levels are inky and infinite. This is a reference level disc and should impress even the most jaded of videophiles.
Detail is where I was most impressed with Tangled. The forest had brilliant shades of earthy tones in every direction and each rock and leaf had its own distinct design that really brings you in and submerses you into the story. Each individual strand of hair can be seen with perfect clarity and the character faces are full of life and wonder making the experience that much more enjoyable. In one jaw dropping scene involving Flynn and Repunzel’s getaway from the guards and two thugs chasing them, several of the environments come crashing down on one another in a visual experience that had me thinking for the first time; “I’ll bet the 3D version of this is just insane!” The scene is a little past the half-way mark and involves a dam giving way and quickly filling the canyon with water while destroying the entire excavation infrastructure. It is absolutely brilliant!
Audio
This one is a tie folks. For the first time in what feels like forever, the audio and video are dead even. Tangled has a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio codec and is an incredible experience to be heard. There is a ton of throaty bass, especially in the getaway scene I mentioned earlier and some very deep penetrating bass that really hits you in the chest and shakes the walls. There is a ton of surround activity to be heard and all of the channels are given a hearty workout thanks to some stellar sound design. The gallop of the horses from the mounted guardsmen has a lot of rumble to it as well as that perfect “clopping” sound that is common with that type of scene, it just really stood out to me.
Of course, all of this pales in comparison to the outstanding soundtrack throughout this movie. The songs are classic Disney sounding and are very memorable. The duet between Repunzel and Flynn reminded me of Aladdin and the ‘Mother Knows Best’ song that Mother Grothel sings harkens back to Beauty and the Beast. This audio is absolutely perfect.
Extras: - Deleted Scenes
- Original Storybook Openings
- 50th Animated Feature Countdown
- Extended Songs
- Untangled: The Making of a Fairy Tale
- Tangled Teasers
- Discover Blu-ray 3D with Timon & Pumbaa
- Digital Copy + DVD
Overall
I was very caught off guard by Tangled. I was expecting something more like Hoodwinked but instead, I was the one hoodwinked into watching another soon to be Disney classic. Tangled brings back that Disney spirit that has been missing from many of today’s animated movies and I hope it is a trend that continues. If you have been on the fence about this one, don’t be. You absolutely will not regret picking this one up, it is a must have for any animated movie fan! Until next time campers, have a good day and in case I don't see ya later, a good afternoon, a good evening, and a good night!
