This is what I had wrote about this movie the last time, long before I've seen it:
DingleHopper wrote:I want to say something about this post.
This is not the title of this film that bothers me. It is the film itself.
I don't know if any of you have read lately the Rapunzel story, but I did because I was really inspired by the concept art that had been spread, and after watching the trailer, I have to tell you that the connection between the Disney version and the brothers Grimm one is completely random! I mean, Rapunzel as a CGI comedy? A prince as a thief? A popy adolescence soundtrack? Give me a break!
The Rapunzel story is such a great piece. I just don't understand how Disney can take this wonderful story and totally ruin it.
You know what? I am glad they've decided to change its tiltle. It is a shame to call that film in the title of that story, because without even seeing it, I know it would be sub-culture. So let it be tangled - a silly title for another annoying silly movie.
I wasn't always not into this movie. When I first heard (years ago) that Disney is planning Rapunzel, I was so pleased and really thought that Disney is back. Well, retroactively I shouldn't have been so happy. beacause they did the opposite of what I was expecting and really managed to upset me. Changing the name to Rapunzel again would just kill the symptom of the Disney disease of making horrible movies these days. You have to kill the root of it. But actually I don't know who responsible for this is. Maybe the root of it lays in the audience which let them feed us this crap.
Disney used to make art. I don't find art in their films these days.
I am sad, sad for the lame step Disney made with the lame "Princess and the Frog" (which lacks a good plot and full with featherbrained humor) and also sad for Rapunzel that should've been the true return of the classics, a classic of endless inspiration, beauty and excitement.
For summing, let me just say:
I HOPE I AM WRONG
Well, I was wrong!! Completely wrong!!
I came out of the cinema so excited, that it took me a night to realize what I had seen. And since it was so good, I had the drive to see it once again, and so I did, for the first time since "The Swan Princess" like 14 years ago...
Wow! this movie is a masterpiece, and it actually does deserve the title "Rapunzel". I can't wait to see this in my native language:)
I want to relate to some points in this creation. Let's begin with the good ones:
The plot - Well, they've managed to astound me. I really did think this would be full of american jokes, but - the jokes came in the right time and in the right amount - perfect for making drama which is also joyable. The story is so sophisticated and well adapted from the original. I really love how they eventually chose to stick to the original in some parts, for instance: the healing tear in the end (I really thought they would have probably dropped this part), the way Gothel calls her to let down her hair, the mother that gets sick, the baby that was taken away.
I liked the use of the flower in the story, very interesting and capturing.
The villain - Mother Gothel has the qualities that makes the perfect villain. She is brilliant, sharp, and I appreciated how she doesn't use physical force on Rapunzel, but the force of the mind in order to convince her for her own advantages - done by abuses and acting the saint ("now I'm the bad guy"). I think the complexity of the relation between them was brilliantly shown and well interpreted.
The casting - I can't belive I'm saying this, but Mandy Moore for this role was actually a perfect choice. I really like her singing voice, and as well adore her acting. It seemed so realistic in some parts, e.g. when she leaves the tower for the first time, she has a line "I could go running and racing and dancing and chasing......" where you can really feel her excitement in her singing, and that really caught me. Besides her, I think all the casting voices were well suited, I also liked the voice of Gothel when she's exaggerating in her performance - now that's a great singer!
The soundtrack - Brilliant! Genious! Menken did not disappoint me in any level. The songs are great (they are very catchy, for those of you who said they're not, just listen to them again.), but the point is that they are so well-timed. It's like saying, if I were there, I would have also sung right then! The lyrics are very good and suit the situation well. I loved at most the reprise of Gothel's "Mother Knows Best" - this is a very dark scene emphasized by the fog surrounding it. I loved the words when she says: "this is what he wants" and it gives me the chills. And when she says "that's how fast he'll leave you" and knocks with her finger over her face - although being a modern react, it comes in the right place.
And the score... Wow... I really loved that he chose the guitar as a leading instrument. It added a unique feel. I actually think Tangled's score doesn't fall from Menken's prior pieces, and is actually better than some. I mean, come on! Did you hear the "Kingdom Celebration"? It is perfect! To me, Memken's best is undoubtedly Pocahontas's, but this one was touchy, emotional and daring too.
Design & Motives - I noticed some motives throughout the movie such as the mirror which I think represents Gothel's figure even when she's not attending (at the end the miror is broken).
Gothel's habit of circling Rapunzel as if encompassing her by a wall, emphasizes the emotional effect she has on Rapunzel and regarding the tower she is/was locked in.
The fog "and it's like the fog has lifted" also takes some parts throughout the movie.
I liked the forest's design with those monstrous tree trunks. For anyone who's noticed - the tower and some parts of the forest are covered with "Rapunzel" flowers species which is from german 'rampion' or 'lamb's lettuce' which are those violet ones.
So to me this movie is a success. I try to recommed it to whom I know. Though nothing is perfect: here go my dislikes:
* I DO NOT LIKE THE CGI technique, nor I get used to it. I think this would have been awsome in 2D. I hate that dolly style which CGI makes it look like (that's why it should be kept with "Toy Story" and stay there!) I think CGI human characters just look terrible and therefore I want to regard to the character design:
Now, Rapunzel and mother Gothel have baloon faces. Why is it always like that? Can't you create a beautiful CGI lady whose head is proportional? and maybe narrower? Besides, I think Rapunzel design is undearing and dull. When I think about Rapunzel, I see a girl with strong attitude, namely strong face, narrow eyes, tall figure and unchildish. Not to mention that she's a princess, she could represent the ideal of a woman, but what we've got - an american teenage girl with a funny nose. Very varied from others, but in the bad way. Very disappointing.
And Flynn Rider - I can't stand that beard he has. It looks like a bird's fluff. If you can't make it right, don't make it at all.
*I hated the narration at the beginning. It gave it the feel of a comedy - which it was not, and it just wasn't in place. Why doing this annoying thing? This was supposed to be a powerful moment. I feel sorry for this missed prologue.
*Other thing I disliked is the rushed use of the incantaion song. Magic is no laughable thing and it must not be thrown up to the air like that, when it's purpose is showing darkness and mystical power. I just didn't like the misuse of it.
Things I did not understand:
*Why didn't they explain where this strange name "rapunzel" derives from?
*How would everyone has known there had been a healing flower, if Gothel had been the only one to see it grows?
*This is completely impossible to get SUCH long hair into this braid.
Listen to me guys, Disney is back - and the numbers just show that the crowd has missed it a lot!
(Sorta new..)
here's some images of the skeleton for farther ponder
