Hey, all! Long time lurker, first time poster (thanks so much, Luke!

)
Anyway, I've been following this thread for
ages, and I've been so excited for Disney's version of the Rapunzel story for years, and I'm still having trouble believing it's already here and I've seen it. Twice. Yep, I really enjoyed
Tangled (even with the silly name change...)! I'm thinking you guys have all said it best--it seems as if the "Disney Magic" is back! And boy, have I missed it.
My thoughts of the film? I could just ramble on and on about it...so I hope no one minds this huge block of text when I do just that

. Also, if you haven't seen the film, SPOILERS, so beware!
Well, the film is far from original, as
Goliath pointed out before me, and it really is a flood of cliches. But, I tend not to care about that sort of thing when judging a story--what makes it
good, to me, is how it's executed (as
Goliath also pointed out

). Personally, I tend not to put too much importance on the predictability of a story, or if you know how it's gonna end; if it's got great characters and catches your heart, who cares? And
Tangled certainly succeeds in both.
First off, characters. Characters are what I usually put the most importance on when it comes to storytelling, because I feel a good story can't be told without a good cast of people to tell it.
Tangled's characters are simply lovely. I adored Rapunzel. She was just adorable, and I loved how they made her seem so warm and real. I felt like I could really know a girl like her; she was very human and relatable, and even when the film was just beginning, I really felt for her. Particularly, I loved her conflict of breaking free or just staying in the tower as Gothel liked, and her reaction towards finally,
finally seeing the lights as she had dreamed about for so long in the boat (I really, really liked that scene. Beautiful character moment for her). I also quite enjoyed Flynn, though, my biggest complaint of the film was the opening and ending, in which I found his narration rather jarring and annoying.

But, Flynn really got me. He was funny and a bit of a trickster, but I don't think he was ever too "mean" at all; he always had a bit of a soft, nice-guy thing to him. The campfire scene where he admitted his insecurities, and when he told Rapunzel of his true name in the cave also made him a wonderful character with more depth, and my heart really went out for him at that point. I found his falling in love with Rapunzel incredibly cute, and it didn't feel rushed or totally unbelievable at all. Gothel I also found to be a lovely villain, just because I think she was very "human" herself. What I mean is, villains that are just evil for the heck of it never appealed to me much (such as Maleficent), and I tend to like more sympathetic, believable villains that feel like real people rather than just evil incarnate. Gothel felt like this. She was selfish and vain, like all of us probably are a little bit, and her fear of growing old and being ugly actually struck a chord with me; she was just so insecure, and how she had to keep bullying Rapunzel to make herself feel better made me feel bad for the both of them. There's a bit of debate over whether she truly loved Rapunzel or not, and I think she did; she DID want to go on a long journey to get her a birthday gift, after all, and seemed thrilled to make her favourite dinner. Though, I think
Disney's Divinity brought up a very interesting point in that maybe she was holding herself back from loving Rapunzel, because if she truly loved her, she would let her go...and that would take away her Fountain of Youth. But I think she loved Rapunzel just a bit, and she did seem rather guilty about declining Rapunzel's wish to see the lights. Of course, I don't think she loved Rapunzel as much as she loved the power she possessed, but I think she was truly fond of the girl. But, moving past that, I loved how she was so over-the-top and dramatic.

The part where she croaks out "Mooooother," at the end of "Mother Knows Best" cracks me up. I also think she really didn't want to be considered a "villain" or "evil", and that it all was just her selfishness that caused her to do such horrible things to Rapunzel, which makes her plight even sadder. Heh, to put it simply, I loved her as a Disney villain. Pascal and Maximus seem to be quite popular, but I wasn't as infactuated with them the first time I watched; though, on the second, I found myself loving them even more. They're both cute and funny, and I certainly wouldn't want the film without them.
But most importantly, I think the movie just had a lot of heart; "Disney Magic", if you will. While the songs aren't my favourites from Disney, when I first heard the "Healing Incantation", I actually teared up just because it was so darn
magical. THAT was Disney magic, pure and simple. The "Kingdom Dance" segment is my favourite part of the film, just because I felt it was so magical and touching. When I first saw it, there was a feeling of "oh my gosh, this is so good" in my heart during that scene--something I attribute to the magic of Disney.
Sure, I didn't really care much for the look of the film (one big thing that kinda bugs me is how the characters are usually cross-eyed), and the opening and ending bug me a bit, but I truly enjoyed the film. A great Disney classic, and probably one of my favourites from the Disney animated canon. I can't wait to get it on DVD so I can see it again and again (though, is
that truly the cover of the DVD? The Japanese poster really would have been a much prettier choice). In any case, it seems like Disney's going in a great direction, and I can't wait to see what they come out with next.
Also, random, I know, but I love Bear Flynn. He's so cute and looks like such a nice guy. I hope Disney has a character like that someday, because I'd probably say that sort of guy wouldn't have worked well with the story
Tangled wanted to tell.
Heh, I'm totally rambling; sorry, all! I'm just so glad to finally be here!:D