'Tangled' goes to great lengths
Where Walt Disney/Pixar's “Toy Story 3” sketched all-too human characters in an adult story about mortality and the unstoppable march of time, “Tangled” returns to classic Disney princess tales for kids, with the characters filtered through a “Shrek” sensibility of jokey punch lines, self-aware catchphrases and the physical laws of a “Roadrunner” cartoon.
“Tangled” begins with an unlikely homage to “Sunset Boulevard” when good-guy thief Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) tells us in feeble voice-over narration that he died, and we're about to see what happened before he did.
A magic flower saves the life of a pregnant queen who gives birth to Rapunzel (eventually voiced by singer Mandy Moore). The infant inherits the flower's mystical restorative powers. So, a nasty woman named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) kidnaps the baby and raises Rapunzel as her daughter, just so she can use the girl's glowing tresses to remain eternally youthful. Locked in a high tower until her 18th birthday, Rapunzel buys Mother's view of the world as corrupt and terrible, until she meets the fleet-footed Flynn, fleeing two former associates after stealing a royal tiara from them. After she beats him up and stuffs him in a closet, Rapunzel makes a deal with the rogue: She'll fork over the satchel with the tiara if he'll give her a guided tour of the outside world.
“Tangled” is a musical (hey, why waste Mandy Moore?) with Alan Menken's music and Glenn Slater's lyrics supplying a few appealing songs, especially the spite-filled “Mother Knows Best.”
With a serviceable script from Dan (“Cars”) Fogelman, “Tangled” hits expected commercial Disney touchstones, including the heroine's cuddly, non-talking mascot, a chameleon named Pascal, perfect as a toy for holiday giving.
For good measure, a miffed royal steed goes full-tilt detective on Flynn's trail by sniffing out his scent like an equine bloodhound, then snooping around as if he'd escaped from a Saturday morning TV show.
Directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno set low expectations for “Tangled” and achieve most of them in an amusing story about a girl whose long, long hair can be used as an elevator, a whip and other functions rivaling a Swiss Army knife.
Also, “Tangled” uses the most brilliantly illuminated 3-D animation I've ever seen. It's almost as if you're not wearing those dim 3-D glasses.
<p><b>"Tangled"</b></p>
<p>Rating: ★ ★ ½</p>
<p>Starring: Mandy Moore, Donna Murphy, Zachary Levi</p>
<p>Directed by: Nathan Greno and Byron Howard</p>
<p>Other: A Walt Disney release. Rated PG. 101 minutes</p>