★★★★☆
By Alanna Smith, Goings On Editor
A lush and vivid fusion of traditional Disney animation and 3-D technology, Tangled is the ideal film to revive traditional Disney with an eye-popping modern twist.
Rapunzel is a quirky klutz with magical hair who has been cooped up in a tower by her kidnapper/surrogate mother. When a dashing thief named Flynn Ryder stumbles across her tower, she enlists him as a reluctant guide and embarks on a quest to see the floating lights that appear in the sky every year on her birthday.
As the two travel the land, encountering soldiers and soft-hearted ruffians, daring chases and sword-wielding horses, they find themselves drawn closer together in their life-changing adventure.
Though it might be a while before audiences warm up to 3-D Disney princess movies, Tangled certainly seems like a step in the right direction; it uses technology not as a gimmick but for aesthetic purposes. The floating lantern scene alone is easily worth the extra money for a 3-D ticket. Instead of trying to wow the audience with swords in their faces, Tangled creates a completely immersive viewing experience.
The artistic direction of the movie was largely informed by Jean-Honoré Fragonard's Rococo painting, "The Swing," as evidenced in the beautiful pastel pinks and muted blue greens of Tangled's dazzling landscapes. The softness of the color brings a refreshing tenderness to the 3-D animation.
The voice acting is superb. Zachary Levi nails it as the dashing and rogue Flynn Ryder, alternating fluidly between studly charm and surprising sensitivity. Mandy Moore lends her voice to Rapunzel in joyful tunes and lilting ballads. Her voice for the awkward teen is so dead-on that sometimes it's hard to separate the actress from the character.
Even though composer Alan Menken (Aladdin) worked on the soundtrack, the music isn't quite up to the level of classic Disney. Mother Gothel's villainess song, "Mother Knows Best" is accompanied by a stellar visual sequence and the reprise is especially chilling, but other songs, like Rapunzel's "When Will My Life Begin" sound too much like uninspired pop music.
Reminiscent of last year's The Princess and the Frog, the songs are decent but not classics. The animation sequences that accompany each song far outshine the lackluster compositions, making up for any disappointment.
While Tangled is no instant classic, the visuals are enough to convince even the most stubborn holdouts that 3-D Disney is an invigorating new frontier.