Tangled
(2010/Disney Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray 2D w/DVD)
3D
Picture: A- 2D Picture: A-/B- Sound: A-/B- Extras: C Film: B
Well it
seems that Disney has gone back to their roots to find inspiration. The two things that made Disney what Disney is
today are fairy tales and dazzling hand drawn animation. Where as the feature here is not hand drawn,
it does embrace the fairy tale/princess genre we have some to expect. Though after the success of last years The Princess and the Frog hand drawn
animation, princess tale it seems that this will become routine for the Disney
crew again. So just when you thought
Disney had gone through the entire princess catalog comes a Rapunzel inspired
tale in the form of Tangled.
Tangled is the classic Rapunzel tale, but with
a modern twist. Mandy Moore is the voice of Princess Rapunzel, a
girl who has been locked away in a tall tower never to experience the
world. Rapunzel is no ordinary girl and
her 70ft long golden blonde hair holds a very special power; the power to heal
and keep people young. An evil witch
named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) realized the power of Rapunzel’s hair when
she was very young and in turn locked her in the tower away from the world,
using Rapunzel’s magic to fuel her own greed.
Rapunzel was taught that the world was an evil place that would harm her
at every turn just to get her hair.
Rapunzel took this warning, but it did not stop her curiosity, making it
even more surprising that a suave thief named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) is the
one that will change her life. In an odd
set of circumstances Rapunzel manages to use Flynn to help her explore the
world, with tons of comedy and adventure along the way. The film uses classic Disney comedy and heart
to display a variety of messages and does it well.
Tangled is a step in the right direction
for Disney feature films; i.e. films that aren’t Pixar creations. After Disney discovered how successful Pixar
films were, it seemed that classic Disney animation took a back seat. Tangled
manages to blend the CGI experience and classic Disney together seamlessly,
putting the style in the ranks with Snow
White and Alice in Wonderland. Though the film is not perfect and definitely
plays to a younger audience (as it is intended to), it remains fun and
inspiring. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud
moments, as well as enough story and action to keep any viewer entertained.
The
technical features on this film are out of this world. The 2D version of the film is flawless and
definitely demo quality, whereas the 3-D release still demonstrates that 3-D
animation for home viewing has yet to be perfected; though nice
nevertheless. The 2-D and 3-D released
are presented in a 1080p AVC MPEG-4 High Definition 1.78 X 1 Widescreen that
stun from beginning to end. The colors
leap from the screen as vibrant greens, blues, reds and yellows explode with
life, only heightening the jaw dropping detail and texture that is demonstrated
throughout the film. The quality of the
film of course starts in the production studio, but Disney once again outdoes
themselves as they create an incredible home viewing experience possible. The film has this incredible way of making
the viewer forget they are watching a cartoon as everything (oddly) appears so
real, yet cartoony at the same time. You
can see every piece of dirt, every leaf, and yes even every strand of that 70
feet of golden hair as the picture is out of this world. The sound follows right behind the picture on
both the 2-D and 3-D versions, being just as stunning. The sound is an English 7.1 DTS Master Audio lossless
mix that is almost pitch perfect as the dialogue is crisp, clean and clear and
the music surrounds the viewer with the utmost precision. The soundscape is good with solid
directionality, I just felt the surrounds could have been employed more though
that is only a minor gripe.
The 2-D
and 3-D versions are almost identical, but the 3-D version is blurry at times
and in turn diminishes color, depth and precision that the 2-D holds. This is by no means saying it is awful, it
just does not demonstrate the same perfection the 2-D does. The 3D is not used all the time either, but
it still pushes its presentation past the 2D version by a very narrow margin.
The
extras are adequate, but offer nothing too exciting. Extras include some Deleted Scenes,
Untangled: Making of a Fairy Tale featurette, Two Extended Songs, Tangled
Teaser, Trailers, Original Storybook Openings, and 50th Animated
Feature Countdown. The 50th
Countdown is fun to watch and odd to think that Disney has created so many
classic tales in such a short time.
In the
end, I think Tangled holds true to
the Disney format and what we as an audience have come to expect and love. It is not a Beauty and the Beast or Snow
White or Lion King, but it is a
future classic and is certainly a step in the right direction for the studio.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
