Tangled

Since my 4-year-old daughter is head-over-heels for Disney princesses, movies like Tangled get frequently viewed in our home.  Today was the first time that I actually watched it the entire way through, and so I thought a review was appropriate.

Tangled is Disney's take on the Rapunzel story.  Here, Rapunzel's hair has magical properties due to her mother being given a magical, life-saving concoction during Rapunzel's birth.  Rapunzel's hair can heal, and make young- a fact known only to a witch, who kidnaps Rap as a child, poses as her overprotective mother, and imprisons her in the infamous tower.  Rap's hair cannot be cut, or her ability to heal is lost (thus, you get those famous long golden locks).  Anyway, eventually Rap's desire to leave and see the world overcomes her mother-instilled fear of the unknown, and she falls in with Flynn Rider, a Han Solo-like thief who eventually overcomes his own selfishness to free Rapunzel once and for all from the witch's prison.

Tangled is a good story.  The humor is there (even for adults), the graphics (and colors) are outstanding, and the story is pretty good.  Yes, it's *another* princess story from Disney, and yes, Rapunzel is beautiful, so girls everywhere can (potentially) get harmful stereotypes reinforced.  At the same time, she's independent, willing to try new things, and heroic- good qualities to display.  My main complaint visually regards the ever-increasing eye size of Disney animations . . . good grief, her eyes are huge.

The overall message of the movie appears to be one regarding the destructiveness of unbridled selfishness.  Rapunzel's "mother" (the witch) is constantly reminding Rap of the dangers and selfishness of the world, in an attempt to keep her locked inside.  Ironically, it's the witch's own selfishness that has Rap there in the first place, and ultimately, the witch is destroyed through her self-focus.  Flynn Rider, on the other hand, is also selfish (at the start), but learns the value of sacrifice for the good of another by the end . . . and as you can guess, it turns out much better for him.  Life goes better for us all when we fight our inherently self-focused natures, and learn to put others first.

One caution- this movie, like many, makes light of (petty) crime.  Flynn, at the start, steals a crown from the palace.  As he's cast as a good guy, that had my daughter thinking theft was acceptable.  Flynn's reformed by the end, but like Han Solo or Robin Hood, you find yourself rooting for a thief- so explain to your kids that certain things are not okay, even if they're done by good-looking guys who are fun to be around.

Rating: A