The magic of frying pans

★★★ 1/2 out of ★★★★

Tangled (2010)

Runtime: 100 minutes

MPAA: Rated PG for brief mild violence.

One of the most iconic scenes, where Rapunzel (voiced by talented singer Mandy Moore) finally sees the lights and answers her lifelong question, along with Flynn (voiced by the to-be Shazam Zachary Levi).

When Tangled was first released, I popped in to see what was going on with this film. At first, I thought that it was very long-drawn, boring, not memorable and the ending felt very unsatisfying. I even resorted to watching Frozen multiple times and trying to memorize the songs like 'Let It Go'. Those were the days.

Upon re-watching Tangled ten years later, I got to finally realize how wrong I was. Unlike Frozen, which now I feel is over-rated and quite generic, Tangled is charming, energetic, magical and is so entertaining with its sometimes quirky and also human-like characters. Besides that, audiences will leave the theater with the songs running in their heads, while children also learn important life lessons from it. Take note, Disney. THIS is how you make a 3D animated princess film.

A long-lost princess with the longest hair imaginable (70 feet. You heard me right.) named Rapunzel has spent her whole life confined within a lonely tower, dreaming of the world, waiting to discover it. When she finally starts to give up hope an escaped prisoner, named Flynn Rider, is brought to her lonely tower by fate, and agrees to take her to see the lanterns that appear every day on her birthday if she would return his satchel filled with stolen jewels, including the lost princess's shiny crown. Flynn and Rapunzel embark on a journey, while Rapunzel's mother, Mother Gothel, realizes her disappearance and goes for a search for her daughter.

Based on the full score above, which is reasonably hard to obtain on my website, I have an abundance of positive remarks about this film. Before diving in again to plot, characters or messages, I want to praise Disney animators' efforts for making sure that the 70 feet of hair was as realistic as possible. A normal human - same goes for a character - has on average 100,000 strands of hair, so imagine the sheer amount of effort taken to animate almost every single strand of hair as the character rumbles and tumbles around an area. And I haven't even mentioned the words 25,000 lanterns.

Back to the topic, Tangled is a movie that respects and appreciates all audiences, adults included. It is well-paced, with spot-on comedic timing, as well us pulling our heartstrings when it's supposed to. With time and effort from their hands, they have not only created a visually enthralling cinematic experience, but a story and characters they put their heart and soul into. One complaint while re-watching Frozen was that the non-human sidekicks, Olaf and Sven, exist to try to please or entertain us, but it ends up being very unnecessary and irritating at points. Tangled did not experience such problems at all. When the audience starts to care even the animal sidekicks - the chameleon and the horse - which entertain endlessly, you know you have created something beyond boundaries, beyond the formula.

Speaking about the formula, Disney feels like it has to follow this formula: the princess sets for a journey, gets into some kind of conflict, resolves the issue while fighting a villain, and ends happily. Honestly speaking, I was perfectly comfortable with Disney using more or less the same concept in Tangled, as it plays safe in its story rather than be sorry. For a kids film, Tangled has surprisingly in-depth characters, as we see Rapunzel finally open her eyes to the real world, and how Flynn changes from a selfish thief to an honest and caring person. It also boasts a convincing and strong villain. It's one of the great princess films that can explain the journey in a magical and colorful way, without losing sense of its direction.

As I continue marveling at the colors of Rapunzel's magic hair, the colorful setting and the lush forests, there is also one song titled 'I See the Light' that I guarantee will take everyone's breath away. Besides the floating 25,000 lanterns and beautifully animated kingdoms, the song has passion immersed in it, and questions us about something very important. What if something you waited for so long didn't turn out what you expected it to be?

At the end of the story, Tangled teaches, or rather reminds us, about two important lessons. Firstly, do not let people take advantage of you. Secondly, almost no-one out there in the real world is as supportive and caring as Flynn.

Messages aside, frying pans. Who knew, right?

This is the princess movie you should be recommending to your kids, who are probably screaming 'Into the unknown!!!' in their rooms right now.