Why Tangled is the Best Disney Film

"And at last I see the light"

 

Tangled is a film that is regarded by many as good but not great. Many think that this film is fun, but it falls short of the "revolutionary" film Frozen (btw I love Frozen) and is not as classic as older Disney films. This film definitely falls into a weird middle category between old and new. However, I believe that Tangled is the best Disney film for how revolutionary it is while still retaining the essence of a Disney film. I have been dying to do this review for a while now because this film is so often overlooked as just okay. This review will contain spoilers. For those of you who have yet to see it, view it now. I'll wait.

The story of Tangled is about a girl who's hair has the power to heal. The power was gained by her mother who ate a plant that grew from a ray of sunlight. However, Mother Gothel, an old lady who was harvesting the power from the plant for herself, steals the child away. Rapunzel has long hair because if it is cut it will lose its power. After Rapunzel's abduction, Rapunzel's parents, the King and Queen, release lanterns every year on their daughter's birthday so that she may one day find her way home. Rapunzel grows up admiring these lanterns from afar until the age of 18 when she decides to ask Gothel to go see them. She says no. Meanwhile, a thief named Flynn Rider steals the princess's tiara with the help of the Stabbington Brothers. When Flynn double crosses them, they are captured and Flynn is chased by Maximus, a royal horse. After Maximus and Flynn fall trying to retrieve the tiara from a tree, Flynn discovers Rapunzel's Tower and is knocked unconscious by Rapunzel. Rapunzel decides to ask Gothel again and again Rapunzel is told no. Rapunzel then recruits Flynn to lead her to the Kingdom to go see the lanterns. The story to Tangled is fun and creative, but the real fun comes from its characters.

Tangled was certainly not the first CG Disney film. However, It was the first one that was done well. Hair in Tangled looks like real hair. Many people complain that the characters look like dolls, but personally, I don't see it. These characters look like a classic Disney film (like Aladdin) but with the depth that CG provides. I love the look and the animation of this film.

The music of Tangled is super underrated. When Will My Life Begin is so catchy and well-written it blew my mind when I first heard it. To be honest, I wasn't that crazy about I've Got a Dream or Mother Knows Best when I first heard them, but now I love them! These songs are so fun that they remind me of older Disney songs like Gaston or Under the Sea. The song between Flynn and Rapunzel, Now I See the Light, is one of my favorite Disney songs. I have to sing it every time it comes on. Actually, I sing any of these songs when they come on.

Tangled's ideals are my favorite part of the movie. This is easily Disney's deepest movie. The whole film is an analogy for Feminism. Rapunzel represents Women, Flynn represents Men, Gothel represents social repression, and the Tower represents the world women live in under a Patriarchal society. Rapunzel has long hair which is a social convention for females. Rapunzel starts the movie doing chores, sweeping, polishing, waxing, doing laundry, moping, reading, painting, playing guitar, knitting, cooking, puzzels, darts, baking, paper mache, a bit of ballet, chess, pottery, ventriloquy, candle making, then she'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress, reread the books if she has time to spare, paint the walls some more I'm sure there's room somewhere, and she'll brush and brush and brush and brush her hair (sorry). These are all thing that women usually do in a repressed society. How many times have you heard that women only cook and clean? Gothel (or society) tells her she cannot do what she wants. Flynn (or Men) only want to use her for what he wants. However, Rapunzel will not have it. She fights for what she wants to do and ends up defeating Gothel and changing Flynn's perception of her by getting to know her. Once Rapunzel is out of her Tower (or world under patriarchy), Rapunzel is free to run around and do what she wants to. Many critize Rapunzel as having to be saved by a man. Wrong. Rapunzel saves Flynn 5 times before Flynn even gets the chance to save her (1 from the rufians in the Ugly Duckling, 2 and 3 in the Canyon, 4 when they almost drown, and 5 when Flynn is about to be captured by Maximus). Even when Flynn does "save" her he only cuts her hair which represents freeing Women from their social repression. Rapunzel even gives up her life for Flynn which counts for a lot more than Flynn cutting hair. At the end of the film, Rapunzel even dips Flynn which has never been done before or since. 

Rapunzel and Flynn are also the strongest Disney characters ever created. I know what you are thinking, "Didn't Mulan defeat the Huns by herself?" which is true but doing strong things does not make a person strong. For example, most of the movie Mulan is about her trying to fit in and be what she isn't. She trys to be the perfect bride and the perfect soldier. Rapunzel doesn't do that. She does what she wants to do. She constantly saves lives, inspire dreams, and brings happiness to the sad Kingdom. She even gives up her life for others. Flynn is my favorite Disney male. Flynn is funny, strong, daring, and he is a great guy. He gives Maximus apples, Rapunzel a piece of cloth with a sun on it, and deep down he is truly caring and nice. He even gives his life for Rapunzel's freedom.

Tangled also bares an uncanny similarity to The Little Mermaid. Rapunzel is said to have been based off of Ariel and just look at the picture for similarities between Kiss the Girl and Now I See the Light. Tangled even has a song that is sang many times throughout the story just like The Little Mermaid. I like to think of Tangled as The Little Mermaid with aspects of Hunchback of Notre Dame featuring the love story from Beauty and the Beast with an even more likeable Aladdin (who doesn't lie except about his name) and a mix between Ariel and Belle.

If you haven't already guessed it, this is my favorite Disney film. The first time I saw it I thought it was okay. The second time I thought it was great. The third time I saw it, it became my favorite. My previous favorite, Beauty and the Beast, is good, but it doesn't get better for me every time I see it. This movie just represents everything I love about Disney.