Monday at the Movies: Disney's "Tangled"

I'm keeping this review as spoiler-free as possible for those of you who haven't had the chance to see Tangled yet, promise. Now, when I first heard about Disney's working on a Rapunzel film, I was actually pretty shocked. You see, I'm a firm believer that there are just a number of fairytales which are simply not Disney-able. Of my top-two of those, first is Bluebeard and second is Rapunzel. I mean, seriously, go read the actual fairytale--it's crazy, starting with two peasants stealing radishes (rampion, from which Rapunzel is named) from a witch next door, and ending up with Rapunzel pregnant with twins in the desert after having been taking advantage of by a prince who eventually finds his way back to her over many years, blind. Reading it, I just couldn't imagine how the folks at Disney were going to handle this amount of crazy. But to my pleasant surprise, their adaptation is quite successful.

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First, the stolen radish becomes a magic golden flower with the power to grant eternal youth and heal, and Rapunzel is born a princess who is stolen because of her magic hair by Mother Gothel. This, and the prince is now a rogue thief by the name of Flynn Rider. I won't give away anymore for those who haven't seen the movie, but I will say that I am VERY impressed with this adaptation. I loved Princess and the Frog, but this was even better in my opinion.

Now, before I can go into the film itself, I have to talk about the marketing of Tangled. First, as you'll obviously notice, the title of the film is not Rapunzel, and there's a very specific reason for that: Princess and the Frog was successful, but not as much as Disney had hoped, and this was due in majority to its being marketed to audiences as a princess (read: for little girls, melodramatic romance) movie. The androgynous title combined with the focus on humorous/action scenes and the male lead over the female in most trailers led to Tangled's marked box office success (hey, it outsold DEATHLY HALLOWS at one point!). I can vouch for this--when I saw the film, there were fathers with their sons who went to it all by themselves, not with their sisters. This movie successfully reaches all genders, as well all ages--Disney got the coveted 15 and up age range via some amazing youtube promo campaigns, including one making use of the infamous Double Rainbow viral video. If you'd like to learn more about the marketing campaign, I'd suggest watching Nolstagia Chick's newest vid about it.

On to the movie characters!

Rapunzel is voiced by one of my favorite singer-turned-actresses, Mandy Moore, who does an excellent job of getting into her character vocally. A lot of people might be put off at the idea of a well-known pop-star/actress like Moore playing her, but I've always loved Mandy Moore as an actress (Saved, Walk to Remember, and yeah, even American Dreamz). The other Disney movie musical with a famous actress playing the lead female role that I can remember is Hunchback with Demi Moore, but she never sang her own part. Mandy Moore does all of the singing, and with Alan Menken working on the songs (which are catchy without being overly cheesy) this all adds up to awesome. In addition to sporting Moore's spunky, enthusiastic voice, Rapunzel's character is a welcome departure from past Disney princesses in that she can defend herself (and does, frequently, with her handy dandy frying pan XD) and really isn't out looking for love--she's seeking out the world and trying to put together the puzzle of her identity. She's trapped in a tower, yes, but she's well-educated, skilled, and quite independent. Tiana was very similar, but there was still a lot of pointless debate about whether or not her character was empowering. With Rapunzel--the Disney canon version--I feel no such debate is warranted. If you see the film, you'll be more than likely to agree. Oh, and her animal companion? A super cute chameleon named Pascal--looks like the reptile animal bff continues (PatF's animal companions include a firefly and an alligator, and Mulan had a dragon and a crickett).


Here comes the smolder.

Flynn Rider is a roguish thief on-the-run who becomes entangled (no pun intended) in Rapunzel's world. He is voiced by Zachary Levi of Chuck fame, who does an excellent job and, holy crap, I had absolutely no idea he could sing. But he does, quite well actually! I really enjoyed Flynn's character, and I'll say one thing for Disney--leaving his past open was a crucial step in preserving the intrigue and drama of the story, and Disney played their cards right here. Rider is a bit of a Han Solo/Indiana Jones type male lead: he's too sure of himself, and is cocky, but not in an offput-ish way. He's a lovable anti-hero, similar in many ways to Aladdin (who was probably the last Disney male to be as appealing to young boys, including Levi, Flynn's voice actor!). Interesting fact: to get the right amount of "smolder" and good looks for Flynn Rider's appearance, the animation crew gathered all the female Disney employees in the studio and had them go through pictures of hot guys and pick out the sexiest features. No joke, and I think they did a really great job! Thanks, ladies!


Mother Gothel is voiced by Donna Murphy and is a fabulous villain, very much like Frollo from Hunchback (consequently also about a dark adoptive parent figure who locks their "child" in a tower). We aren't sure if she really loves Rapunzel or is just using her, and she throws us because of this. She isn't one-dimensional or as predictable as some of the run-of-the-mill evil-for-evil's-sake villains.

I can't really say anymore without giving it all away, but I can tell you that you should see this movie: The animation and visuals are breathtaking, the story is well-written, and the music stunning. It's perfect Disney magic, and you'll get a new favorite Disney princess out of it. The last time I remember this much thought and effort being put into a Disney princess film, it was Sleeping Beauty. And coming from the biggest fan of that film, that's saying a lot. To paraphrase Rapunzel, best. movie. EVER.

Pre-Raphaelites and Mermaids or Why My Head is Red

Amy Adams, star of Enchanted and Julie and Julia, is another natural blonde whose switched to red and is now one of the most sought-ever actresses in Hollywood. Of course her talent got her there, but how refreshing to see a starlet in Tinsel Town who isn't tube-o-bleach blonde!

I have fair skin and green eyes and my family is of Scottish-Irish descent, so most people who see me assume I'm a--although perhaps a bit enhanced--natural born red head. Another term is "ginger" but in some places that is used an insult, so I prefer to say redhead. Looking at the pictures of women in my family (including some painted portraits), it appears we have a great deal of redheads including my namesake Great-Grandmother Josephine (I'm also middle-named for the Little Women character, and we have a lot of Megs, Beths, and Jos in my family: Alcott is popular with us). I have a strong, fiery personality and love to wear green (the complement to red). It seems perfectly natural for me to have red hair.

Except I don't.

Ready? I have naturally ash blonde hair. Not happy golden sunshine blonde--GREY. My mother had it, my aunt and grandmother too. It's the other hair color that runs in my family, from our Scandinavian ancestry. I wanted the red hair gene from the Celtic side and the height from the Scandinavian, but NO--biology got screwed up somewhere along the line and mistakenly produced a short, grey-haired child. So you know what? I fixed it. I wear shoes with lift in them and keep my hair a bright, fiery red! Sometimes you just have to say screw you right back to your mitochondria. After all, we're more than just our genetic make-up: we have the power to create our own identity. And I for one know I'm supposed to be a redhead! Here are five reasons I keep rocking the red tendrils:
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1. Pre-Raphaelite Goddesses like those in the works of Waterhouse, Gabriel Rossetti, and Millais. These artists loved red-haired women and painted gorgeous romantic art featuring their bewitching locks on such characters as the Belle Dame Sans Merci and Pia de' Tolomei--even Miranda from the Tempest and the Virgin Mary sport red hair! The models of these works were talented, dynamic women all on their own like Elizabeth Siddal seen here on the left as Beatrice, Dante's muse (my online name comes from her). Millais' Ophelia is on the right:

Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ophelia by John Everett Millais

2. Opera Divas hit high notes with a head of red. Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi and Hildegard Behrens all were famously redheaded at one point or another (Sills kept it going her whole career). Behrens and fellow Wagnerian diva Gwyneth Jones made absolutely breathtaking red-haired valkyries in Der Ring:

Some of the most amazing voices this world has ever heard. Oh, and RIP Bubbles and Behrens. Thanks for seducing me into opera after opera!

3. Christina Hendricks. Who is bringing not only sexy back on Mad Men as Joan Holloway (in the form of gorgeous full-figured curves and amazing acting), but is also a spicy red-haired vixen! As they say, it's not that she's a Marilyn, it's more that Marilyn is a sort-of her:

God, I'm so happy I can find a celebrity whose appearance I can realistically emulate.

4. Queen Elizabeth I=red head. I mean, talk about setting a fashion statement--women dyed their hair red during her reign. She was definitely an enigmatic historical figure. And her hair? 100% naturally red:

She's the queen, dude. Don't **** with her.

And finally, the biggest reason:

5. MERMAIDS. That's pretty much it. Cool mermaids with incredibly fabulous red hair:

Is it just me, or do mermaids spend a lot of time playing with their hair while sitting on rocks?

That's why I keep my hair fiery red! So how about you--do you proudly sport your natural hair or do you play with lots of colors? What do you do to your hair color?

At the Alice 3D Premiere: Alice may be a blonde, but the Red Queen and Mad Hatter are certainly a pair of redheads who know how to have more fun! Maybe I'm attracted to red because I'm kinda mad as well?

tata,
beatrix