Tangled
Just watched Tangled - five minutes ago, actually. I must say, Disney movies are not what they used to be when I was growing up, but this one comes pretty damn close. It's got a princess (a strong, smart and independent princess), a mean witch, adorable pets and a charming... thief. Yes, that was a nice twist.
Lately I've been turning to Pixar whenever I want a good animation because they have the best endings, such as Toy Story and Ratatouille (did I spell that right?) that are happy, but not your typical happy-feel-good. I cried my eyes out when Toy Story III reached its end.
The latest Disney movies haven't tickled my curiosity much the past few years. Not that the last ones I saw were bad; when it comes to animation, I pretty much have the same philosophy as to musicals: the worst animation/musical is still better than any other movie I've ever seen. But they''ve been lacking some originality and energy and more than once that... Disney quality.
This is probably because I'm so used to thinking Disney as hand-drawing animation. Whatever happened to The Hunchback of NotreDame and the cruelty of the word towards the ugly? And Mulan who inspired me to be stronger because I was a girl (Mulan II sucked though)? And The Rescuers with the first Disney couple I remember to have a strong, smart female and an emotional, soft male? And Bambi and The Lion King! I mean, they killed BAMBI'S MOMMY and SIMBA'S DADDY!! That's something you don't see everyday in a kid's flick.
Sure, they have their shortcomings. Every princess is pretty and skinny (hello childhood issues), the witch always did it, the girl must always marry the guy, but okay. That's pretty much movies in general. I did think about watching The Princess and The Frog, but I dropped the idea once I learned the FIRST BLACK PRINCESS EVER turned green within thirty minutes of film. Hello, hypocrites! Next time, use color was the irrelevant factor it should be instead of a publicity stund!
The thing that makes Tangled enjoyable is that it brings back the Disney-like feeling. One way or another, they always got us strong women (even Snow White could be a pushy housewife whenever she wanted) and Rapunzel is no different because, while she's insecure and scared of the world, she's brave enough to try it out and to defend herself. Also, the complex relationship between her and Gothel resembles the one of Quasimodo and Frolo (best daddy issues ever, BTW), and even if getting the guy seems to be the ultimate lesson here, at least Flynn is an adorkable thief trying to hide a big heart - instead of just being another hot guy who's just irresistible to women.
With a feel-good ending that makes me sure Disney has lost its ability to kill (not that I wasn't happy with it, I mean, I'm not made of stone) as well as the ability to come up with black characters (I mean, seriously? You went from the green princess to no black characters AT ALL?? What, they ran out after the last movie?), this was worthy of being Disney's 50th movie and I'm ready for the next fifty with new hopes.
PS: OMG! I totally forgot! AWESOME TUNES! Finally tunes I can listen to in my IPod! :D I missed those. My favorite would be I've Got a Dream - Bread Garrett sings it along with Moore and Levi and it's so funny!
Lately I've been turning to Pixar whenever I want a good animation because they have the best endings, such as Toy Story and Ratatouille (did I spell that right?) that are happy, but not your typical happy-feel-good. I cried my eyes out when Toy Story III reached its end.
The latest Disney movies haven't tickled my curiosity much the past few years. Not that the last ones I saw were bad; when it comes to animation, I pretty much have the same philosophy as to musicals: the worst animation/musical is still better than any other movie I've ever seen. But they''ve been lacking some originality and energy and more than once that... Disney quality.
This is probably because I'm so used to thinking Disney as hand-drawing animation. Whatever happened to The Hunchback of NotreDame and the cruelty of the word towards the ugly? And Mulan who inspired me to be stronger because I was a girl (Mulan II sucked though)? And The Rescuers with the first Disney couple I remember to have a strong, smart female and an emotional, soft male? And Bambi and The Lion King! I mean, they killed BAMBI'S MOMMY and SIMBA'S DADDY!! That's something you don't see everyday in a kid's flick.
Sure, they have their shortcomings. Every princess is pretty and skinny (hello childhood issues), the witch always did it, the girl must always marry the guy, but okay. That's pretty much movies in general. I did think about watching The Princess and The Frog, but I dropped the idea once I learned the FIRST BLACK PRINCESS EVER turned green within thirty minutes of film. Hello, hypocrites! Next time, use color was the irrelevant factor it should be instead of a publicity stund!
The thing that makes Tangled enjoyable is that it brings back the Disney-like feeling. One way or another, they always got us strong women (even Snow White could be a pushy housewife whenever she wanted) and Rapunzel is no different because, while she's insecure and scared of the world, she's brave enough to try it out and to defend herself. Also, the complex relationship between her and Gothel resembles the one of Quasimodo and Frolo (best daddy issues ever, BTW), and even if getting the guy seems to be the ultimate lesson here, at least Flynn is an adorkable thief trying to hide a big heart - instead of just being another hot guy who's just irresistible to women.
With a feel-good ending that makes me sure Disney has lost its ability to kill (not that I wasn't happy with it, I mean, I'm not made of stone) as well as the ability to come up with black characters (I mean, seriously? You went from the green princess to no black characters AT ALL?? What, they ran out after the last movie?), this was worthy of being Disney's 50th movie and I'm ready for the next fifty with new hopes.
PS: OMG! I totally forgot! AWESOME TUNES! Finally tunes I can listen to in my IPod! :D I missed those. My favorite would be I've Got a Dream - Bread Garrett sings it along with Moore and Levi and it's so funny!