Messy hair=false advertising
So these are my thoughts post-Tangled! Here thar be spoilers, yo
First off, let me just say that I will be eternally disappointed in Disney for their choices in marketing this movie to American audiences. All the talk of "BOYS DON'T LIKE PRINCESS MOVIES" and "FOCUSING ON THE MALE CHARACTER MAKES IT GENDER-NEUTRAL" is just complete bullshit. John Lasseter, I can't deny that you've made and supported great films and a great studio, but I don't like the vibe I'm getting from the news I hear about the Disney Animation department you're running.
On that note, Tangled is about everything the trailers are not. Yes, Flynn narrates the opening and closing, but 70% of the plot is about Rapunzel. Rapunzel, who is optimistic and determined and curious and self-doubting and a little scared. Rapunzel, who has seventy feet of golden hair and a few freckles and skinny ankles and oversized front teeth. Rapunzel, who likes to paint and sew and cook and read and dance and learn everything books can teach her. Rapunzel, who loves her mother even when she turns into a bitter, ugly hag.
Rapunzel, a marvelous, marvelous, marvelous female character who I am proud Disney has added to their princess lineup.
Really, she was my favorite part of the movie. She defeated the thug who snuck into her tower! She loved everything about the ground, and yet she worried so much about disappointing her mother! She liked Eugene better than Flynn! She made a tavern full of thugs into friends! She discovered her own heritage, and took back her own crown! Don't pay attention to the marketing campaign that pushed FLYNN FLYNN FLYNN: this movie's true title is Rapunzel.
And Flynn Ryder, let me tell you, is not at all what the trailers made him out to be. Swashbuckling, sometimes. Smoldering, occasionally. Enormous nerd, eternally. Flynn and Megamind score incredibly high on this season's Geeky Hero meter. He took his alias from a storybook! He needs to get himself a frying pan! Eugene Hertzsomething, Prince Dorkface. His facial expressions were absolutely hilarious.
MAXIMUS THE PALACE HORSE, OH MY GOD. I want the stories of Maximus and his bro the Captain so much, I can't even. TOGETHER THEY CUT DOWN CRIME and also chow down on apples. Every scene of horse!cop was pure comedic gold.
I can't decide how I feel about Mother Gothel, to tell the truth. They overplayed the old-witch-obsessed-with-youth card as predicted, both in a few scenes I sort of felt that she did care for Rapunzel? I was proud of the small moment when she falls from the tower, when Rapunzel stretches her arms out. To find out that the woman who raised you from birth is actually your kidnapper must be a hard gig, and I hope that moment was acknowledgment that Rapunzel still felt something for her. "Mother Knows Best" was my faaaaavorite sequence, though!
All in all, it was a very enjoyable film! But I have to say, It didn't leave as strong an impression as The Princess and the Frog, nor was it very memorable musically. And though I laughed plenty of times, Megamind was altogether funnier. The animation was gorgeous, as expected, but I still felt a small nagging thought that the musical sequences, especially the beginning song, would've looked far better in 2D??? Maybe I'm just a stickler for 2D princess films, who knows. Still, the general scenery and ~*~the lantern scene~*~ were digital animation porn, holy crap <3
One last thing, the King and Queen made me tear up twice and THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ANY LINES, WTF. Stupid parents with your stupid faces ;______;
MINOR EDIT: Also A SHORT-HAIRED, BRUNETTE PRINCESS WHO LIKES TO DRAW AND PAINT, YOU GUYS. WHY DIDN'T SHE EXIST DURING MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD?!
First off, let me just say that I will be eternally disappointed in Disney for their choices in marketing this movie to American audiences. All the talk of "BOYS DON'T LIKE PRINCESS MOVIES" and "FOCUSING ON THE MALE CHARACTER MAKES IT GENDER-NEUTRAL" is just complete bullshit. John Lasseter, I can't deny that you've made and supported great films and a great studio, but I don't like the vibe I'm getting from the news I hear about the Disney Animation department you're running.
On that note, Tangled is about everything the trailers are not. Yes, Flynn narrates the opening and closing, but 70% of the plot is about Rapunzel. Rapunzel, who is optimistic and determined and curious and self-doubting and a little scared. Rapunzel, who has seventy feet of golden hair and a few freckles and skinny ankles and oversized front teeth. Rapunzel, who likes to paint and sew and cook and read and dance and learn everything books can teach her. Rapunzel, who loves her mother even when she turns into a bitter, ugly hag.
Rapunzel, a marvelous, marvelous, marvelous female character who I am proud Disney has added to their princess lineup.
Really, she was my favorite part of the movie. She defeated the thug who snuck into her tower! She loved everything about the ground, and yet she worried so much about disappointing her mother! She liked Eugene better than Flynn! She made a tavern full of thugs into friends! She discovered her own heritage, and took back her own crown! Don't pay attention to the marketing campaign that pushed FLYNN FLYNN FLYNN: this movie's true title is Rapunzel.
And Flynn Ryder, let me tell you, is not at all what the trailers made him out to be. Swashbuckling, sometimes. Smoldering, occasionally. Enormous nerd, eternally. Flynn and Megamind score incredibly high on this season's Geeky Hero meter. He took his alias from a storybook! He needs to get himself a frying pan! Eugene Hertzsomething, Prince Dorkface. His facial expressions were absolutely hilarious.
MAXIMUS THE PALACE HORSE, OH MY GOD. I want the stories of Maximus and his bro the Captain so much, I can't even. TOGETHER THEY CUT DOWN CRIME and also chow down on apples. Every scene of horse!cop was pure comedic gold.
I can't decide how I feel about Mother Gothel, to tell the truth. They overplayed the old-witch-obsessed-with-youth card as predicted, both in a few scenes I sort of felt that she did care for Rapunzel? I was proud of the small moment when she falls from the tower, when Rapunzel stretches her arms out. To find out that the woman who raised you from birth is actually your kidnapper must be a hard gig, and I hope that moment was acknowledgment that Rapunzel still felt something for her. "Mother Knows Best" was my faaaaavorite sequence, though!
All in all, it was a very enjoyable film! But I have to say, It didn't leave as strong an impression as The Princess and the Frog, nor was it very memorable musically. And though I laughed plenty of times, Megamind was altogether funnier. The animation was gorgeous, as expected, but I still felt a small nagging thought that the musical sequences, especially the beginning song, would've looked far better in 2D??? Maybe I'm just a stickler for 2D princess films, who knows. Still, the general scenery and ~*~the lantern scene~*~ were digital animation porn, holy crap <3
One last thing, the King and Queen made me tear up twice and THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ANY LINES, WTF. Stupid parents with your stupid faces ;______;
MINOR EDIT: Also A SHORT-HAIRED, BRUNETTE PRINCESS WHO LIKES TO DRAW AND PAINT, YOU GUYS. WHY DIDN'T SHE EXIST DURING MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD?!