20110511:
I began writing this post on 20110511, but the Blogger website had shut down and I had to start it over. On 20110517, Blogger revived the lost draft and I decided to include it along with the material I had rewritten (anything not labeled as Original or New is New).
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| Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) |
Original: What a great movie! Better than
The Princess and the Frog (2009). Better than
Rio (2010).
New: The movie was better than
Rio (2011). It's also better than both
The Princess and the Frog (2009) and
Bolt (2008). It's almost as good as
Beauty and the Beast (1991).
Original: The animation is so beautiful. Cute characters.
New: The animation is so beautiful. Especially Rapunzel's hair.
Original: Great songs! Yay Alan Menken.
New: I love Alan Menken's music. Yay.
Rapunzel is awesome! Great attitude and personality. Despite being set in a medieval setting, she's quite a modern girl.
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| Maximus and Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) |
The chameleon is cute. Well done.
Mother Gothel. Her act (of pretending to be nice) reminds me most of Ursula from
The Little Mermaid (1989). I'm on the fence about whether she's a great Disney villain. She's certainly evil enough. A little crazy, but she doesn't remain old enough on screen to be frightening like say Cruella De Vil in
101 Dalmatians (1961). Even Ursula as a human looks evil.
Flynn Rider and smolder. Lol.
I wanted to watch this film in theaters back in December 2010, but I didn't get around to it. I'm sad for having missed it in theaters, because I absolutely enjoyed watching it today!
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| Rapunzel and Pascal |
I loved this movie. It does so many things right. Some of the story might have been unsatisfying, but as a whole I'd consider those parts a minor issue.
If you like the Disney musicals, such as
Beauty and the Beast,
The Princess and the Frog, or
Cinderella (1950), then I would highly recommend watching "Walt Disney Animation Studios 50th Animated Motion Picture," i.e.,
Tangled. Actually, if you like watching children's films or animation in general, like
Coraline (2009),
UP (2009), and
Despicable Me (2010), then you should watch this film.
[20110513][20190308 Edit]
20110617:
I came home after watching
The Room (2003) at my friend's house to find my sister watching
Tangled. I came in at around the time Mother Gothel was singing "Mother Knows Best." It was on Fast Play, so the three special features played. Afterwards, I went back and watched the beginning 16 minutes. Mother Gothel's dialogue during minutes 10 through 16 is great and the song "Mother Knows Best" is funny.
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| Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) and Rapunzel |
Some details I thought were weird were the details governing the magic surrounding Rapunzel's hair. As indicated in my first viewing of the film, it's not a big deal. However, I am curious to figure something out.
20111116:
I put this on to watch in the background while putting up a couple of blog posts. Though I probably ended up watching more than I figured I would. The movie ended around 2:30 AM. Love.
20120107:
I watched this with JK and PN. JK hadn't seen it before. If I remember correctly, PN and I like Tangled better than
The Princess and the Frog (2009), while JK likes The Princess and the Frog more.
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| Rapunzel leaves the tower for the first time. |
20211223 Comment:
I reviewed the scene where she leaves the tower and the scene is unrealistic. First, at the top of the tower, she has her hair thrown over the hook and is holding onto both and end going in and an end going out. This allows her to lean over the edge. Then the camera angle changes and we see the end of her hair thrown out the tower. If this hair was coming from her head, then as she descends it would also descend. If this hair was coming from the hook it would rise as she descends. However, as she descends (we can see as she passes Flynn) the strand that she threw down actually remains static. When the camera angle changes again to a close-up, we continue to see there is a strand that comes out from below her. However, when she finally reaches the bottom, there is no extra strand of hair and it appears the only hair that exists is coming from her head and up towards the tower.
Although the end state doesn't seem to be compatible with the initial state, the end state would be possible if she had looped the end of her hair around the top (as I state in my instant comment). Thus, in a more plausible yet less artistic version, I would first have her throw her hair over the hook so that it ties onto itself (just like at the 45 minute mark). She can lean over and begin her song just like it's done in the film. Then she can throw her hair down, but it would only go halfway down the tower and be shaped like a "U" because it would be coming from the hook down and then back up to her head. She could come down and this part would be the same as in the movie, with the close-up and hair flowing. And it would end at the bottom just like it did in the movie.
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| Rapunzel throws her hair in preparation to swing. |
It is less artistic, because her hair coming down halfway and then back up will just look less pleasing compared to her hair down the length of the tower.
At the end of the day, the movie is an animation where real life doesn't apply. There's plenty of situations that just wouldn't be possible with real people (e.g., getting hit by a frying pan in the head and being knocked unconscious without serious medical repercussion). And, again with her hair, continuously swinging around a tree. I imagine if there was any realism involved, that situation would behave more like a tetherball: Rapunzel's hair would wrap around the tree until she approached and collides with it.
Another artistic scene is the braiding of her hair. Reviewing the scene, the first pass appears to be a standard braid which is visibly longer than from Rapunzel's head to toes. This makes sense in terms of length, but it doesn't in terms of thickness. Either the braid is kept very loose, or her hair magically gets very thick. Otherwise, I would expect that the hair is longer, not thicker, and so a tight braid should manage to be as compact as that of the oldest girl who is participating in the braiding. In any case, the final braid appears to consist of a small braid running in and out of the overall braid, perhaps providing a functional purpose in addition to being aesthetically pleasing.
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| Rapunzel's braided hair is nice and compact. |
Mathematically, the hair is 70 feet long. I would propose to split the hair up, maybe about 20-80. Then braid the 80 percent split tight. Next fold the resulting tightly braided portion up and down five times, which would make five loops of length 7 feet each. Use the reserved hair to bundle these loops so they appear as five strands which one can use to make a five strand braid.
Instant Comments:
6: why doesn't that one spot cut not result in a long brown streak [apparently it's implied that once cut it doesnt grow so that one brown part is hidden]
4: Ventriloquism with Pascal. Haha.
5a: Haha. I recently saw a YouTube video on the topic of Rapunzel pulling up Mother Gothel. While they seemed to conclude that the tensile strength of hair would theoretically be capable of pulling a person up, I separately would conclude that Rapunzel couldn't possibly have the strength to pull Mother Gothel up without being super buff (and with just a simple pulley).
6: hehe "why does it take so long". I think there should realistically be a pulley system to help the efficiency... though I guess that would require longer hair.
5a: Is it even possible to grow that much hair in 16 years?
6: huh. I imagine mother knows best is actually not far exaggeration from how many parents would actually treat their kids
4: "I could get used to a view like this. Yep, I'm used to it."
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| "I could get used to a view like this." |
3: I didn't notice before how funny the scene where Flynn and the horse fight for the satchel is.
3: I also didn't notice that the bag probably couldn't hook onto the tree branch the way it did. [[See Instant Comments for 20120107]]
4: Oh I guess the satchel hooking onto the tree is possible.
6: oh wow quite a coincidence to happen upon the entrance to the valley
5a: I didn't notice, how did Rider get into the tower? [20211223: He simply climbed it]
3: Lol, Pascal shakes his head when Rapunzel tries on the crown.
6: ha. Pascal gasps and then shakes his head
6: hehe he guessed in the pot
6: hahaha the smolder
5b: I asked Ada what she thought the world record for longest hair is. I had guessed 6 feet. She then guessed 5 feet. So then I changed my guess to 7 feet. It turns out the record is 18 feet (so Rapunzel with approximately 70 feet of real hair at the age of eighteen would be impossible).
4: Cute, Pascal ties Rapunzel's hair around his waist as she's ready to hoist herself down from the tower.
5b: There was an article about certain aspects of
Tangled which don't make sense and how she gets down from the tower was one of them. Actually, I think it's possible, but the animators didn't put any thought into portraying it. Instead they took a "this looks good" approach. If I were Rapunzel, with exactly the length of hair of the tower (as shown when she's hoisting up Mother Gothel), I would loop and tension the hair at the hook near the top of the tower (much like she does later in the movie when she swings across to escape from the soldiers), slide down, and release the tensioned loop at the bottom. In fact, it is almost implied that she's doing this the way she's sliding down the hair, only the scene begins with her throwing the hair out the window, and ends with focus on her feet touching the grass.
6: hmm I think ive asked this before. but on this viewing she could have done a type of knot at the top which can be released when she reaches the bottom to slide down her hair. but the thing is when she first lets her hair down, she throws it over the hook like normal which is deceiving to how it ends. on that note, how would she get back up. and if she could get up then anybody can
6: rollercoaster of emotions
6: chuckle. he calls Pascal a frog
6: smile. Maximillian covers the nose
6: ah it's Max who encounters mother Gothel that results in Mother Gothel returning earlier than otherwise
6: during and after this song ("I Have a Dream"), I am just watching on and off as I clean
5b: I feel like it would have been easier if he held onto her and swung across with her.
5b: "Oh mama I have got to get me one of these." - Flynn talking about the frying pan
3: I never thought about how awesome the scene with the dam is. Also funny.
5b: I recall watching a special about the water simulation in this scene. But looking at it, I imagine it's gotten better since 2010.
3: Eugene Fitzherbert.
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| Flynn tries to sway Rapunzel with his smolder. |
5b: Did Mother Gothel/Rapunzel just keep trimming the brown strand or does it not grow? [20250223: this is answered in brackets to a comment in viewing #6]
5b: I think Rapunzel's hair is supposedly 70 ft. I don't think any kind of braid would get the hair to less than 7 feet. [20211223: One commenter in a thread suggested the possibility that the hair was looped back up in the process of making the braid, possibly several times, since after all it is very thick.]
3: Oh when Flynn and Rapunzel are dancing in the square the sun symbol is everywhere.
4: Oh, Flynn is the one who takes and gives Rapunzel the purple cloth with the sun symbol on it. I'm not sure if ultimately the cloth itself makes a difference, but it's nice to see a connection.
3: Oh, I think before I thought it seemed like Flynn and Rapunzel were floating among the lanterns. But it's actually the reflection of the lanterns in the water that made it seem that way.
5b: I think the first time I watched this film, I thought they felt like they were floating in the air among the lanterns. But it's clear to me now that it's an illusion caused by the reflection of the lanterns in the water.
5b: I asked would her hair really look like that if he grabbed her hair and chopped it off
5b: Ada asked how would her parents know it's her. Good point.
5b: On a note of them getting married, apparently Flynn is supposedly 26 while she is 18.
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| Maximus wields a sword against Flynn. |
Credits:
1a: The credits begin with a sort of retelling of the movie. Art is done in a sort of calligraphic pen. 1b: Starts with a retelling of the story in a calligraphic art.
4: I love the artistic style of the end credits. It looks like its done by watercolor painting.
1a: When the credits begin to roll, props and items from the movie appear drawn in the same style. 1b: Then when the credits roll, pictures in the same style are drawn on the side. Such as helmets, a sword, etc.
4: Then the simpler credits with the simpler drawings, starting with Pascal, are nice too.
4: During the credits, JK and I were wondering about the credit title "Caffeination" (by Carlos Benavides). JK figured it's probably the credit for the person who gets everybody their coffee. After several searches on Google, I'm inclined to believe he is correct.
1a: At the end of the credits, a logo appears indicating this is the Walt Disney Animation Studios 50th Animated Motion Picture. 1b: The movie ends with a logo reading "Walt Disney Animation Studios 50th Animated Motion Picture."
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| Rapunzel is emotionally conflicted with leaving |
Bonus Features:
1b: Original Storybook Openings Version 1 and 2.
1b: 50th Animated Motion Feature Countdown
1b: : For some reason, the first time I watched this feature, I didn't hear any music. I was quite taken back by the lack of music. However, I just watched it again and in fact there was music.
1a=20110511 (original draft), 1b=20110511 (new draft), 2=20110617, 3=20111116, 4=20120107, 5a=20211219, 5b=20211221, 6=20240907
[20120108]
Watched 20110511 (McNaughton Plan from the Eisenhower Library)
Watched 20110617 (DVD)
Watched 20111116 (Netflix, Instant) (English subtitles)
Watched 20120107 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched first half 20211219, second half 20211221 (Disney+)
Watched 20240907 (Disney+)
Tangled (2010) Nathan Greno, Byron Howard. 100 min.
Relevant Links:
Tangled (IMDb.com)
Tangled (Wikipedia.org)
HISHEdotcom:
Hahahahaha. "The precious." "Best... day... ever!"
