Hello! This is my first post, and I will be reviewing one of my favorite movies: Disney's Tangled, which was released last November...
When Disney’s 50th Animated Feature was released in November 2010, Tangled was a huge hit, producing millions and touching the hearts of its viewers. The story itself is charming: a spunky girl with magic, healing hair catapults through a grand adventure to find the “floating lights,” and ultimately discovers who she truly is: the lost daughter of the king and queen.
Tangled has lots of great qualities: including a masterful score full of humor, wit, and wistfulness, stunning computer animation that brings the lush sets and characters to life, and a delicate romance that flourishes gently throughout the story. But while many have praised Tangled for its charming music and gorgeous artwork, but there is more to Tangled than meets the eye (or ear). While Tangled is a beautiful film for the senses, it also has strong, underlying themes of coming-of-age and redemption.
At the start of Tangled, Rapunzel is a blond, feisty girl alone in a tower longing for adventure. Although she loves her mother (who only loves her for her magic healing powers), she longs to be free from her prison and see the floating lights that are released into the sky each year on her birthday. When Rapunzel is finally given the opportunity to leave the tower, she is reluctant, knowing her mother explicitly forbad her. Rapunzel makes the decision to leave, however, after her guide, Flynn Rider, convinces her that a “little rebellion” in her life is “good” and “part of growing up.”
While rebellion is part of growing up, that doesn’t mean we should condone it. As the audience we automatically excuse Rapunzel’s act of defiance because her mother is trying to keep her inside the tower for her own selfish purposes. But Rapunzel does not know that her mother is wrong for keeping her hidden away. All she knows is that she has disobeyed her mother’s direct command. When we see this, we ask ourselves—is this right? Well, in a sense it is. Rapunzel is almost eighteen when the story starts, and she has never done anything on her own. She is nearly an adult and ready to enter an adult world. She is ready to make an adult’s decision (leaving the only home she’s ever known) and suffer the consequences (her mother’s anger and determination to ruin Rapunzel’s hopes and dreams). Needless to say, Rapunzel does suffer the consequences of her disobedience: evil Mother Gothel’s schemes to get her back to the tower nearly end in tragedy.
However, we can justify Rapunzel’s actions because Mother Gothel’s own intentions were wrong and directed to keep Rapunzel a prisoner all her life so that she, Mother Gothel, could use Rapunzel’s healing hair for herself. Rapunzel makes her own decisions and “grows up” so to speak, and her determination to follow her dream and be free from her overbearing, treacherous mother is something we can admire.
While growing up is one of the themes in this delightful tale, redemption is the other. Enter Flynn Rider, a charismatic, arrogant, self-seeking, and rakish thief. He stumbles into Rapunzel’s tower while hiding from the law, and is hence forced into taking the trapped princess to see the floating lights. He complies with Rapunzel’s wishes because if he doesn’t, he won’t get his satchel back (which contains the lost princess’s crown, ironically). Although Flynn tries to get rid of Rapunzel several times, he eventually warms up to her after she saves their lives and heals his hand with her hair. After this point, Flynn (aka Eugene Fitzherbert) begins to act more chivalrously and nobly. We watch him and Rapunzel fall in love, and then see how this love for Rapunzel begins to wash away his overly arrogant, egotistic nature. He willingly parts with the stolen crown in order to be with Rapunzel, and willingly allows himself to die for Rapunzel so that she can be free from Mother Gothel.
The steady transformation from a narcissistic reprobate to a trustworthy, considerate man with morals gives us a beautiful picture of redemption—Flynn’s ultimate sacrifice being the icing on the cake, which makes his story all the more gratifying.
While fun songs and delicate artwork grace Disney’s Tangled to perfection, it is the underlying themes of coming-of-age and redemption that shine forth as its true glory.
~Kate Elizabeth
