If you were hoping Disney would deliver another animated classic, you'll be enormously disappointed. Tangled just doesn't have what it takes.
Tangled (2010, Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Directors: Nathan Greno Byron Howard
Producers: Various
Writers: Dan Fogelman screenplay Jacob Grimm fairy tale Wilhelm Grimm fairy tale
Features: VIDEO: 1.78:1 widescreen AVC codec. BD50 disc. *** AUDIO: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French: DTS-HD HR 7.1, Spanish: DTS-HD HR 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 *** SUBS: English SDH, French, Spanish *** SPECIAL FEATURES: Deleted Scenes, Storybook Opening, Three Featurettes, Extended Songs, Trailers and Teasers, DVD Copy
Characters:
Mandy Moore ... Rapunzel (voice)
Zachary Levi ... Flynn Rider (voice)
Donna Murphy ... Mother Gothel (voice)
Ron Perlman ... Stabbington Brother (voice)
M.C. Gainey ... Captain of the Guard (voice)
Jeffrey Tambor ... Big Nose Thug (voice)
Brad Garrett ... Hook Hand Thug (voice)
Paul F. Tompkins ... Short Thug (voice)
Richard Kiel ... Vlad (voice)
Genre: Animation
Review:
Available on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and for Download 3/28!
THE FILM:
Tangled is not a good film. It has a few interesting moments and a few workable gags, but the story and characters are simply too dull, annoying and uninspired for their own good.
The film -- a reworking of the legendary story of Repunzel by way of Fox's Anastasia -- is clearly borrowing heavily from the Dreamworks Animation playbook, blending banal pop culture humor with witty dialogue and post-modern ideology. It works, at times, but the film also tries to fit the classic Disney animated mold, too, which is where things fall apart. This isn't the kind of story that can have its cake and eat it, too.
Unfortunately, the film feels like a greatest hits compilation, borrowing cliches, character archetypes, twists and gags from other, much better movies.
The voice work is annoying and inorganic, especially our lead male hero, Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), who seems to be putting on his "best" Will Ferrell imitation. It's numbing and generally unpleasent. And Mandy Moore's Repunzel isn't much better. She's clearly modeling her performance after Paige O'Hara's Belle from Beauty and the Beast (with a strong dash of Ariel from The Little Mermaid), but she doesn't seem to have much conviction in her performance.
And the forced songs make things even worse. Every ten minutes there's a new song, usually one lazier than the next. In fact, the songs about as bad as anything Rebecca Black or Ark Music Factory have produced. Truly, some of the songs are actually a bit worse (the intro for Repunzel is just terrible). At least Friday is catchy, albiet in a very simplistic, juvenile way.
I'm sure Tangled will play to younger audiences and fans of the Dreamworks Animation breed of humor, and that's fine. I have no problem recommending a rental to you Disney lovers out there. But if you were hoping Disney would deliver another animated classic, you'll be enormously disappointed. Tangled just doesn't have what it takes.
Film Report Card:
Entertainment Value: C
Film Value: C
FINAL Grade:
C
THE BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE:
Here's a clip from the bonus materials:
Tangled arrives on Blu-ray presented in 1080p/AVC and mixed in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Naturally, the film is spread across a dual-layered disc. Overall the presentation is pretty striking. Visuals are detailed and dazzling. And depth is quite great. I did detect some banding, especially during daylight sequences. Please note: folks with Blu-ray 3D might want to consider picking up the 3D version of the film.
Audio is shockingly underwhelming. While mixing is quite organic and lively, dialogue is stagey and hollow, often sounding exactly as it shouldn't -- like it was recorded in a sound booth. Ultimately, the mix is decent, with rousing surround cues and active bass. But it doesn't always enhance the film in the way it should.
Extras are pretty slim consisting of deleted scenes, the original storybook opening, a few brief EPK featurettes and several Disney promo pieces, from trailers to a Blu-ray 3D tutorial featuring Timon and Pumba. Extras are presented in HD.
Disc two includes a DVD Copy of the film.
Final Thoughts:
Tangled tries to be a fresh, exciting animated classic. Sadly it just never quite gets there -- largely dragged down by its mind-numbingly awful musical numbers and static voice work. The Blu-ray looks and sounds fine, but like the film it's far from reference.
BD Report Card:
Video: A-
Audio: B
Extras: C
HD Content: N/A
Packaging: A
Recommendation: Not great, at all, but worth a rental.
***
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----R. L. Shaffer