Tangled

***1/2   3.5/5 

Cast: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy 

Director: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard.

running time: 92 mins. rated PG.

“Tangled” is Disney’s 50^th animated film, that’s quite an achievement! Last year, Disney returned to its roots by bringing back the traditionally animated “Princess and the Frog”. The audience liked it but didn’t eat it up. So this year they went back to the tried and true method of CGI. I have to say the characters in this film are more expressive than any other CGI animated film I’ve seen. They are not toys, or pandas they are human beings and watching it really reminded me of the classic Disney characters of the 90s. It’s almost as the 2D animation was seamlessly translated to CGI. There is a reason for this. One of the producers on this film is non other than the great Glenn Keane. The supervision animator (and one of my heroes) behind some of the most beloved Disney characters, From Ariel and Aladdin to Pocahontas and Tarzan. I saw this film in 3-D and it is fantastic! There is a sequence in the 3^rd act of the film where the sky is lit up with lanterns. It is one of the best 3D scenes in recent memory. Watching it I felt the wonder and awe, I felt like a kid again. It was beautiful. The music by the great Alan Menken is wonderful but the film itself suffers from awful songs.  I wish they had omitted all the songs except for “I see the lights”. If that was the only song in the movie, the moment would have been much more powerful. I think Disney is trying to retain its magic of the traditionally 2D animated films but it falls flat here as far as the songs are concerned. The lyrics felt rushed and there is a lack of creativity. The animation itself is beautiful and it seems they really concentrated on the characters hair, since the story of Rapunzel is about her hair after all. All the characters have amazing hair. “Tangled” is a great film, there is just enough here for adults and the kids will definitely eat it up. There are some really funny moments from the story’s supporting characters, Pascal and Maximus, a chameleon and a horse. This film is almost as good as a Pixar film, almost! If you can sit through the songs, I think you’ll like.  If you have kids or are a Disney fan check it out!