Tangled

I rarely go see kids films in the theater anymore. Its not just because I'm cold, heartless, and have forgotten what it is to feel joy, but rather I know how creepy it is for an old guy to go watch the latest animated release by himself. What this means is that I miss trailers for films marketed specifically for children so I never see the ads for what I'm sure are amazing projects like this or this or god help me this. Seriously I weep for parents with small children. Its too bad they don't have quality entertainment options like i had growing up. To Wit.

Anyway back to the matter at hand. Tangled is a pretty straight up old school Disney animated film (despite the fact that its computer animation) and hues closely to those conventions. It takes a public domain fairy tale (in this case Rapunzel) throws in a few songs, some anthropomorphic animal sidekicks, a life affirming ending, and really (aside from the animation) wouldn't have been out of place in the fifties. This isn't a bad thing. Its nice to see a kids film not loaded with instantly dated pop-culture gags, and it doesn't overstretch the confines of the story. Its not as clever as the best pixar films, but as traditional animated feature its fine, and generally has a nice sense of humor about itself. It is about ten minutes too long, and the songs aren't particularly memorable, but its entertaining and a nice addition to the Disney canon. If there's any justice in the world it will do three times the business of that soon to be abomination Yogi Bear 3-d. (Note from future self "there is not justice.")