Tangled

Tangled
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Nathan Greno Byron Howard
Produced by	Roy Conli John Lasseter Glen Keane
Screenplay by	Dan Fogelman
Based on	Rapunzel  by Brothers Grimm
Starring	Mandy Moore Zachary Levi Donna Murphy
Music by	Alan Menken
Edited by	Tim Mertens
Production company	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates	November 14, 2010 (2010-11-14) (El Capitan Theatre) November 24, 2010 (2010-11-24) (United States)
Running time	100 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$260 million[2][3]
Box office	$591.8 million[3]

Tangled is a 2010 American computer animated musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in the collection of folk tales published by the Brothers Grimm, it is the 50th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Featuring the voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy,^[4] the film tells the story of a lost young princess with long magical hair who yearns to leave her secluded tower. Against her mother's wishes, she accepts the aid of a handsome intruder to take her out into the world which she has never seen.

Before the film's release, its title was changed from Rapunzel to Tangled, reportedly to market the film as gender-neutral. Tangled spent six years in production at a cost that has been estimated at $260 million,^[2] which, if accurate, would make it the most expensive animated film ever made and the fourth most-expensive film of all time. The film employed a unique artistic style by blending features of both computer-generated imagery (CGI) and traditional animation together, while using non-photorealistic rendering to create the impression of a painting. Composer Alan Menken, who had worked on prior Disney animated features, returned to score Tangled.

Tangled premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on November 14, 2010, and went into general release on November 24. The film earned $591 million in worldwide box office revenue, $200 million of which was earned in the United States and Canada; it was well received by critics and audiences alike. Tangled was nominated for a number of awards, including Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 29, 2011; an animated short sequel, Tangled Ever After, was released in early 2012.

Plot

Long ago, a drop of sunlight became a golden flower capable of healing any decay or injury. The flower, used by Mother Gothel to retain her youth, is discovered by soldiers of a nearby kingdom. They use the flower to heal their ailing queen, who soon after gives birth to Princess Rapunzel. Gothel discovers that Rapunzel's hair has the flower's healing properties, so she kidnaps Rapunzel and raises her as her own daughter in an isolated tower. Once a year, the King and Queen release sky lanterns on her birthday, hoping for their daughter's return. Nearing her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel asks Gothel for permission to leave the tower and discover the source of the lanterns, but Gothel refuses. Elsewhere, a thief known as Flynn Rider has stolen Rapunzel's crown from the kingdom and inadvertently discovers the tower after ditching his cohorts, the Stabbington brothers. Rapunzel captures Flynn and discovers the crown, but is unaware of its significance. Rapunzel plans to show Flynn to Gothel to prove she can take care of herself, but when Gothel becomes enraged at Rapunzel's insistent desire to leave, she asks for a special paint that will take Gothel three days to obtain. Gothel agrees and departs, and Rapunzel convinces Flynn to escort her to see the lanterns in exchange for the crown.

During their excursion, Flynn takes Rapunzel to the Snuggly Duckling, a pub filled with the frightening people Gothel warned Rapunzel about, but who instead are charmed by Rapunzel's innocence. When the royal soldiers appear, searching for Flynn, the pub regulars help the pair escape. The soldiers give chase, led by Maximus, one of the lead horses in the royal army, and locate them at a dam. The dam is inadvertently breached, and the resulting deluge traps Flynn and Rapunzel in a flooding cave. Fearing this is the end, Flynn reveals his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Rapunzel starts to reveal her hair glows when she sings, but realizes that is their key to escape as her hair provides enough light to find a way out of the cave. Eugene and Rapunzel take refuge in a forest, where Gothel, now in league with the Stabbingtons, gives the crown to Rapunzel and suggests challenging Eugene's interest in her with it.

The next morning, Maximus finds the pair and tries to capture Eugene, but Rapunzel arranges a truce in honor of her birthday. The group reaches the kingdom and enjoys the festivities, culminating in an evening cruise as the lanterns are released. There, Rapunzel gives Eugene the crown. When he sees the Stabbingtons on the shore, Eugene leaves Rapunzel and intends to let them have the crown. Instead, the brothers tie Eugene onto a boat and confront Rapunzel, claiming Eugene is escaping with the crown. Gothel then stages a rescue by betraying the brothers and returns Rapunzel to the tower as Eugene and the Stabbingtons are arrested by the royal guards.

Back at the tower, Rapunzel recognizes the symbol of the kingdom, which she had subconsciously incorporated into her paintings over the years. Realizing that she is the long-lost princess, she confronts Gothel. As Eugene is being led to execution, he is rescued by the Snuggly Duckling regulars and carried back to Gothel's tower by Maximus. Eugene enters the tower by climbing Rapunzel's hair, where Gothel stabs him with a knife. Rapunzel agrees to lifelong captivity if she is allowed to heal him, but before she has the chance to save him, Eugene cuts off all of Rapunzel's hair, turning it from golden blonde to brown and destroying its magic. Gothel's age rapidly catches up to her, and she falls from the tower, disintegrating into dust. As Eugene dies, a heartbroken Rapunzel's tear lands on his cheek and restores his life. The two return to the kingdom, where Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. The kingdom breaks out in celebration and Eugene is pardoned for his crimes. Rapunzel and Eugene eventually marry.

Cast

Non-speaking animal characters include Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, and Maximus, the horse of the head of the palace guard. Other non-speaking roles are Rapunzel's parents (the King and Queen), and Ulf the Mime Thug.

Development

Origins and conception

Glen Keane, the film's original director, first began working on the story for what became Tangled about 14 years prior to its release, then directed the film's development from 2002 to 2008.^[9] In October 2003, the film was announced as Rapunzel Unbraided,^[10][11] as a computer animated feature scheduled for a 2007 release^[10][12] which Keane described as "a Shrek-like version of the film"^[13] that revolved around an entirely different concept. Keane said of the original plot, "It was a fun, wonderful, witty version and we had a couple of great writers. But in my heart of hearts I believed there was something much more sincere and genuine to get out of the story, so we set it aside and went back to the roots of the original fairy tale."^[14] In November 2005, Unbraided was pushed back to a summer 2009 release in order to give Keane "more time to work on the story."^[15] According to Ed Catmull, at one point Michael Eisner himself had proposed using modern-day San Francisco as the initial setting at the start of the film and then somehow transporting the heroine into a fairy tale world, but Keane could not make that idea work.^[16] The film was shut down about a week before Catmull and John Lasseter were placed in charge of the studio in January 2006, and one of their first decisions was to restart the project and ask Keane to keep going with the film.^[16] It had originally been announced in April 2007 that Annie-nominated animator and story artist Dean Wellins would be co-directing the film alongside Glen Keane.^[17] On October 9, 2008, it was reported that Keane and Wellins had stepped down as directors due to other commitments, and were replaced by the team of Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, director and storyboard director, respectively, of Disney's 2008 animated feature Bolt. Keane stayed on as an executive producer and animation supervisor, while Wellins moved on to developing other short and feature films.^[18] After the film's release, Keane revealed that he had "stepped back" from the role of director because of a heart attack in 2008.^[9]

Writing and character development

When asked about the character of Rapunzel, Moore said that Rapunzel was a relatable character and called her a "Renaissance, bohemian" woman^[19] rather than a typical Disney princess:^[20] "She doesn't know she's a princess [until the end of the film]. She's just really sort of motivated to find out what else is out there beyond this crazy tower she's lived in for 18 years," and that "she's very independent, she can take care of herself, and she's definitely come up with really entertaining ways to keep herself busy."^[20] Moore also stated that she herself had little influences on Rapunzel: "The character was developed way before I had anything to do with it."^[19]

Production

On September 10, 2009, it was announced that actress and singer-songwriter Mandy Moore had been cast as the voice of Rapunzel, and actor Zachary Levi would provide the voice of Flynn Rider.^[5][6][21] Mandy Moore approached the project through auditioning, when she heard that a film about the story of Rapunzel was being made.^[19][22] Moore later expressed that she had dreamed to be a Disney princess since she was young and said that with the role of Rapunzel, she had fulfilled her "ultimate childhood dream".^[23] She claimed herself as a "girly fan" of Disney classics^[23] like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, and that it was an honor for her to be part of this "legacy" – the lineage of such Disney icons.^[24] Since the film was going to be a musical, it was required that all auditionees had to read several scenes and perform a song of their choice, to ensure that the voice actors could both act and sing.^[25][26] For this singing section, Moore chose "Help Me" by Joni Mitchell,^[19] a song that she herself had covered on her fourth studio album, Coverage (2003).^[27][28] Moore revealed that she had had to attend several audition sessions^[24][25] and described the experiences as "pretty fun" but didn't put much hope in getting the part because she believed there would be much competition for this role;^[22] she just performed her best without any anxiety.^[19] When she received a callback from Disney telling that she got the part, Moore described herself as being "over the moon": "I was working in New York at the time. I was with some friends and my husband – and I screamed as soon as I found out the news."^[19]

The film reportedly cost more than $260 million to produce.^[2]

Recording

In Tangled, as with most animated films, all voice actors had to record their dialogue separately from one another to avoid bleeding into each other's tracks.^[29] Mandy Moore later recalled that during recording, she had never met Donna Murphy and only met Zachary Levi once when they recorded "I See the Light".^[29] Moore thought that this was "a good exercise in employing your imagination".^[30] When recording action scenes, the voice actors had to jog a little in place in order to make their voices sound realistic.^[30] For the songs, Moore and Levi recorded on a soundstage with a 65-piece orchestra under the supervision of composer Alan Menken. They sang live with the orchestra for several times in order to help everyone "get a vibe" and a feel for the music and the singing, then were asked to go in isolation booths to record the actual tracks.^[31][32] In order to aid animators in animating the characters, the filmmakers did interviews with the voice actors and filmed their facial expressions throughout the recording sessions.^[30] Disney animated films are usually animated to synchronize with recorded dialogue rather than asking the vocal talent to synchronize their delivery to animation after it is rendered. Thus, Moore felt that the recording process was challenging because at that time she had no animation to look at except for a few sketches.^[19]

Due to scheduling conflicts with other projects (Moore had to travel to different places like London or New York, and Levi could only record on weekends for five hours once every six weeks), they didn't necessarily record dialogue in the same order as in the final film. "[When I came in], maybe that sequence or scene had been recorded by Mandy (Moore) already, maybe it hadn't. We'd end up doing the same scene five times, depending," Levi said.^[26] After watching the finished film, Moore was disappointed because she felt that her voice sounded "shrill", while Levi thought that his performance sounded "incredibly nasally".^[30]

Animation

The film was made using computer-generated imagery (CGI), although Tangled was modeled on the traditional look of oil paintings on canvas. The Rococo paintings of French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard, particularly The Swing, were used as references for the film's artistic style, a style described by Keane as "romantic and lush."^[33] The Swing is also used in the movie Frozen. To create the impression of a painting, non-photorealistic rendering was used.

Glen Keane wanted the film to look and feel like a traditional hand-drawn Disney film in 3D, and held a seminar called "The Best of Both Worlds", where he, with 50 Disney CGI artists and traditional artists, focused on the pros and cons of each style.^[34] Due to limitations in computer technology, especially regarding attempts to capture the complexity of a human form, many basic principles of animation used in traditionally animated movies had been absent from earlier CGI films; but technological advancements have made it easier to blend the two, combining the strengths of each style. Keane stated repeatedly he was trying to make the computer "bend its knee to the artist" instead of having the computer dictate the artistic style and look of the film.^[35] By making the computer become as "pliable as the pencil", Keane's vision of a "three dimensional drawing" seemed within reach, with the artist controlling the technology. Many of the techniques and tools that were required to give the film the quality Keane demanded did not exist when the project was started, and Walt Disney Animation Studios had to create them on their own.^[33] Keane said, "There’s no photoreal hair. I want luscious hair, and we are inventing new ways of doing that. I want to bring the warmth and intuitive feel of hand-drawn to CGI."^[36]

One of the main goals of the animators was to create movement that mimicked the soft fluidity of the hand-drawn art found in older Disney animated films. Keane credited Disney 3D animator Kyle Strawitz with helping to combine CGI with the traditional hand-drawn style. "He took the house from Snow White and built it and painted it so it looked like a flat painting that suddenly started to move, and it had dimension and kept all of the soft, round curves of the brushstrokes of watercolor. Kyle helped us get that Fragonard look of that girl on the swing... We are using subsurface scattering and global illumination and all of the latest techniques to pull off convincing human characters and rich environments."^[33]

Existing technology continued to present difficulties: in particular, animating hair turned out to be a challenge. Senior software engineer Kelly Ward spent six years writing programs to make it move the way they wanted.^[37] As late as January 2010, the directors were still not sure if the Rapunzel character's length of hair was going to work. These problems were finally solved in March:^[38] An improved version of a hair simulation program named Dynamic Wires, originally developed for Bolt, was eventually used. To make hair float believably in water, and to surmount other similar challenges, discrete differential geometry was used to produce the desired effects, freeing the animators from executing these specific tasks directly, which would have taken days instead of minutes.^[39]

Rather than focusing on realism, the 3D team used an aesthetic approach. Robert Newman, the film’s stereoscopic supervisor said that "We’re using depth more artistically than ever before, and we’re not as concerned with the literal transcription of depth between camera and projector as we are the interpretation of it." To do this, they used a new technique called multi-rigging, which is made up of multiple pairs of virtual cameras. Each pair is used individually on each separate element that adds depth to a scene, like background, foreground and characters, without adjusting for the relation with the other pairs. When sandwiched together later in production, the result was something that would be visually impossible in the real world, but which created an appealing look to the film.^[40]

Creating Flynn Rider was not an easy task. The animators held a large meeting where they gathered together many women involved in the making of the film and asked them what they thought Flynn should look like. While each of them had their own idea of what would and would not work, they all wanted to avoid the extremes of making him look too "macho" or like too much of a "pretty boy." After much deliberation, his look was eventually narrowed down to one concept drawing.

Music and soundtrack

Tangled: Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	November 16, 2010
Recorded	2010
Genre	Folk rock, medieval, soundtrack
Label	Walt Disney
Producer	Chris Montan, Alan Menken, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, Frank Wolf, Grace Potter, Mike Daly, Kevin Kliesch[41]
Walt Disney Animation Studios chronology
The Princess and the Frog (2009) Tangled (2010) Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Filmtracks	[42]

The original score for the film was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics written by Glenn Slater.^[9]

Menken said he attempted to blend medieval music with 1960s folk rock to create the new songs.^[43]

Several songs were written, but eventually cut from the final film; "When Will My Life Begin?" replaced an earlier version called "What More Could I Ever Need?". Menken reported that that opening number went through five or six different versions.^[44]

Elsewhere, Menken reported that there was originally a love song called "You Are My Forever" that Mother Gothel sang to Rapunzel in a motherly way, but was reprised later in the film by Flynn Rider in a romantic way. This idea was apparently replaced with the two songs "Mother Knows Best" and "I See the Light".^[45]

The song "Something That I Want" performed by Grace Potter from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is featured in the closing credits. This version features some of the lyrics that were re-written and sung by Potter herself. The Latin American Spanish version of the song, titled "Algo quiero querer", was recorded by Colombian pop-singer, Fanny Lú.^[46]

The soundtrack peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200, number 7 on the Soundtrack chart, and number 3 on the Kid Albums chart.^[47][48][49]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater except track 20 which is written and composed by Grace Potter. All original scores composed by Menken.^[41]. 

No.	Title	Performers	Length
1.	"When Will My Life Begin?"	Mandy Moore	2:32
2.	"When Will My Life Begin? (Reprise 1)[1]"	Moore	1:03
3.	"Mother Knows Best[2]"	Donna Murphy	3:10
4.	"When Will My Life Begin? (Reprise 2)"	Moore	2:06
5.	"I've Got a Dream"	Brad Garrett, Jeffrey Tambor, Moore, Zachary Levi, Company	3:11
6.	"Mother Knows Best (Reprise)"	Murphy	1:38
7.	"I See the Light"	Moore, Levi	3:44
8.	"Healing Incantation"	Moore	0:54
9.	"Flynn Wanted" (Score)	Alan Menken	2:51
10.	"Prologue" (Score & Song)	Menken, Murphy, Delaney Stein	2:02
11.	"Horse with No Rider" (Score)	Menken	1:57
12.	"Escape Route" (Score)	Menken	1:57
13.	"Campfire" (Score)	Menken	3:21
14.	"Kingdom Dance" (Score)	Menken	2:20
15.	"Waiting For the Lights" (Score)	Menken	2:47
16.	"Return to Mother" (Score)	Menken	2:06
17.	"Realization and Escape" (Score)	Menken	5:50
18.	"The Tear Heals" (Score & Song)	Menken, Moore	7:37
19.	"Kingdom Celebration" (Score)	Menken	1:50
20.	"Something That I Want"	Grace Potter	2:43

UK bonus track[50]
No.	Title	Performers	Length
21.	"I See The Light"	Shannon Saunders	3:38

Denotes

• ¹^ Not featured in film.^[51]
• ²^This is an extended version of the song.^[52]

Chart performance

Chart (2010)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[47]	44
US Billboard Soundtracks[48]	7
US Billboard Kids Albums[49]	3

Release

Merchandising

Like other Disney animated features, Tangled is supported in retail stores by a line of toys and other merchandise.^[53] Many of the Rapunzel dolls emphasize her hair, while some also include sound clips from the film. Toys based on other characters, including Flynn Rider, Mother Gothel, Pascal and Maximus, have also been released. Rapunzel became an official Disney Princess on October 2, 2011.^[54]

Video games

A video game based on the film was released on November 23, 2010 for two Nintendo consoles, Nintendo DS and Wii, as well as for the PC platform by Disney Interactive Studios.^[55]

Home media

Tangled was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment as a four-disc combo pack on March 29, 2011. The combo pack includes a Blu-ray 3D, standard Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy. A two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and single DVD are also available. Bonus features for the Blu-ray include deleted scenes, two alternate opening sequences, two extended songs, and an inside look at how the film was made. The DVD includes only the two Original Storybook Openings and the 50th Animated Feature Countdown.

Sales of Tangled in the US and Canada exceeded $95 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales, the highest grossing DVD of the year to date; its home video sales exceeded the film's earnings in its first week in theaters.^[56] The film sold a record 2,970,052 units (the equivalent of $44,521,079) in its first week in North America, the largest opening for a 2011 DVD. It dominated for two weeks on the DVD sales chart and sold 6,657,331 units ($102,154,692) as of July 18, 2012.^[57] It has also sold 2,518,522 Blu-ray units ($59,220,275) by May 29, 2011.^[58]

Reception

Box office

Tangled earned $200,821,936 in North America, and $390,973,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $591,794,936.^[3] Worldwide, it is the 22nd highest-grossing animated film, the eighth highest-grossing 2010 film, and the third highest-grossing 2010 animated film (behind Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After). It is also the third Disney film appearing in the Top 10 films of 2010.^[59] It is the fourth highest-grossing film worldwide produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind Frozen, The Lion King, and Big Hero 6.^[60]

It premiered in Paris on November 17, exclusively screening at the Grand Rex theatre two weeks in advance of its French wide release.^[61] With over 3,800 tickets sold on its opening day, it set a new record for films showing in a single theater.^[62] It had a worldwide opening weekend of $86.1 million.^[63][64] It reached the summit of the worldwide box office once, on its eleventh weekend (Feb 4–6, 2011), with $24.9 million.^[65][66]

North America

Tangled earned $11.9 million on its opening Wednesday,^[67] breaking the record for the largest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening, a record previously held by Disney·Pixar's Toy Story 2.^[68] In its first weekend of release, it earned $48.8 million (the highest opening for Walt Disney Animation Studios, surpassing The Lion King ($40.9 million), and later surpassed by both Wreck-It Ralph ($49 million) and Frozen ($67.4 million)), placing second for the period behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which earned $49.1 million.^[69] Tangled had the sixth highest opening weekend for a film that did not debut at #1.^[70] Over the traditional Wednesday-Sunday Thanksgiving holiday period, it tallied $68.7 million, again finishing in second place.^[69] Tangled also marked the second largest 3-day and 5-day Thanksgiving opening after Toy Story 2.^[69] During its second weekend (post-Thanksgiving), Tangled declined 56% to $21.6 million, although it jumped to first place at the box office.^[71] With a final gross of $200.8 million, it is the tenth highest-grossing film of 2010,^[72] and the tenth 2010 film to pass the $200 million mark;^[73] it was the fourth slowest film to pass this mark.^[74] Unadjusted for inflation, it is the sixth highest-grossing film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind The Lion King ($422.8 million), Frozen ($400.7 million), Big Hero 6 ($221.3 million), Beauty and the Beast ($219 million), and Aladdin ($217.4 million).^[75]

Outside North America

On its opening weekend, it earned $17.4 million in eight territories and ranked second for the weekend behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ($117.3 million).^[76] It reached first place at the weekend box office outside North America three times in 2011.^[77][78][79] It marked the seventh highest-grossing 2010 film and the third highest-grossing 2010 animated film.^[80] In Russia and the CIS, it set an opening-weekend record among non-sequel animated films (first surpassed by Rio) and among Walt Disney Animation Studios films (surpassed by Frozen).^[81] Its highest-grossing markets outside North America was Germany ($44.2 million), where it is the highest-grossing 2010 animated film,^[82] followed by France and the Maghreb region ($39.4 million) and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($32.9 million).^[83]

Critical reception

Tangled received positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 90% based on 215 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10.^[84] The site's consensus is: "While far from Disney's greatest film, Tangled is a visually stunning, thoroughly entertaining addition to the studio's classic animated canon."^[84] Another review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from 0–100 out of reviews from mainstream film critics, calculated a score of 71 based on 34 reviews.^[85] According to CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, the average grade cinemagoers gave Tangled was an "A+" on an A+ to F scale.^[86]

A. O. Scott of The New York Times positively reviewed the film as "the 50th animated feature from Disney, and its look and spirit convey a modified, updated but nonetheless sincere and unmistakable quality of old-fashioned Disneyness."^[87] Time film critic Richard Corliss noted that Tangled "wades into the DreamWorks style of sitcom gags and anachronistic sass," while praising the film for achieving "the complex mix of romance, comedy, adventure and heart that defines the best Disney features."^[88] Corliss included Tangled at 19 in a list of top 25 All-time Best Animated films.^[89] Kenneth Turan from The Los Angeles Times awarded the film four stars out of five; he described the film as a "gorgeous computer-animated look that features rich landscapes and characters that look fuller and more lifelike than they have in the past."^[90] Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media gave the film five out of five stars, writing, "Fantastic princess adventure is fun, with great messages."^[91] Gael Cooper of NBC News expressed that Tangled may be the best Disney film of all time.^[92]

James Berardinelli commented on his review website ReelViews that the film is "entertaining and enjoyable, but not groundbreaking." He also stated Rapunzel is "not as memorable as Snow White, Ariel, or Belle" as well as stating "the songs are neither catchy nor memorable."^[93] Todd McCarthy, film reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter opened his review with, "It would have been nice if Disney's self-touted 50th animated feature were one of its best, a film that could stand with the studio's classics, but the world will have to make do with Tangled, a passably entertaining hodgepodge of old and new animation techniques, mixed sensibilities and hedged commercial calculations."^[94]

Music

Music in the film received mixed reviews. Bill Graham from Collider praised them for their variations to the tempo and tone, memorable lyrics, and "blending old with new," However, he also stated that "the film’s constant mixture of tones can feel a bit off-putting for some."^[95] Roth Cornet from ScreenRant was positive towards them, saying that "Alan Menken’s music is as catchy, uplifting and effecting as one would expect."^[96] Scott of The New York Times positively reviewed the music, saying that it "takes you back to a charmed world of swoony longing and sprightly mischief," with a slick and efficient atmosphere and grace notes of self-conscious classicism.^[87] Corliss from Time was also positive to the songs, noting that though "don't sound on first hearing like top-drawer Menken," the songs still "smoothly fill their functions." He described the opener, "When Will My Life Begin?," as the "heroine's 'I wanna' song," a Disney tradition that stretches back to Snow White's "Some Day My Prince Will Come." "I See the Light" was described as "a generically tuneful love ballad, which is sure to be nominated for a Best Song Oscar."^[88]

James Berardinelli, on the other hand, negatively commented the songs as "neither catchy nor memorable."^[93] Tim Robey from The Daily Telegraph gave a negative review, saying that they were only "OK – there’s nothing you want to whistle on the way home."^[97] Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian, who gave the movie two out of five star, described the songs as "sporting a laboured selection of Broadway-style showtunes," and hence are actually added for profit.^[98]

Title change controversy

When first put into production, the film was promoted as having the title Rapunzel Unbraided, which was later changed to Rapunzel.^[99] Disney's previous animated feature The Princess and the Frog in 2009, while being well received by various critics^[100] and taking in nearly $270 million worldwide, was not as successful as Disney had hoped. Catmull would later admit in writing that Disney Animation's faith that the The Princess and the Frog‍ '​s excellent quality would bring in all audiences notwithstanding the word "princess" in the title was their version of "a stupid pill."^[16] In order to market the film to both sexes and additional age groups, Disney changed the film's name from Rapunzel to Tangled while also emphasizing Flynn Rider, the film's prominent male character, showing that his story is just as important as Rapunzel's.^[101] Disney was criticized for altering the classic title as a marketing strategy. Floyd Norman, a former Disney and Pixar animator and story artist, said, "The idea of changing the title of a classic like Rapunzel to Tangled is beyond stupid. I'm convinced they'll gain nothing from this except the public seeing Disney as desperately trying to find an audience."^[102]

Justin Chang of Variety compared it to changing the title of The Little Mermaid to Beached.^[103] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle's blog, Margot Magowan accused Disney of sexism, writing "Can you imagine if Disney...switched a movie title so it wouldn't risk highlighting a male star? It's awful that this kind of radical gender discrimination exists for our smallest people – little kids who come into this world with huge imaginations and aspirations, big dreams that get squashed by a bunch of billionaire guys who run massive entertainment franchises."^[104]

On November 24, 2010, the day of the film's release, directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard disputed reports that the title change was a marketing decision. They said they changed the title from Rapunzel to Tangled, because Rapunzel is not the only main character in the film. They went on to say that you can't call Toy Story "Buzz Lightyear," and they really needed a title that represented what the film is, and that it's a duo, and it stars Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.^[105]

In March 2014, executive producer John Lasseter explained that Disney had changed the name to improve the film's appeal to the four quadrants: "There was an audience perception that these movies were just for little girls[,] but when boys, men, whatever actually see these movies[,] they like them. So on Rapunzel ... we changed the name and we called it Tangled. We did marketing that made the people who would not normally show up say, 'Hey, this looks pretty good.'"^[106]

Accolades

The film has been nominated for a number of awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated Tangled for two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song for "I See the Light", but lost to Toy Story 3 and Burlesque respectively.^[107] The film also received two nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association in the same categories, though lost to Toy Story 3 and 127 Hours,^[108] as well as nominations for two Annie Awards, for Best Animated Feature Film and for Writing in a Feature Production.^[109]

Tangled was also nominated for two Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards, Best Animated Film and Best Original Song for "I've Got a Dream," which it lost to Toy Story 3 and Burlesque.^[110] "I See the Light" has been nominated for Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards, but lost to "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3.^[111] It has also been nominated for 37th Saturn Award for Best Animated Film.^[112]:6

Tangled won best 3D scene of the year at the second annual International 3D Society Creative Arts Awards.^[113]

Tangled was also nominated for favorite film in the British Academy Children Awards for Favorite Film, competing against films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 & 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Cars 2, and Kung Fu Panda 2.^[114][115]

Group	Category	Result
83rd Academy Awards[111]	Best Original Song ("I See the Light")	Nominated
38th Annie Awards[109]	Best Animated Feature Film
	Writing in a Feature Production (Dan Fogelman)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2010[108]	Best Animated Feature Film
	Best Song ("I See the Light")
68th Golden Globe Awards[107]	Best Animated Feature Film
	Best Song ("I See the Light")
National Movie Awards 2011[116]	Animation	Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society[117]	Best Song ("I See the Light")
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards[110]	Best Animated Film	Nominated
	Best Original Song ("I've Got a Dream")
37th Saturn Awards[112]:6	Best Animated Film
2011 Teen Choice Awards[118]	Choice Animated Movie Voice (Zachary Levi)
British Academy Children's Awards (BAFTA)[114][115]	Favourite Film
54th Grammy Awards[119]	Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
	Best Song Written For Visual Media ("I See the Light")	Won

Tangled Ever After

Tangled Ever After is a short sequel released in 2012. The plot revolves around the wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Pascal and Maximus lose the wedding rings and chase after them, causing massive collateral damage along the way.

Feature-length sequel development

In December 2014, Tangled's producer, Roy Conli, revealed that the production team had been "heavily pushed" for a feature-length sequel to the film, but when the writers and directors got together to develop one, they realized, "she [sic] cut her hair. It’s over!"^[120] Conli explained that at Disney Animation under Lasseter, it is always the filmmakers who decide whether they are ready to make a sequel (not marketing or merchandising).^[120]

See also

• List of animated feature films
• List of computer-animated films
• List of Disney animated features
• List of Disney animated films based on fairy tales

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tangled.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Tangled

• Official website
• Tangled at the Internet Movie Database
• Tangled at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Tangled at AllMovie
• Tangled at Rotten Tomatoes
• Tangled at Metacritic
• Tangled at Box Office Mojo

Disney theatrical animated features Walt Disney Animation Studios films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Pinocchio (1940) Fantasia (1940) Dumbo (1941) Bambi (1942) Saludos Amigos (1942) The Three Caballeros (1944) Make Mine Music (1946) Fun and Fancy Free (1947) Melody Time (1948) The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) Cinderella (1950) Alice in Wonderland (1951) Peter Pan (1953) Lady and the Tramp (1955) Sleeping Beauty (1959) One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) The Sword in the Stone (1963) The Jungle Book (1967) The Aristocats (1970) Robin Hood (1973) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) The Rescuers (1977) The Fox and the Hound (1981) The Black Cauldron (1985) The Great Mouse Detective (1986) Oliver & Company (1988) The Little Mermaid (1989) The Rescuers Down Under (1990) Beauty and the Beast (1991) Aladdin (1992) The Lion King (1994) Pocahontas (1995) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Hercules (1997) Mulan (1998) Tarzan (1999) Fantasia 2000 (1999) Dinosaur (2000) The Emperor's New Groove (2000) Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) Lilo & Stitch (2002) Treasure Planet (2002) Brother Bear (2003) Home on the Range (2004) Chicken Little (2005) Meet the Robinsons (2007) Bolt (2008) The Princess and the Frog (2009) Tangled (2010) Winnie the Pooh (2011) Wreck-It Ralph (2012) Frozen (2013) Big Hero 6 (2014) Zootopia (2016) Live-action films with animation The Reluctant Dragon (1941) Victory Through Air Power (1943) Song of the South (1946) So Dear to My Heart (1948) Mary Poppins (1964) Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) Pete's Dragon (1977) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) Enchanted (2007) DisneyToon Studios films DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) A Goofy Movie (1995) The Tigger Movie (2000) Return to Never Land (2002) The Jungle Book 2 (2003) Piglet's Big Movie (2003) Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) Bambi II (2006) Planes (2013) Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) Other units films Doug's 1st Movie (1999, Jumbo Pictures) Recess: School's Out (2001, Disney Television Animation) Teacher's Pet (2004, Disney Television Animation) Related lists Unproduced films Book Category

Walt Disney Animation Studios   Feature films Traditionally animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Pinocchio (1940) Dumbo (1941) Bambi (1942) Make Mine Music (1946) The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) Cinderella (1950) Alice in Wonderland (1951) Peter Pan (1953) Lady and the Tramp (1955) Sleeping Beauty (1959) One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) The Sword in the Stone (1963) The Jungle Book (1967) The Aristocats (1970) Robin Hood (1973) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) The Rescuers (1977) The Fox and the Hound (1981) The Black Cauldron (1985) The Great Mouse Detective (1986) Oliver & Company (1988) The Little Mermaid (1989) The Rescuers Down Under (1990) Beauty and the Beast (1991) Aladdin (1992) The Lion King (1994) Pocahontas (1995) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Hercules (1997) Mulan (1998) Tarzan (1999) The Emperor's New Groove (2000) Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) Lilo & Stitch (2002) Treasure Planet (2002) Brother Bear (2003) Home on the Range (2004) The Princess and the Frog (2009) Winnie the Pooh (2011) Live-action/animated Fantasia (1940) Saludos Amigos (1942) The Three Caballeros (1944) Fun and Fancy Free (1947) Melody Time (1948) Fantasia 2000 (1999) Dinosaur (2000) Computer-animated Chicken Little (2005) Meet the Robinsons (2007) Bolt (2008) Tangled (2010) Wreck-It Ralph (2012) Frozen (2013) Big Hero 6 (2014) Upcoming films Zootopia (2016) Moana (2016) Associated productions The Reluctant Dragon (1941) Victory Through Air Power (1943) Song of the South (1946) So Dear to My Heart (1948) Mary Poppins (1964) Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) Pete's Dragon (1977) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) Enchanted (2007) Franchises Snow White (1937–) Fantasia (1940–) Cinderella (1950–) Alice in Wonderland (1951–) One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961–) Winnie the Pooh (1966–) The Jungle Book (1967–) The Little Mermaid (1989–) Beauty and the Beast (1991–) Aladdin (1992–) The Lion King (1994–) Pocahontas (1995–98) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996–2002) Hercules (1997–99) Mulan (1998–2005) Tarzan (1999–2005) The Emperor's New Groove (2000–08) Atlantis (2001–03) Lilo & Stitch (2002–12) Frozen (2013–)   People Animators and directors "Nine Old Men" Ken Anderson Ruben A. Aquino Art Babbitt Preston Blair Don Bluth Chris Buck Tim Burton Les Clark Ron Clements Jack Cutting Marc Davis Dean DeBlois Andreas Deja Will Finn Mike Gabriel Clyde Geronimi Burt Gillett Eric Goldberg Gary Goldman David Hand Byron Howard Dick Huemer Ub Iwerks Wilfred Jackson Ollie Johnston Milt Kahl Glen Keane Ward Kimball Jack King Dan Kuenster Eric Larson Kevin Lima John Lounsbery Fred Moore John Musker Floyd Norman John Pomeroy Nik Ranieri Wolfgang Reitherman Chris Sanders Henry Selick Bruce W. Smith Frank Thomas Gary Trousdale Bill Tytla Kirk Wise Executives Edwin Catmull Roy E. Disney Walt Disney Don Hahn Jeffrey Katzenberg John Lasseter Peter Schneider Thomas Schumacher David Stainton   Related topics History Disney animators' strike Disney Renaissance Methods and technologies 12 basic principles of animation Computer Animation Production System Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life Multiplane camera Documentaries Frank and Ollie (1995) The Sweatbox (2001) Dream On Silly Dreamer (2005) Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) Other Disney animation units Disney Television Animation DisneyToon Studios (Unit of WDAS) Lucasfilm Animation Marvel Animation Pixar Animation Studios Circle 7 (defunct) Miscellaneous Alice Comedies Laugh-O-Gram Studio List of Disney animated shorts List of Disney theatrical animated features unproduced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Mickey Mouse (film series) Silly Symphonies

Disney's Tangled Rapunzel Flynn Rider Mother Gothel Pascal and Maximus Films Tangled (2010) Tangled Ever After (2012) Video games Tangled: The Video Game Music When Will My Life Begin? Mother Knows Best I've Got a Dream I See the Light

Rapunzel Literature Grimms' Fairy Tales (1812) Rapunzel (1998) Related myths and tales Danaë Rudaba Petrosinella Adaptations Film Barbie as Rapunzel (2002) Tangled (2010) Tangled Ever After (2012) Television The Mind Robber (1968) "The Tower" (2014) Video games Tangled: The Video Game See also Märchenbilder Golem in the Gears Rapunzel (Disney) Rapunzel syndrome Into the Woods (stage) Into the Woods (film)