It's film Strip Friday! Tangled! Disney's 50th Animated Film

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Tangled

Disney's 50th Animated Film

Release Date November 24^th, 2010

 

SYNOPSIS:

Take one captive princess with magical hair, one handsome thief on the run, a horse with a strong sense of duty, and a chameleon with attitude -- and you get a magical adventure in the great Disney tradition.

FUN FACTS:

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

The film was originally titled and marketed as Rapunzel until it was changed to Tangled shortly before its release. Tangled spent six years in production at a cost that has been estimated at $260 million which, if accurate (and adjusted for inflation), would make it the most expensive animated film ever made and the second most expensive movie of all time. The film employed a unique artistic style by blending features of both computer-generated imagery (CGI) and traditional animation together, while utilizing 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. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, Tangled earned $590 million in worldwide box-office revenue, $200 million of which was earned in the United States and Canada. The film 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 2012.

Plot

A drop of sunlight falls to the ground and grows into a magical flower with healing powers. A woman named Gothel uses it to keep herself young by singing to it. Centuries later, a queen becomes ill while pregnant, and the king orders a search for the legendary flower. The queen is healed after being fed the flower, and gives birth to a daughter, Rapunzel, whose golden hair has absorbed the abilities of the flower. Gothel tries to steal a lock of Rapunzel's hair, but, once cut, the hair turns brown and loses its power. So she kidnaps Rapunzel to raise as her own child in a high tower, telling her it is for her own safety.

Every year, on Rapunzel's birthday, her parents and their subjects release thousands of sky lanterns, in the hope that the lost princess will return. For her 18th birthday, Rapunzel asks Gothel for permission to go outside the tower to see the source of the annual floating lights, but Gothel refuses. Meanwhile, Flynn Rider and the Stabbington brothers steal the tiara of the lost princess. During the ensuing chase, Maximus, horse of the Captain of the Guards, is separated from his rider but continues on his own. Flynn outwits his accomplices, takes the tiara, and stumbles upon Rapunzel's tower. He climbs up into the tower, but is knocked unconscious with a frying pan by Rapunzel who puts him in a wardrobe. When Gothel returns, Rapunzel tries to show her the captive Flynn to prove she is capable of handling the outside world, but Gothel cuts her off by saying she is never leaving the tower. So Rapunzel instead asks Gothel for a special paint, the ingredients for which require three days' of round-trip travel. Gothel leaves, and Rapunzel tells Flynn that she will give him the tiara back if he takes her to see the lights. Flynn agrees. While en route, he takes her to the Snuggly Duckling Inn, which is full of Gaul thugs, in hopes of scaring her into giving up her quest. The thugs, however, are charmed by Rapunzel, who encourages them to follow their dreams.

Mother Gothel returns early to the tower to find Rapunzel gone but finds the tiara. She then teams up with the Stabbington brothers so she can get Rapunzel back and the brothers can get revenge on Flynn. Meanwhile, the guards invade the tavern, and chase Rapunzel and Flynn to a dam which collapses. Flynn and Rapunzel become trapped in a flooding cave. Believing he is about to die, Flynn admits his true name: Eugene Fitzherbert. Rapunzel admits her hair glows when she sings, then realizes they can use her hairlight to find a way out. Rapunzel later uses her hair to heal Flynn's injured hand. Flynn tells Rapunzel that he was an orphan who dreamed of being like the storybook hero that inspired his alias, but Rapunzel tells him she likes Eugene better than Flynn. When Flynn goes to gather firewood, Gothel meets Rapunzel insisting that Flynn does not care for her and gives Rapunzel the tiara, suggesting that she test Flynn by giving it to him.

The next morning, Maximus confronts Flynn but Rapunzel befriends the horse and convinces him to help them instead. Arriving at the kingdom, Flynn takes Rapunzel to see the lanterns. There, Rapunzel gives Flynn back the tiara. Flynn spies his old accomplices and leaves Rapunzel to give them the tiara, realizing that he cares more for Rapunzel. However, the brothers tie him up on a boat and sail him across the lake. They claim Flynn betrayed Rapunzel as they attempt to kidnap her for her hair's power, but Gothel rescues her and takes her back to the tower. Later, reflecting on what she had seen during her adventure in the kingdom, Rapunzel realizes she is the lost princess and attempts to flee the tower.

Meanwhile, Flynn is arrested and sentenced to death, but he is rescued by Maximus and the Gaul thugs from the inn. Flynn races back to the tower and climbs up Rapunzel's hair only to find her chained to the wall and gagged. Gothel stabs Flynn from behind and prepares to take a struggling Rapunzel to a new hiding place. Rapunzel tells Gothel that she will stop resisting if she can heal Flynn. Gothel agrees, but before Rapunzel can heal him, Flynn cuts her hair which subsequently turns brown and loses its power. Gothel begins to age rapidly, falls out of the tower, and turns into dust.

With his last breath, Flynn declares his love for Rapunzel. She cries, and the healing power of her tear revives him. Returning to the kingdom, Rapunzel is reunited with the King and Queen. Flynn then closes the film, telling the audience that he readopted his original name, and he and Rapunzel eventually get engaged and married.

Cast and characters

• Mandy Moore as Rapunzel
• Zachary Levi as Eugene "Flynn Rider" Fitzherbert
• Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel
• Brad Garrett as Hook-Hand Thug
• Ron Perlman as the Stabbington Brothers
• Jeffrey Tambor as Big Nose Thug
• Richard Kiel as Vladamir
• M. C. Gainey as Captain of the Guard
• Paul F. Tompkins as Short Thug
• Tom Kenny as Guard
• Tim Brooke-Taylor as Old Man
• Maurice Dean Wint as Paulo
• Frank Welker as Pascal and Maximus
• Delaney Rose Stein as Young Rapunzel

Non-speaking animal characters include Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, and Maximus, the horse of the head of the palace guard who are voiced by Frank Welker. Also featured in non-speaking roles are Rapunzel's parents, the King and Queen, and Ulf, the Mime Thug.

Moore, Levi and Murphy respectively replaced the originally-announced voice actors Kristin Chenoweth, Dan Fogler and Grey DeLisle.

Production

Tangled was in development for six years and cost more than $260 million to produce. 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. On October 9, 2008, it was reported that Keane and Wellins had stepped down as directors, 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.

Title change

When first put into production, the film was promoted as having the title Rapunzel Unbraided, which was later changed to Rapunzel. Disney's previous animated feature The Princess and the Frog in 2009, while being well-received by various critics and taking in nearly $270 million worldwide, was not as successful as Disney had hoped. Disney expressed the belief that the film's emphasis on princesses may have discouraged young boys from seeing the film. In order to market the film to both sexes, Disney changed the film's name from Rapunzel to Tangled while also emphasizing Flynn Rider, the film's prominent male character. 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." Justin Chang of Variety compared it to changing the title of The Little Mermaid to Beached. 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."

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.

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." To create the impression of a painting, non-photorealistic rendering has been 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. Due to limitations in computer technology, 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. 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 Disney Animation Studios had to create them on their own. 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."

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."

Existing CGI 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. 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: 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.

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 by 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 movie.

Soundtrack

The original score was composed for the movie by 8-time Academy Award winner Composer Alan Menken with lyrics written by Glenn Slater. Menken said he attempted to blend medieval music with 1960s folk rock to create the new songs.

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.

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 in a romantic way. This idea was apparently replaced with the two songs "Mother Knows Best" and "I See the Light".

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.

The album has peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard 200, No. 7 on the Soundtrack chart, and No. 3 on the Top Kids Albums chart.

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.

No.	Title	Performer(s)	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" (1,2)	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

Denotes

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

Release

Merchandising

Like other recent Disney animated features, Tangled is supported in retail stores by a line of toys and other merchandise. 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, Pascal and Maximus, have also been released. Rapunzel became an official Disney Princess on October 2, 2011.

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

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. 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 6,208,573 units ($95,280,386) as of October 23, 2011. It has also sold 2,518,522 Blu-ray units ($59,220,275) by May 29, 2011.

Reception

Critical reception

Tangled received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 90% of critics have given Tangled a positive review based on 181 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10. Among Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 93%, based on a sample of 29 reviews. 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." 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 33 reviews. CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave Tangled was an A+ on an A+ to F scale.

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." Time film critic Richard Corliss noted that the film "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." 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."

James Berardinelli commented on his review website ReelViews that the film is "entertaining and enjoyable, but not groundbreaking." Berardinelli also stated Rapunzel is "not as memorable as Snow White, Princess Ariel, or Belle" as well as stating "the songs are neither catchy nor memorable." 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." Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media gave the film five out of five stars, writing, "Fantastic princess adventure is fun, with great messages".

Box office

Tangled earned $200,821,936 in North America and $389,900,000 in other countries for a worldwide total of $590,721,936. Worldwide, it is the 15th highest-grossing animated feature ever released, the eighth highest-grossing film of 2010 and the third largest animated title on that list behind Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After. It is also the third Disney film appearing in 2010's Top Ten. Finally, it is the second highest-grossing film worldwide produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, trailing only The Lion King.

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

North America

Tangled earned $11.9 million on its opening Wednesday, breaking the record for the largest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening of all time, a record previously held by Disney Pixar's Toy Story 2. In its first weekend of release, it earned $48.8 million, placing second for the period behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which earned $49.1 million. Tangled had the fifth highest opening weekend for a film that did not debut at #1. Over the traditional Wednesday-Sunday Thanksgiving holiday period, it tallied $68.7 million, again finishing in second place. Tangled also marked the second-largest 3-day and 5-day Thanksgiving opening after Toy Story 2. During its second weekend (post-Thanksgiving), Tangled declined 56% to $21.6 million, although it jumped to first place at the box office, ahead of the new release The Warrior's Way and Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the previous weekend's #1 film.  With a final gross of $200.8 million, it is the 10th highest-grossing film of 2010 and the 10th 2010 film to pass the $200-million-mark. However, it was the fourth slowest film of all time to pass this mark behind Back to the Future, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Saving Private Ryan. Unadjusted for inflation, it is the fourth highest-grossing film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind The Lion King ($422.8 million), Beauty and the Beast ($218.9 million) and Aladdin ($217.4 million).

Outside North America

On its opening weekend, it earned $17.4 million in 8 territories and ranked second for the weekend behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 ($117.3 million). It reached first place at the weekendbox office outside North America three times in 2011. Outside North America, it marked the seventh largest 2010 picture and the third largest 2010 animated feature. Its highest-grossing markets outside North America was Germany ($44.2 million) -where it is the highest-grossing animated film of 2010-, followed by France and the Maghreb region ($39.4 million) and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($32.9 million).

Accolades

The film has been nominated for ten 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. The film also received two nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association in the same categories, but lost to Toy Story 3 and 127 Hours, as well as nominations for two Annie Awards, for Best Animated Feature Film and for Writing in a Feature Production.

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. "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. It has also been nominated for 37th Saturn Award for Best Animated Film.

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

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.

Group	Category	Result
83rd Academy Awards	Best Original Song ("I See the Light")	Nominated
38th Annie Awards	Best Animated Feature Film
	Writing in a Feature Production (Dan Fogelman)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2010	Best Animated Feature Film
	Best Song ("I See the Light")
68th Golden Globe Awards	Best Animated Feature Film
	Best Song ("I See the Light")
National Movie Awards	Animation	Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society	Best Song ("I See the Light")
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Animated Film	Nominated
	Best Original Song ("I’ve Got a Dream")
37th Saturn Awards	Best Animated Film
2011 Teen Choice Awards	Choice Animated Movie Voice (Zachary Levi)
British Academy Children's Awards (BAFTA)	Favorite Film
54th Grammy Awards	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 6:27 minute animated short comedy film also directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. The film premiered before the 3D theatrical re-release of Beauty and the Beast on January 13, 2012 and on March 23, 2012 at 9:15 p.m. on Disney Channel following the broadcast premiere of The Princess and the Frog. It was announced that the short will be included on the upcoming Diamond Edition of Cinderella, scheduled for release in October 2012 on Blu-ray and DVD.

The story of the short immediately follows that of Tangled. Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert are getting married and exchanging their wedding vows while Pascal and Maximus (who are the ring bearers) chase the lost wedding rings around town. They eventually manage to retrieve the rings in time for the ceremony, albeit causing an immense amount of collateral damage across the kingdom, before losing the wedding cake.

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