Tangled Directors: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard.
Starring (voices of): Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy
****
Disney's 50th "Animated Classic", and 10th princess movie is their take on the classic fairytale Rapunzel, renamed Tangled. The story concerns Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), a princess with magical, age-reversing hair who is captured as a small child and hidden in a tower by the evil Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), who tells Rapunzel nothing of the outside world. Unaware of her real identity, she is desperate to see a lantern display held every year in a nearby kingdom on her birthday, and enlists the help of a handsome thief named Flynn (Zachary Levi) to break her out of the castle. The pair must escape both the king's guards (chasing Flynn) and a livid Mother Gothel before reaching their goal and finding out Rapunzel's true destiny. Ever since Disney's own 1992 classic Aladdin, its been a given that modern animation has to be smart and funny as well as cute and adventurous, and Tangled succeeds in this department with a witty script delivered by great voice talent. Moore and Levi adeptly flesh out what could have been basic characters. This charming film may not outshine its stable mates, but it more than holds its own in the Disney canon. Is it on a par with films such as The Little Mermaid? No, but it's a worthy addition to the lineage, and, bar perhaps Toy Story 3, it is as good as any other family film released this year.
For show times, see: www.grandcinemas.com, www.cineroyal.ae, www.reelcinemas.ae, www.cinestarcinemas.com
