'Tangled' Review: Spectacular 3D Disney Adventure

There are many kinds of prisons in this world, some literal and some figurative but no less destructive to the basic human need for freedom. And from childhood, one fairy tale that teaches us about that imprisonment and quest to be free is “Rapunzel,” the story of a girl who’s locked away in a tower to hide her amazing golden hair from the world.

Now, Disney has finally gotten around to bringing Rapunzel’s story to life on the big screen with the new 3D cartoon “Tangled.” Since Disney scored lackluster results with last year’s Christmas-season cartoon, “The Princess and The Frog,” and realized that that film had almost zero appeal to boys, they’ve strived to make sure this new cartoon holds strong appeal for males and females of all ages.

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So here, the Mouse House wisely decided to add a heroic male character named Jake (voiced by Zac Levi of “Chuck”), who stumbles across Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) in the highly hidden tower she’s kept in by an evil woman, Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) who kidnapped her as a child. Mother Gothel has kept Rapunzel a lifelong prisoner because of the fact that her golden hair has the magical power of imparting eternal youth upon whomever sings a special song to it, and Mother Gothel wants that power for herself alone.

When Rapunzel tricks Mother Gothel to embark on a three-day journey for supplies, she takes advantage of her new friendship with Jake and embarks on her first journey to the outside world in the hopes of discovering why a shower of lights hits the night skies every year on her birthday. The lights are launched by the king and queen she was taken from, as they hope someday she’ll see them and return to her rightful life as royalty.

As she and Jake make their way to the kingdom, they befriend a bar-ful of scary-looking yet good-natured rogues who become invaluable support as the duo are threatened repeatedly by the Stabbington Brothers, two giant and malevolent goons enlisted by Mother Gothel to force her return to the castle.

“Tangled” makes spectacular use of its 3D effects, not only in creating pretty surroundings for its characters to move through, but also to create an impressive array of action scenes that are several cuts above the norm for most animated fare. There are numerous fights and escapes along the way that pay a definite homage to Indiana Jones’ classic escapades – particularly the climactic canyon battle in “Temple of Doom.”

Levi is most impressive in translating his usual gawky charm into a full-throated action hero with a goofy side, in what appears to be a spoof on Tom Cruise. And as Rapunzel, Moore creates a vibrant heroine who maintains the high standards of Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” and Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.” In fact, one song in particular – the rogues’ anthem “I’ve Got a Dream,” hilariously led by Brad Garrett (Robert on “Everybody Loves Raymond”) is perhaps the best Disney song since “Be Our Guest” in “Beast” nearly 20 years ago.

But Donna Murphy (a Broadway musical star) as Mother Gothel is the film’s true standout voice, mixing charm and menace with equal relish while offering a sassy, full-bodied spirit to her best song, “Mother Knows Best.” Growing ever more menacing throughout the film, she gives the evil women of “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty” a run for their money. And frankly, so does “Tangled” as a whole.