Tangled

Movie Title--  Tangled

Release Year--  2010

Running Time--  1 Hour and 40 Minutes

Director--  Nathan Greno, Byron Howard

Cast-- Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, Brad Garrett

Rapunzel has been locked away in a hidden tower her entire life because her long hair has magical and mysterious powers.  She has longed to leave her tower and when a young thief stumbles into her life, he becomes the key to making her dream possible.

A long time ago a drop of sunlight fell from the sky and upon landing created a beautiful golden flower that had magical healing properties.  Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) comes across the flower and by singing to it, releases it's power, helping her to retain her youth.  She hides the flower away so no one can find it and lives as a young woman for centuries with the help of the flower.

The pregnant queen of a nearby kingdom falls very ill and the king sends the guards out to search for this legendary flower.  Once they find it, they bring it back to the queen and after she is healed she gives birth to a beautiful baby girl that has long golden hair and they name her Rapunzel (Mandy Moore).  Mother Gothel comes to take a piece of Rapunzel's hair but when she cuts it, it turns brown and loses it's power.  Mother Gothel then kidnaps Rapunzel and hides her away in a tall, hidden tower, raising the baby as her own daughter.

For seventeen years, Rapunzel looks at the world through her tower windows and every year on her birthday she sees floating lanterns in the sky and dreams of seeing them in person.  When she asks Mother Gothel if they can see the lanterns for her 18th birthday, Gothel flat out refuses and tells her never to ask to leave the tower again.

In the kingdom, thief Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) steals Rapunzel's crown (it is kept on display in case of her return to the castle) with the help of his associates, The Stabbington Brothers (Ron Perlman).  The palace guards chase them into the forest and after ditching the Stabbington Brothers, he stumbles across Rapunzel's tower.  He climbs to the top to hide from his cohorts and the guards chasing him only to be met by a frying pan to the head.

Rapunzel finds the crown but does not know it's significance so she hides it, along with the the satchel he is hiding it in, then hides him in a closet so that she can show Mother Gothel what she has done and prove to her that she is ready to go out into the world.  Before Rapunzel can tell Gothel what she has done, Gothel demands that Rapunzel will never leave the tower so she changes the subject.

Flynn wakes after Gothel leaves and Rapunzel tells him that in order to get his satchel back he has to safely escort her into the kingdom to see the floating lanterns and back again and once Flynn realizes his normal tactics weren't working on her, he reluctantly agrees.  Rapunzel leaves her tower for the first time in her life and starts a new journey of her own.

This is one of my favorite Disney animated features.  I just adore Mandy Moore's voice acting in this film and honestly, I think that Rapunzel is one of the cutest Disney Princesses there is.  For anyone with small children, this film is a must see.  My daughter is two and this is her favorite Disney film; if we don't watch this one once a day, I am surprised. 

The songs are very catchy and one is pretty funny, they are the kinds of songs that tend to get stuck in your head if you aren't careful.  The colors are bright and brilliant and the animation is very aesthetically pleasing.  There is a short that they made for this film in 2012 called "Tangled Ever After" which is pretty cute, so I suggest watching the film and then watching the short directly after.  You won't be disappointed if you decide to view this film.  Get the family together for movie night and Don't Forget the Popcorn!