Music.Is.Life.

Disney’s newest fairytale film Tangled, and how it will set the basis for the future of Disney

          I won’t lie; I thought I was going to be disappointed when I went to see Disney’s latest animated film Tangled. Myself, a big fan of Disney’s collection of films in traditional hand-drawn animation (Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, etc.), I resented the fact that Walt Disney Animation Studio’s 50^th animated film was made with computer animation. Until I actually saw the film, that is. I also found myself fooled by the Disney’s clever, but misleading, marketing strategy for Tangled. Rapunzel, obviously the film’s female protagonist, appeared in trailers and ads as a ditzy blonde, and more emphasis was put on the movie’s male hero, Flynn Rider as “The Great Escape” by Boys Like Girls and “Trouble” by P!nk played in the background. Yet, these trailers and ads were misleading, hiding the real Tangled I ended up falling in love with. So why was the film marketed this way? At first I was against Disney’s undoubtedly clever method of marketing, but now I can’t help but praise the genius behind it. After Disney’s last critically acclaimed fairytale flick The Princess and the Frog did poorly at the box office, Disney knew what had to be done. It’s simple; The Princess and the Frog didn’t appeal to boys, and Disney hit the reset button on the project they were working on as the result; Rapunzel. They started fresh with the project by renaming the film Tangled and replaced the original story’s prince with a male hero to add adventure to the film. After seeing the film, the Walt Disney Animation Studios most definitely made a wise decision to start all over again when creating this outstanding addition to the collection of Disney animated classics.

            Despite that the film was made entirely with computer animation, Tangled was an innovative animated film. For the first time, Disney used an animation method that did not even exist, nor did the technology for it, that blended computer animation and hand-drawn animation. This was evident in the film, as the beauty of the characters and everything else in the film was incredible, yet still retained the realistic look of the film that computer animation always creates. What was even better, the character’s movement was reminiscent of Disney animated films created with hand-drawn animation.

            I was taken by surprise when I heard Tangled’s first song “When Will My Life Begin?” for two reasons. As I mentioned earlier, the trailers for the film were misleading, as songs from pop artist P!nk and pop-punk band Boys Like Girls played. I didn’t expect Tangled to be a musical, but after the film, I was absolutely blown away by the songs and the score. For one, the songs more memorable than The Princess and the Frog, and they were also unique in the way the songs and the score, composed by returned Disney composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Enchanted, etc.) were a combination of medieval music and folk rock. The movie’s ending song also fit in with the musical theme, as a song written for Tangled by folk-rock band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals played during the film’s ending credits. Then I was blown away by the talent that provided the vocals for their characters: Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, the voices for Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. When I thought Mandy Moore as a singer, I simply thought of her as a Hilary Duff-wannabe pop star, until I heard her sing in this movie. Her beautiful voice, accompanied by the also surprising-but-wonderful voice of television actor Zachary Levi, were a great match, as heard in the love duet “I See the Light”. The songs in Tangled are wonderful addition to the timeless collection of classic Disney songs, as they are certainly memorable.

            When Disney hit the reset button on the project that Tangled was at that time, one of their intentions was to also make the film relevant to today, and that goal was certainly achieved, still keeping fairytale elements in the film. Tangled had a modern feel, between the character personalities, the story, and the music, and had the plot of Rapunzel with a Disney twist. As I mentioned earlier, the musical theme of the movie was folk rock, with emphasis on guitar, setting it apart of Disney musical compositions of the past. When Rapunzel finally leaves the tower with Flynn Rider, he compares their journey to a rebellious roadtrip, just one of the modern aspects of the film. As for the film’s creation, Disney was wise to bring back Disney composer Alan Menken, and welcome Pixar animator John Lasseter on board to work on Tangled. As the Disney-Pixar movies keep getting better with each film, John Lasseter is one of the main artistic talents responsible, and his efforts in Tangled were evident, as the quality of the film was exceptional, and a tear-jerker like Toy Story 3. Walt Disney would be proud to meet these two talent individuals contributing to the Disney legacy of animated films with for the newest addition, Tangled.

            So after creating such an amazing and undoubtedly classic Disney animated film, why would Disney even think of closing the book on fairytales? They claim that fairytales are not relevant to our modern world. But I can just shoot down that claim with two reasons; first, Tangled was relevant, a success at the box office, and critically acclaimed, as well as a high-quality family-friendly movie appealing for both genders and all ages. And beyond those details, their claim that fairytales are irrelevant is absolutely absurd, especially since all throughout the company’s history, Disney was the only one that could make fairytales relevant to children to families with film adaptions. And throughout the history of Disney, their one main theme has been, and still is, dreams; following them and making them come true. Going to the ball, becoming a human, opening a restaurant, leaving the tower, or just following your heart and chasing your desires. That’s why, even from a business perspective, it would be a huge mistake for Disney to drift away from fairytales. Just take a look at Disney’s upcoming animated films: Mars Needs Moms and Gnomeo and Juliet, two films that appear, well, so “un-Disney”. Mars Needs Moms is about boy who discovered his mom is one of many mothers that have been abducted by an extraterrestrial human to raise alien children on Mars, and Gnomeo and Juliet is a movie, obviously with the plot based on Romeo and Juliet from the film’s title, about garden gnomes. But will the characters from these films, or the films themselves, be memorable at all? I cannot imagine that these films can produce any merchandise, as I cannot picture kids playing with an action figure of the extraterrestrial human from Mars Needs Moms that abducts females from Earth, nor can I picture kids going to school with Gnomeo and Juliet lunchboxes and backpacks. Neither can I picture the characters from either film being included in parades at any of the Disney Parks, or signing autographs and taking pictures with kids and families. So as Disney strays off the path of their legacy as they say goodbye to fairytales, they’re also leaving behind everything the company believes in.

spent all afternoon yesterday running around putting up posters for a band i dont even listen to

i hope it will all be worth it… :)

if you like motionless in white, their album comes out in 4 days. buy it. :P