After their failure on Home on the Range (2004), Disney announced that they would not make anymore traditionally animated movies. This announcement broke many hearts. I was too young to realize that this had happened, but if I were a bit older, I would have screamed at the very least. Disney did produce more Pixar films, (which are always amazing) and one of its own CG films, Bolt, but they stayed true to the proclamation they made in 2004. They finally broke their word by making The Princess and the Frog.
A little while after The Princess and the Frog was released, I began to wonder if Disney would make anymore animated movies. I had previously looked at upcoming Disney movies that had been sitting on the bookshelf for years, none seeming to have any potential. One night while I was on my laptop, I was looking up the DVD release date for the Princess and the Frog. I found the date on Wikipedia. If you've ever been to Wiki, you know there are links and connections at the bottom. I saw one that read, Rapunzel. Curious, I clicked on the link. My dream had come true. Disney was making another fairytale. I could have cried for joy. The wiki page didn't give much information other than that a teaser trailer would be released soon. I would have to wait. I kept looking up stuff, trying to find a release date and such. It was scheduled for some time in 2010.
I was severely disappointed when I found out that the movie would not be traditionally animated. When I saw that it would be a CG film, my excitement was dimmed. Then I found out that Disney would not keep with the well-known title, "Rapunzel" and would be changing it to "Tangled". After learning of this change, I was almost completely turned off. Time for another Disney failure. However, I still held a small curiosity rather than interest. I would occasionally check for updates, but not with the same excitement I have had previously. When the time came, I watched the teaser (link included below). It didn't give much information (of course). It seemed to be following the traditional story save the fact that Rapunzel had magical hair. It never showed any characters, (just some voiceovers as the camera zooms in on Rapunzel's tower) so I really did not know what to expect at all still. My interest was piqued again though.
In March, I became a fan of Walt Disney's Animated Films on Facebook and got all their updates. There wasn't much about Tangled save one or two concept drawings. One day in May, I checked Wiki again for any updates. It said that a new trailer would premiere on June 20 on the Facebook page. For some reason after reading this, I became very excited.
I couldn't wait for the trailer to come out. After much waiting, I finally watched the trailer (I've included the actual video below). My view on the movie was completely altered after the trailer. Now that I knew what the characters looked like, sounded like, and got a very vague story, I was hooked. I have to admit that the trailer mainly only excited me through of visual appeal. It looked like a traditionally animated movie! The plot of the trailer (centred around the male protagonist) seemed to be sort of cheesy, but after looking up more stuff, I found that the plot of the actual movie focuses more on Rapunzel. Since the trailer came out, I have been checking Wiki and other sources for updates. I got a general plot outline and more pictures. Facebook updates at least once or twice a week. I watch the trailer almost everyday and have it memorized already. I can't wait until November 24!OK so now to the point of this extremely long blog post: Information and my thoughts concerning the movie.
I learned from The Princess and the Frog that straying away from the traditional story can actually be better if done well. That way you didn't know what to expect as much. The male role of Tangled is not a prince, he is a dashing thief on the lam, who just happens to stumble upon Rapunzel's tower. Somehow they come to an agreement for him to take Rapunzel from her isolation.
RELEASED PLOT: When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. In theaters this holiday season in Disney Digital 3D™, “Tangled” is a story of adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair.
So, my opinion. I think it is an interesting twist on the story. I am already liking the two title characters enormously. Flynn's horse and Rapunzel's chameleon seem to be very funny too. All the characters I have seen look amazing (in their own way).
Like I said, I was mad about the title change. Why did they have to make it sound like such a rip-off of the classic fairytale? I couldn't figure out what on earth possessed them to change it. Many, many, MANY people were equally upset. Disney's explanation was that they wanted to appeal to boys as well as girls. They believed that although The Princess and the Frog did well financially, it didn't do as well as they had anticipated. They believed this to be because they made it seem too girly.
I could see their point, but I was still a little T.O.ed. My opinion has just changed slightly, recently, after reading what one of the directors had to say about the title change. He said, "we sat back and looked at the film, and as much as, and I said this before, this movie does not work if Rapunzel’s not in the movie and it also does not work if Flynn Rider’s not in the movie. This is the story of the two of them, and you can’t make the film without one or the other. So, because of that, we wanted a title that reflected the movie that we were making. Rapunzel, it’s like calling Toy Story… Buzz Lightyear. Why would you do that? That’s the story of Buzz and Woody, so they call it Toy Story. This is the same thing. This isn’t the story of one character; it’s the story of two characters. So we needed a title that reflected that." I am still not perfectly fine with the title, Tangled, but I understand where they are coming from and I'm sure I will get used to it.
I was also upset that it would not be traditionally animated. There were too many CGI films already. Besides, it was Pixar's job to make amazing CG films, not Disney's animation department. My opinion was changed after seeing the trailer and pictures. Despite the fact that it was CG, it still had a 2-D feel. It was still a Disney fairytale! (Link below)The part that really has me hooked is that it is a musical and that Alan Menken will be composing the songs!!! So stoked! I can't wait to hear them. He says that the songs are based off of 60's rock. I'm not sure what to make of that statement. All I know is that he has never written a bad song, especially in Disney.
So we'll have to see how it turns out. I promise, I'll blog about it after I see it. I have high expectations! Don't let me down Disney!
Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste these links. I couldn't get the links button to work.
TEASER TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wd0sOwCJPM
TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f516ZLyC6U
FEATUERETTE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ia4UL2N8o
VISUAL APPEAL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awlBswjJC-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJgzWFJDww0&p=941C6539DBFD71BE&index=4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoFFzbNzSo8&p=941C6539DBFD71BE&index=5
EXTRA INFO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMUZFGIf7Ig
