What was RAPUNZEL is now TANGLED
Disney’s Rapunzel has been retitled Tangled due to Disney’s belief that the title of The Princess and the Frog deterred young boys from seeing the film preventing that film from performing as well as they hoped it would at the box office. The new trailer for the film has basically sunk all my enthusiasm for the project:
And I was so looking forward to it.
Musical Cyberspace 
No, it isn’t funny. In a post-Shrek world, it’s an obvious, hackneyed choice. Disney should move on and remember that their best films have always been the ones that put storytelling ahead of gimmicks. That is what has always put them ahead of other animation studios, the reason why so many of the Disney films are memorable and so many other animated films are not.
I can’t decide how I feel about this movie.
I’m a trained animator (BA and everything – fat lot of good it’s doing me). So, from that viewpoint, I too am disappointed that this film is neither 2D nor a 2D/3D combo. I would have liked to have seen them go out on a bit more of a limb, pushing the boundaries and all that. I feel like, unless you’re Pixar, in which somehow almost everything you touch turns to awesome, 3D is just becoming stagnant.
That said, I think some of the artwork for the movie is absolutely stunning, and I’m actually fond of Rapunzel’s design: she’s not classically pretty, kind of awkward, very cute. And the layouts are freaking amazing. Some beautiful use of colour and lighting.
I understand the thing about targeting boys. Pixar’s movies are traditionally male “buddy” films, with one token female character and Disney’s tend (not the rule, but the tendency) to be the other way around. The thing is (sweeping generalition ahead, you’re warned) I think girls are more likely to go see a male dominated movie and enjoy it, whereas boys maybe aren’t so inclined to go watch something with a pink-clad princess singing songs and brushing her hair.
But then, of course, the draw of Pixar’s films is more that they’re brilliant then that they’re targeted at any one audience, whereas Disney lately has been fairly mediocre. So they should probably stop worrying so much about marketing and just focus more on making a movie that’s so good people have to go see it, male or female.
Personally, I love Cheno, but I’m glad she’s off. She’s too familiar, and, also, I think a bit old. I mean, yeah she has the voice of a Munchkin, but you can’t hear it without picturing the actress behind it and that would be taking me out of the film every time she opened her mouth. I’d rather they’d have gotten someone other than Mandy Moore, but I’m not rabidly against the idea.
I’m thrilled that Alan Menken is back. That makes me squeal with joy. Just for that I’d see this movie, no question.
So that really long ramble to say – yes, I will be seeing the film, and I’m trying to reserve judgment until I actually do. At this point, my opinion could really go either way.
I’m also glad than Alan Menken is returning for the project, though he seems to be a lot more hit or miss than he was when he first came to Disney in the 1980s and in the decade or so that followed. Even so, I still always look forward to hearing new work from him. At this point, its probably the element of the film to which I’m most looking forward.
That it’s funny is the whole problem. It shows children that violence against men is a joke and should be laughed at. You will never see a children’s movie (and almost never any movie) in which a man roughs up a woman and it’s supposed to be hilarious. And I never said it was “demeaning.” It is disempowering.
My feelings about this:
– I’m actually glad Cheno isn’t going to do this. She seems to be everywhere these days. And I don’t see what the big deal is about Mandy Moore voicing Rapunzel. I think she’ll do fine.
– Yay Alan Menken!
– The trailer looks interesting, but it just seems like another Disney movie with a spunky princess resisting the looks of a vain prince.
– Lastly, I love the line in the trailer: Here comes the smolder *eyes smolder*.
At least it’s not in 3D.
For the most part, it’s going to be disappointing. Firstly I really don’t mind that Kristin Chenoweth is not going to be in the movie, but Mandy Moore? She’s a terrible actress! At least from what I heard from her voice acting in the first Kingdom Hearts game. And why target this movie to boys? It’s a princess movie! It makes no sense to try to target a princess movie to males – unless they’re gay but that’s not important right now. It’s a girl thing! Yeah, I watched princess movies when I was a kid but I watched for the animation and, well, the villains. But still it makes no sense! And I am sick of this CGI crap! Could you just stick with hand drawn animation? Oh right, we are living in a world where people just rely on computers for their crap. I mean the design looks great but it just isn’t the same with the CG animation.
I think that if you watch the trailer again, you’ll find that the film will be presented in 3D.