Tangled

Disney returned to fairy tale roots with this 2010 animated musical, a loose adaptation of the Brothers Grimm story about a girl with enchanted hair. Mandy Moore voices Rapunzel, a spirited teenager held captive in a tower by Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), who uses the girl's magical locks to stay young. Zachary Levi brings roguish charm to Flynn Rider, a wanted thief who becomes Rapunzel's ticket out. Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, the film cost a staggering $260 million to produce, making it one of the most expensive animated features ever. It paid off with a global box office of $592 million and earned strong reviews, with a 7.6 rating from over 12,000 votes. Mixing hand-drawn aesthetics with computer animation, Tangled became a cornerstone of the Disney Renaissance revival and launched a franchise spanning a TV series and shorts.

The animation team spent years developing the realistic movement and physics of Rapunzel's 70-foot-long hair, which contains over 100,000 individual strands. The film's title was changed from Rapunzel to Tangled to appeal to a broader audience and avoid the perception of it being solely a princess movie. Alan Menken composed the score, with lyrics by Glenn Slater, producing songs like I See the Light and Mother Knows Best.[edit]

Rapunzel, an eighteen-year-old girl with magical golden hair that can heal and restore youth, has spent her entire life locked in a remote tower. Her only companion is a chameleon named Pascal. Mother Gothel, a vain woman who kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby, raises her as a daughter, telling her the outside world is full of dangers. Gothel uses Rapunzel's hair to maintain her own youth, cutting small portions regularly.

Each year on her birthday, the kingdom releases floating lanterns, which Rapunzel watches from her window, calling them the Floating Lights. She dreams of seeing them up close. When a wanted thief named Flynn Rider scales the tower to escape the palace guards and the Stabbington Brothers, Rapunzel knocks him out with a frying pan. She discovers he carries a stolen crown, which she hides. She strikes a deal: Flynn will take her to see the Floating Lights in exchange for the crown.

Their journey takes them through forests and to a pub called the Snuggly Duckling, filled with ruffians who turn out to have their own dreams. The palace guards, led by the Captain of the Guard, pursue them, as do the Stabbington Brothers. Mother Gothel, furious at Rapunzel's escape, manipulates a pair of thugs to help retrieve her. Along the way, Rapunzel experiences the world for the first time, marveling at grass, flowers, and crowds. Flynn, initially selfish, begins to soften as he sees her joy. They share a romantic moment on a lagoon as the lanterns rise, singing I See the Light.

Gothel, pretending to be a concerned mother, convinces Rapunzel that Flynn only wants the crown and that she should return home. Heartbroken, Rapunzel agrees to go back, but not before fulfilling her promise to give Flynn the crown. She meets Flynn and the Stabbington Brothers, but Gothel intervenes, framing Flynn for kidnapping and handing him to the guards. Gothel then takes Rapunzel back to the tower, revealing that she is the lost princess of the kingdom. Rapunzel, now knowing the truth, resolves to escape.[edit]