A Splash of Red

Yep, that's right... I fell for the smolder. And who wouldn't might I ask??? Who could resist the superhuman good looks and the selfless act of heroism??? Nobody. Throw in a damsel in distress, her pet chameleon, lovable singing thugs, and floating lanterns and you have the recipe for a perfect movie!!! :D

"Here comes the Smolder."

Now, there are some people that dislike certain elements in the story... Namely, the fact that Rapunzel leaves the tower against the clear order from her mother never to do so. Her "rebellion" in a word. Well, I don't have any problem with it and here is why: her "mother" was evil!!! What would you have rather her done??? Stay in the tower all her life and be used by Mother Gothel forever??? No!!! She thought for herself instead of blindly obeying.

Now from a more Biblical perspective, my point is this: the Bible does say that we are supposed to obey our God given authorities. But when our authorities step away from what is Biblical are we still obligated to obey them??? The examples of Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego say no. I think it is safe to say that Mother Gothel was telling Rapunzel to stay completely for reasons far from what would be considered right thus relieving Rapunzel of any obligation to obey her (apart from the fact that she wasn't really her daughter anyway).

"Should I? No. Here I go."

Now, there are some people that agree with the points I have made so far... But then they point out that yes, Mother Gothel was evil and just using Rapunzel, but she didn't know that when she left... That her intentions were the same of any other modern-day rebellious teen. Well, it is true that she didn't know her "mother" wasn't really her mother. But she felt that it was the right thing for her to do to go see the lanterns... She didn't understand why, but she did what she thought was right... And look what happened.

How many of us understand the full extent of what we felt called to do??? We don't most of the time... but we are not called to understand... we are called to trust and obey.

My sister Kaitlyn had another more humorous point. The King and Queen had the lantern ceremony "In hopes that one day, their lost Princess would return"... They were beckoning to Rapunzel... So she was actually obeying her real parents when she left the tower... Subconsciously... :)

Bottom line: As adults, we are supposed to honor and respect our authorities... Not blindly obey.

Now that I am through with my rant, I can talk about the actual movie!!! :D

When I first saw trailers for Tangled, I was not all that impressed. It looked like another Disney movie with an airhead prince and a strong female lead. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with a strong female lead, but you combine that with a dumb guy and try to make a traditional princess movie, it just doesn't work. So I wasn't expecting much when I went to see it in the theater. And maybe that is why I loved it so much... because I didn't have super high expectations and therefore wasn't disappointed. Whatever the reason, I came away from that theater with a new favorite movie. The lantern scene was especially epic on the big screen. The build-up, the music, the wonderful animation... it was breathtaking. I had goosebumps. I don't think they could have done a better job. Except maybe if it had been Eugene that had swung Rapunzel down and kissed her instead of Rapunzel swinging him down... Cause, for real, a girl can't hold a guy like that... They are too heavy. :)

Flynn/Eugene

Flynn is my favorite character... If I were a cartoon, I would marry him... :) Superhuman good looks, an amazing voice, a great sense of humor, and an epic act of heroism make him the most perfect Disney hero to date... Who needs Prince Charming who does nothing for Cinderella except send his Duke to look for her??? Or Eric who allows himself to be put under a spell and almost marries someone besides Ariel??? I will take Eugene Fitzherbert who cunningly escapes from the palace prison, races to the rescue atop his noble steed, and then gives his life to let Rapunzel live free from the cruel devices of Mother Gothel any day.

Rapunzel

"I will use this."

The sheltered young woman... The damsel in distress... The girl with the frying pan... A good Disney princess movie is reliant on one thing: It's Princess. She must be likable, yet grow throughout the movie... She must have a good voice and possess that necessary talent of coming up with great songs on the spot... And she must have great hair (all Disney Princesses have amazing hair... It's just not fair :P). I think Rapunzel more than meets all of these requirements. And on top of all that, she gives a nod to barefootedness... :)

Mother Gothel

"She sings to it, she turns young. Creepy, right???"

"Skip the drama, stay with mama."

Well, creepy is the word I would use to describe Mother Gothel. While she does appear to love Rapunzel, you, as the viewer, can see through the thin shroud of affection to the dark selfish motives beneath and discern that Mother Gothel is just a wicked old hag in a creepily youthful body. When I first saw the movie, the "Mother Knows Best" song particularly struck me as creepy. And then the end when she, well, dies was an equally creepy part. Yup, everything about Mother Gothel is just creepy.

Maximus

Every Disney movie must have lovable animals who can at least convey their thoughts if not speak out loud. Maximus is... passionate. Passionate about what he does. He doesn't want to see the bad guy get away... but he is not unreasonable. When Rapunzel asks him to give him another 24 hours so Eugene can finish out his end of the deal, Max is willing to compromise. He nobly concedes to the lady. And he also has a wonderful sense of humor. Nothing wins over a crowd like a few well timed shoves to get the guy to bump into the girl... :)

Pascal

"Pascal... Never changed."

Every Disney Princess must have a pet of some kind. Whether it is talking mice, a squirrel, a bird, or other variety of forest creatures, the heroine is just enable to achieve the same levity with the audience if she doesn't have one of the above mentioned pets. And there has never been a chameleon before so what the heck, they gave her a pet chameleon. While he can't talk, he, like Max, can apparently understand English and can get his response across with expressive hand gestures. Overall, a very cute addition... :)

What more is there to say??? I love the movie... I think it is perfect. I watch it at least once a week. :)
There are these really neat things called screen caps which is, like, the movie in pictures... I went on fanpop for mine... So I am going to put a bunch of pictures of my favorite scenes that I couldn't otherwise fit into my post... :)

"What she doesn't know won't kill her, right???"