Tangled [Blu-Ray]

Because the original story of Rapunzel was somewhat flimsy and sexist, featuring a chaste, beautiful young woman with long, luxurious, feminine hair locked away from the world until a man comes and claims her, this feature-length update takes some necessary liberties. Maintaining the core idea of Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) locked away in a tower, but omitting some of the murky admonitory angst and feminine passivity associated with the Grimm fairy tale, Tangled posits her as a kidnapped princess. Taken by the wronged, cynical Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) after the King steals a flower of youth to save his pregnant wife from death, the longhaired princess remains imprisoned until her 18th birthday when Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), a thief on the run, stumbles into her tower. While feminist parables of late have typically given female characters traditionally male attributes, such as kung fu moves and a cornucopia of snarky one-liners, this CGI-animated tale of diffident dream ideation celebrates, and takes advantage of, her feminine qualities. Rapunzel often resolves conflict via open dialogue and empathy, taking Flynn's equine adversary, Max, and making him a useful ally on their journey to the palace. Similarly, her 70-feet of flowing blonde hair is made useful on their sojourn, acting as a rope in sticky scenarios and glowing whenever she sings. It's this mature and thoughtful approach to political correctness, eschewing broad archetypes by acknowledging flaws and strengths in each character, that makes this – the 50th animated feature film from Disney – stand out from their other fare as of late. What's more is that the comedy on display, such as Rapunzel's manic internal conflict when she first leaves the tower and Flynn's self-aware frying pan battle with a horse, is actually funny. The action sequences also prove thrilling and the core theme of fearing disappointment proves moving, making this an all-around satisfying family film. The Blu-Ray includes extended songs, deleted scenes and a terrible alternate opening, along with an "Untangled" making-of hosted by Moore and Levi, which integrates trivia and tongue-in-cheek humour with fun factoids about the movie.