Tangled!!!!

Alright, you have all probably heard me say great things about the movie Tangled and you have probably heard me express how adamantly I enjoy watching it, again and again.....and again. Hee hee. So, since I have expressed such admiration for it, Mom suggested I write a review on it. If you haven't seen it yet, PLEASE don't read this unless you need a reason or two - or lots! - to watch it. If so, I hope I can provide them! 

First, let's look at some of the negatives in the movie.

Well, there's the obvious: Rapunzel disobeys her mother by leaving the tower. Though this may not have really been necessary as part of the plot, it does add a some excitement to the story.
Another issue was when Flynn took Rapunzel into the bar. Of course, in the movie it is presented as a very humorous and obstreperous way, this really was an awful place to bring her, filled with many risks. This isn't to say the producers shouldn't have had this in the movie, it's just something to take into account and think about.

Now, I couldn't think of many other substantial negatives. So, let's happily move onto the positives! (Chuckle, chuckle.)

First, you meet Rapunzel. From the get go, you can clearly see she is a bright and innocent yet sheltered young lady with good sense and excellent qualities in character. The joy that she has simply because she loves life is continuously evident even through hard times and despite the fact that she has always wanted to go see the world but has always had to 'stay in the tower.' This joy is shown quite clearly in the eagerness she has when completing her daily chores and when she goes about the few other things she has to occupy her daily life - which seem limited in their variation.

 Next comes Flynn. He obviously has some issues, but you can tell he has a good heart. He makes an agreement with Rapunzel but not altogether willingly. After attempting a few times to extricate himself from the situation without much confrontation and without much success, he goes along with it. It is clear that in comparison to Rapunzel, Flynn is much less naive in the ways of the world, but that does not mean he is not innocent. Rapunzel is naive but not immature. They each are very innocent in different ways. Flynn doesn't seem to be a robber for the sake of robbing, but rather because of the image that he wants others to have of him - a rather boyish image. And he learns from Rapunzel later in the movie that the image of goodness is a far greater and is much more fulfilling than he had before realized.
Flynn is not only a handsome young fellow, but he's a real man! Many of the movies made these days have guys who are, in at least some ways, feminized. Flynn certainly isn't. Compared with some of the other characters in the movie, he is not the biggest or strongest, but it is clear that he is a man in everything he does. He is capable, he has a natural desire to protect Rapunzel,......

Not only are these main Characters themselves very wholesome and real but many of their actions are realistic and good.

As the two of them go on their journey, get to know each other and meet the other characters along the way, Flynn realizes and appreciates how innocent and pure Rapunzel truly is and how she is such a good person. It is this goodness in her that he is truly attracted to - but let's not disregard her good looks - those help, too. The producers of this movie did an excellent job of demonstrating the evil in the movie and yet maintaining it's innocence. The two brothers who are out to ring Flynn's neck are clearly different from the kind of man Flynn is himself. Though it is astounding that Rapunzel could learn how to be such a good person when she had been raised by such a selfish person as Gothel, she is all the more admirable because of it.

The movie also has a lot of symbolism in it. For instance, when both Flynn and Rapunzel are in the boat and lift the two lanterns together, I immediately saw and was quite astonished to realize that symbolism - they didn't lift one at the same time, they lifted two. To me it was clearly symbolic to an unmarried couple - and they weren't married...yet.
 Again, especially at this part, it is so clear that Flynn is not watching Rapunzel simply because she is a girl, but because of the goodness of her person.

As the movie progresses, you really start to see Flynn for what he really is - a good pure soul who can recognize and admire goodness in others. As my Uncle John VanHeche says, after Gothel stabs him and he struggles to keep Rapunzel from healing him by giving up her freedom, Flynn's action of cutting her hair thereby releasing her from her promise without breaking it, and giving up his own life for her freedom is very Christ-like. Christ died on the cross for our freedom. Flynn died for the freedom of the one he loved.

The goodness in them both shine the most clearly in that scene. He dies for her freedom by the hand of Gothel. And Rapunzel, after finding out that Gothel was not her true mother, that she had stolen her from the life and family she should have had, that she had protected her from the world not for Rapunzel's better interest but for her own, and even after she was responsible for killing the one she loved, the remorse, compassion and love she still felt in spite of all Gotham had done, is evident in Rapunzel's face and actions as Gothel fell out the tower and plunged to the ground.

And another BEST part is that they get married in the end! How often do Walt Disney movies have that? Not very! Truly, this may be one of the best movies I have every seen. It certainly is one of my FAVORITES! And it certainly is one of the BEST ones that Walt Disney has EVER, EVER, EVER, produced!