Tangled (formerly Rapunzel) Discussion - Part II

[Elladorine]

Just found an early review of Tangled, so I guess ****SPOILER ALERT****:

*snip*

I'm excited for this and this does make me more excited, I'm just surprised at how little is done.

Thanks for posting! Still can't wait for this.

[DisneyFan09]

Just found an early review of Tangled, so I guess ****SPOILER ALERT****:

http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T- ... -1.asp?C=1

Topic: I just saw Tangled! Stop worrying. It's good.

Through the auspices of an alert friend and some good luck, I got to attend a test screening of Tangled this evening in Ontario, CA. (Cue Disney internet monitoring types: "OMG ... who the Helen of Troy let mawnck in to the test screening?" followed by an exhaustive dig through the comment sheets to see if they can figure out which one's me. Pbbbbbbbt.)

They told us that our screening and another one earlier in the evening were the first public showings ever, so we felt pretty special. Even saw John Lasseter his self in the audience gauging the reaction.

Very little of Tangled is finished - about 11% according to our MC, and I doubt it was even that much. There was quite a bit of rough computer animation and quite a bit more still storyboard drawings. Therefore I can't say much about the overall look of the flick other than they're off to a swell start.

It's an action/romance/fairy tale/comedy/musical, with none of those elements overpowering or taking away from the others. For a bit of spiciness, there's an enjoyably disturbing dose of psychodrama in the relationship between Rapunzel and her stepmom Madame Gothel*.

(*I'm horrible with names, and am taking Wikipedia's word for it that Madame Gothel is correct. If it isn't, it's all Wikipedia's fault.)

Miss R doesn't hang out in the tower for too long - it's mostly her and Flynn (who is a wanted criminal with lots of folks after him for assorted reasons) having adventures and falling in looooooove and meeting plenty of interesting people, while trying to avoid Madame G's evil schemes to get R back in the tower.

Even in this rough form, it is a VERY entertaining movie, and the audience was laughing their butts off at the gags (even the ones still on storyboard) and was very engrossed in the exciting stuff - with the exception of one rather flimsy action sequence which I have a funny hunch is going to be a bit different in the finished product, assuming they really do read the comment sheets.

There are some GORGEOUS set-pieces in the works. We had to use our imaginations, but we could tell where they were going. They're gonna be stunning, especially this one thing near the end that I refuse to spoil for you.

Those who were disappointed in the musical numbers in The Princess and the Frog ... Get ready, cause they're about to make it up to you. WONDERFUL songs. At least two of them are Oscar worthy IMHO. One in particular, which involves a tavern full of assorted dangerous scoundrel-types singing about their secret dreams in life, has the potential to be a personal favorite of mine, not to mention a stone-cold classic. It is hee-larious!

If there's one complaint I have, it's that once again there's a cloud of deja vu hanging over the proceedings. Other than the vibe between Rapunzel and Madame Gothel, there's no new ground here ... it's all just a wonderfully-constructed revisiting of the old ground.

The gags are great, the songs are great, the music is great. But if you're over the age of, say, 11, there will be few moments in the movie where you will be on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next. You've seen it all before. Lots of times.

It's particularly hard to ignore the Ariel resemblance in Rapunzel. She practically IS Ariel, albeit a bit more loopy and caffeinated. With more hair and less fins. Perhaps when the movie is finished the visuals will help set her apart. She certainly is a big-eyed cutie in the few completed scenes.

Disney animation buffs will notice many other characters and situations in Tangled that have obvious antecedents in the Disney catalog. Some are pretty flagrant.

Regardless of all that, it is a crowd-pleaser, fun for all ages and all sexes (yes, boys too, so FORCE them to go see it), lots of laughs, wonderful music, and potentially fabulous art direction. I absolutely can't wait to see the finished product.

Especially where in the heck they're going to put all that dang hair in each scene.

I'm excited for this and this does make me more excited, I'm just surprised at how little is done.

Thanks so much for sharing, now I'm even more excited for this movie.

[PatrickvD]

This confirms it for me: the music will kick butt. Big time. And elevate the movie. Thanks for sharing!

[Super Aurora]

I'm very intrigue of that scoundrel filled tavern singing sequence.

[Margos]

Squee! I'm so excited now! I really don't even mind that it's sort of a rehash... It seems like too much fun to matter! And having another great soundtrack is sooo much to look forward to! And it seems like an aesthetic pleaser, too. And if even the gags are good... Well, we have a winner on our hands!

[DisneyJedi]

*Off-topic*

Well, I loved The Princess and the Frog and still do. Sure it wasn't the moneymaker that Disney- let alone everyone else- was hoping it would be. But it still made money nevertheless, more than Disney's last three hand-drawn movies ever made. No, Enchanted does not count. Besides, TPatF showed everyone that hand-drawn animation still has a place in the world. And besides, I loved all the characters and music. And if you don't like Randy Newman's music, then boo to you.

Hopefully, if Tangled's gross is as Disney expects, I just hope that doesn't show that hand-drawn has no place in the world.

*On-topic*

Well, it's nice to hear that someone liked the preview screening.

And who wouldn't love the music? It's freakin' Alan Menken who's at the helm, the same guy behind the music for Little Shop of Horrors (even though it's not really a Disney movie), The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules and Enchanted.

[DisneyFan09]

*Off-topic*

Well, I loved The Princess and the Frog and still do. Sure it wasn't the moneymaker that Disney- let alone everyone else- was hoping it would be. But it still made money nevertheless, more than Disney's last three hand-drawn movies ever made. No, Enchanted does not count. Besides, TPatF showed everyone that hand-drawn animation still has a place in the world. And besides, I loved all the characters and music. And if you don't like Randy Newman's music, then boo to you.

Hopefully, if Tangled's gross is as Disney expects, I just hope that doesn't show that hand-drawn has no place in the world.

*On-topic*

Well, it's nice to hear that someone liked the preview screening.

And who wouldn't love the music? It's freakin' Alan Menken who's at the helm, the same guy behind the music for Little Shop of Horrors (even though it's not really a Disney movie), The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules and Enchanted.

I'm glad over this positive preview, too.

Don't forget "Home on the Range". Alan Menken did the score on that flick, too.

[Old Fish Tale]

11%? I'm worried...

[robster16]

11%? I'm worried...

Hmm, 11% rendered, that doesn't say THAT much. If it had said 11% animated then yeah, I'd be worried as well, but since it says that there was a lot of rough animation I'm confident they'll make the deadline!

And since the review is really positive I'm also really hyped and excited! Sounds awesome to me and I can't wait for the trailer now.

[robster16]

some more comments from the original poster at the original blog:


In regards to the credits and the role of Glen Keane in the movie:

That I don't know. The version we saw had no credits. The designs of R and F have been adjusted somewhat from what we've been seeing in the leaked clips and artwork, and they seem to have abandoned plans to give it a 2D look.

Regarding the songs in the movie:

Definitely Broadway style. Right down the Mermaid/Aladdin/B&tB alley.

I wasn't as focused on the songs as I was trying to imagine what the visuals were going to look like when they were finished, but I do remember that I thought they were all very strong.

There was a bit of a sense of "stop story here, time for a song" to a couple of them, but in each case (1) it turned out the song pushed the story forward after all and (2) the songs and visuals - even in the state they were in - were so entertaining that you got over it pretty quick anyway.

I believe I counted 5 or 6 songs (there were also partial songs, reprises, that sort of thing). Most were in the first half of the movie. A couple of ballads, the villain number, the thing in the tavern, and I'm sure I'm missing a couple others. It was a lot to take in, and I didn't have a notepad.

Madame Gothel has a great song. I believe it was called Mommy Knows Best. She sings it to R in the tower mostly against a black background, while scaring the poor kid half to death with various spooky shadows and props and such.

I don't know if I'd put this stuff up there with Howard Ashman. But if it's the songs you're looking forward to, I think you'll be pleased.

[UmbrellaFish]

I can't wait for the soundtrack!

[Disney's Divinity]

I hate Menken for making me want to sell-out and see this movie. Gothel sounds incredible. And I knew she would. Why couldn't this have been 2D? *sobs*

[akhenaten]

they abandoned the 2d look? nooooooooo (

[KennethE]

some more comments from the original poster at the original blog:


In regards to the credits and the role of Glen Keane in the movie:

That I don't know. The version we saw had no credits. The designs of R and F have been adjusted somewhat from what we've been seeing in the leaked clips and artwork, and they seem to have abandoned plans to give it a 2D look.

It would be a shame if this news were true. However, I am somewhat skeptical.

While the few movie stills we've seen do not exactly resemble Little Mermaid or Snow White, it DOES utilize techniques to achieve a traditional, aesthetical feel common to cell animation. (For example, Rapunzel's flowing hair is not photorealistic, shiny and stringy like, let's say, Violet Parr in the Incredibles. Rapunzel's skin also has soft tones.)

Glen Keane is still in charge of animation style. From the beginning, he wanted to push the medium to new limits. If this blog's news is correct, than does this indicate that the challenge was too daunting (or expensive?).

[singerguy04]

How would this person be able to tell if they had abandoned the 2D look after only seeing about 11% of it completed?l

[SWillie!]

How would this person be able to tell if they had abandoned the 2D look after only seeing about 11% of it completed?l

Well, if one finished frame was leaked tomorrow, everyone on this board would be declaring that "they captured the 2D feeling perfectly!" or that "they look like they totally gave up on the whole 2D thing!!" And that's with a single frame.

This guy, assuming that this is legit, which I believe it is, has seen roughly ten whole minutes of finished footage. Much more that any of us can say. And so, I think out of anyone that has commented online about it thus far, he is our best bet.

That said, I really hope he's wrong.

[singerguy04]

How would this person be able to tell if they had abandoned the 2D look after only seeing about 11% of it completed?l

Well, if one finished frame was leaked tomorrow, everyone on this board would be declaring that "they captured the 2D feeling perfectly!" or that "they look like they totally gave up on the whole 2D thing!!" And that's with a single frame.

This guy, assuming that this is legit, which I believe it is, has seen roughly ten whole minutes of finished footage. Much more that any of us can say. And so, I think out of anyone that has commented online about it thus far, he is our best bet.

That said, I really hope he's wrong.

If they released a pic tomorrow and people jumped the gun on it like that I'd say the same thing to them

Overall, I'm happy to hear that this person enjoyed what they saw but as always I'll wait to see the film myself. Beyond that just because he saw all together about 10 mins of finished footage, I doubt it was a solid 10 mins where he could make a final call about anything lol.

Mostly I'm just reminding everyone to wait for the trailer to see for themselves instead of freaking out that Disney may have dropped the 2D concept.

[PatrickvD]

oh God not this 2d versus 3d debate again.

The films is CGI... CGI.... you see? CGI = Computer Generated Imagery

The only difference is that they've tried to make the animation lush and rich instead of cold and distant. It's never going to look like Snow White. That clip of the tower that we've seen is exactly what the entire movie will be like

[Prince Kido]

Ahhhh!!! At least there are some smart people there!
Thanks Patrickvd, I couldn't say it better and I can tell you you are right.
Believe me....

[PatrickvD]

Ahhhh!!! At least there are some smart people there!
Thanks Patrickvd, I couldn't say it better and I can tell you you are right.
Believe me....

thank you