Tangled (2010)

A small part of me, an over-critical intellectual that's always craving for new and bold ways to tell a story, wishes to rant on this latest Disney Princess fairy tale and complain of their surrender to a formula that's all-too-familiar.  But I won't because the rest of me loves this movie.  It's a great time at the movies for everyone, even those without children.  Disney knows how to tell a fairy tale and while the Princess concept is old fashion, the hopeless romantic in me shrugs it off and doesn't care.  With a style all its own, humor that's genuine and hip without getting into too many cultural references that most bad animated movies depend on, Tangled is the story of Rapunzel, music by Alan Menken (as usual) and animation that's as fun to watch as anything Pixar has done (maybe that's because John Lasseter was the executive producer; you think?).  What I especially loved was how they blended the classic hand-drawn look of older Disney movies (think Beauty and the Beast) with the more modern computer generated films of today (think The Incredibles).  Each song was memorable and helped expand on the story.  Each character, while from the same cookie-cutter school of Disney character types, was believable and enduring.  I really cared about these characters and hoped that they succeeded.  I even have to admit that its end surprised me.  I don't know if this is Disney's last Princess flick or a beginning to a new Renaissance but if they can recreate the magic this film inspires I'm more than welcome for more of the same.  Grade A-