Tangled

Plot

A drop of sunlight falls from the sky and produces a magic flower with healing properties. For centuries, Gothel uses the flower to retain her youth, until it is taken by soldiers from the kingdom of Corona and used to save their ill, pregnant queen. She gives birth to Rapunzel, whose blonde hair contains the flower's magic. At night Gothel sneaks into the castle and cuts a lock of her hair, but it turns brown and loses its magic. She then abducts Rapunzel and raises her in a hidden tower in the woods, keeping Rapunzel's magic for herself. Each year on Rapunzel's birthday, the king and queen release sky lanterns, hoping they will guide Rapunzel home. Unaware of her royal identity, Rapunzel grows up isolated from the kingdom, believing the tower to be her only safe home.

Growing up, Rapunzel is fascinated by the annual lights, and on her 18th birthday, asks to leave the tower and investigate them, but Gothel refuses, claiming the outside world is too dangerous. Meanwhile, Flynn Rider steals the lost princesses crown from the palace; betrays the Stabbington brothers, his partners-in-crime, and gets pursued by royal guard-horse Maximus. Flynn discovers and takes refuge in Rapunzels tower, where she knocks him out and hides him. When Gothel berates Rapunzel for mentioning the lanterns again and refuses to let her ever leave the tower, Rapunzel hatches a new plan and asks Gothel for new paint as a gift, sending her on a three-day journey. After hiding Flynn's satchel containing the crown, Rapunzel strikes a deal with Flynn, promising to return the crown in exchange for taking her to see the lanterns.

Outdoors for the first time since infancy, Rapunzel experiences conflicting feelings of excitement and guilt. Flynn takes Rapunzel to the Snuggly Duckling pub, where thugs try to capture the wanted Flynn, but Rapunzel charms them into revealing their softer sides. When royal guards arrive, the thugs help Rapunzel and Flynn escape. Flynn and Rapunzel become trapped in a fast-flooded cave; believing they will suffocate, Flynn reveals his true name, Eugene Fitzherbert. Rapunzel uses the magic glow of her hair to reveal a hidden underwater exit, and they escape. Meanwhile, Gothel returns to the empty tower and finds the satchel with the crown and a wanted poster of Eugene. Inspired by the discovery, Gothel finds the Stabbington brothers and strikes a deal with them to find Rapunzel. That night, Gothel confronts Rapunzel alone and gives her the satchel, telling her to give it to Eugene to test his loyalty.

The next morning, Maximus tracks down Eugene and attempts to arrest him, but Rapunzel convinces them to strike a truce. Rapunzel and Eugene enter the kingdom and attend a festival in honor of the "lost princess". After a day of celebration, they sail onto the lake to watch the release of the lanterns. Rapunzel gives Eugene the crown, and they confess their mutual love. When Eugene sees the Stabbingtons on the shore, he goes to apologize and offers them the crown. The brothers tie him up, tricking Rapunzel into thinking he abandoned her. They try to capture Rapunzel, but Gothel stages a rescue by knocking them out and takes Rapunzel back to the tower.

Eugene is arrested, but Maximus and the pub thugs help him escape. Meanwhile, Rapunzel realizes she has subconsciously incorporated the kingdom's standard, a golden sun, into her artwork throughout her life. Realizing that she is the "lost princess", Rapunzel confronts and disowns Gothel. Since Gothel cannot fake her love for Rapunzel anymore, she reveals her true self. Eugene arrives at the tower, but is tricked and impaled by Gothel with her dagger. Gothel attempts to take the chained and gagged Rapunzel away, but Rapunzel promises she will never stop defying Gothel and attempting to escape, unless Gothel allows her to heal the dying Eugene. Gothel reluctantly agrees, but Eugene, realizing Rapunzel would spend the rest of her life in captivity, cuts off her long hair before she can heal him. Rapunzel's hair turns brown, and a horrified Gothel suddenly ages rapidly before falling from the tower to her death, turning to dust in the process, while Eugene dies in Rapunzel's arms. Rapunzel mourns Eugene, but one of her tears, which still has some of the flower's magic, revives him.

Rapunzel and Eugene return to Corona, where Rapunzel is reunited with her birth parents, Eugene is pardoned for his crimes, and the kingdom celebrates. Rapunzel and Eugene eventually marry.

Voice cast

Main article: List of Disney's Tangled characters

• Mandy Moore – Rapunzel
  • Delaney Rose Stein – young Rapunzel
• Zachary Levi – Eugene "Flynn Rider" Fitzherbert
• Donna Murphy – Mother Gothel
• Brad Garrett – Hook Hand Thug
• Ron Perlman – Stabbington Brother
• Jeffrey Tambor – Big Nose Thug
• Richard Kiel – Vlad
• M. C. Gainey – Captain of the Guard
• Paul F. Tompkins – Short Thug

Non-speaking animal characters include Rapunzel's pet chameleon Pascal, and Maximus, the horse of the head of the palace guard. Other non-speaking roles include Rapunzel's parents (the Queen and King of Corona), the other Stabbington brother, and Ulf the Mime Thug.

Production

Origins and conception

Walt Disney himself had first attempted to adapt the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Rapunzel into a feature-length animated film during the 1930s and 1940s, but Disney's efforts never fully materialized because the original story was considered too "small". The concept behind Tangled originated from The Walt Disney Company supervising animator Glen Keane in 1996. In 2001, Keane pitched the idea to then–Disney CEO Michael Eisner who approved it, but requested the film to be computer-animated. However, Keane was hesitant as he felt computer animation was not quite as fluid or organic as traditional animation was. In October 2003, the film was announced as Rapunzel Unbraided as a computer-animated feature scheduled for a 2007 release, which Keane described as "a Shrek-like version of the film". According to Ed Catmull, Eisner himself had proposed using modern-day San Francisco as the initial setting of the film. The story initially centered on two teenagers, Claire and Vince, who live in San Francisco and are transported into the fairy tale world, where they inhabit the bodies of Rapunzel and her prince Beau. Rapunzel and Beau themselves are turned into a squirrel and a dog. In July 2004, Reese Witherspoon and Kristin Chenoweth were in talks to portray roles, with the latter intended to voice Rapunzel. In October 2005, Dan Fogler was slated to provide a voice.

In reflection, Keane said of the original plot, "It was a fun, wonderful, witty version and we had a couple of great writers. But in my heart of hearts I believed there was something much more sincere and genuine to get out of the story, so we set it aside and went back to the roots of the original fairy tale." In November 2005, Unbraided was pushed back to a summer 2009 release in order to give Keane "more time to work on the story." In January 2006, the film was then shut down about a week before Catmull and John Lasseter were placed in charge of the studio, and one of their first decisions was to restart the project and ask Keane to keep going with the film.

On October 9, 2008, it was reported that Keane and Wellins had stepped down as directors due to other commitments, and were replaced by the team of Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, director and storyboard director, respectively, of Disney's 2008 animated feature Bolt. Keane stayed on as an executive producer and animation supervisor, while Wellins moved on to direct Tick Tock Tale (2010). After the film's release, Keane revealed that he had "stepped back" from the role of director because of a heart attack in 2008.

Casting

The directors auditioned hundreds of young actresses to find Rapunzel's voice, among them were Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, but both were rejected for not sounding right.

On September 10, 2009, it was announced that actress and singer-songwriter Mandy Moore, who previously collaborated with Disney on Disneytoon Studios' Brother Bear 2, had been cast as the voice of Rapunzel, and actor Zachary Levi would provide the voice of Flynn Rider. For the role of Flynn, the studio mandated exclusively only UK actors to audition for the part, as Rider was intended to be British. An American, Zachary Levi, impersonated a British Received Pronunciation (RP) accent to audition, leading the producers to opt for him to use his natural American accent. Mandy Moore approached the project through auditioning, when she heard that a film about the story of Rapunzel was being made. Moore later expressed that she had dreamed to be a Disney princess since she was young and said that with the role of Rapunzel, she had fulfilled her "ultimate childhood dream". She described herself as a "girly fan" of Disney animated films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, and that it was an honor for her to be part of this "legacy"—the lineage of such Disney icons. Since the film was going to be a musical, it was required that all auditionees had to read several scenes and perform a song of their choice, to ensure that the voice actors could both act and sing. For this singing section, Moore chose "Help Me" by Joni Mitchell, a song that she herself had covered on her fourth studio album, Coverage (2003). Moore revealed that she had to attend several audition sessions and described the experiences as "pretty fun" but didn't put much hope in getting the part because she believed there would be much competition for this role; she just performed her best without any anxiety. When she received a callback from Disney telling that she got the part, Moore described herself as being "over the moon": "I was working in New York at the time. I was with some friends and my husband—and I screamed as soon as I found out the news."

The film reportedly cost more than $260 million to produce.

Writing and character development

When asked about the character of Rapunzel, Mandy Moore said that Rapunzel was a relatable character and called her a "Renaissance, bohemian" woman rather than a typical Disney princess: Moore said "[Rapunzel] doesn't know she's a princess [until the end of the film]. She's just really sort of motivated to find out what else is out there beyond this crazy tower she's lived in for 18 years," and that "she's very independent, she can take care of herself, and she's definitely come up with really entertaining ways to keep herself busy." Moore also stated that she herself had little influence on Rapunzel: "The character was developed way before I had anything to do with it."

According to Greno, one of the most difficult problems during the development of the film's plot was how to get Rapunzel out of the tower without immediately ending the movie, in that she had thereby escaped Mother Gothel and did not have any other specific objectives to pursue. At a meeting one day, animator John Ripa floated an idea which turned out to be the solution they had been looking for: the mysterious floating lanterns.

Recording

In Tangled, as with most animated films, all voice actors had to record their dialogue separately from one another to avoid bleeding into each other's tracks. Mandy Moore later recalled that during recording, she had never met Donna Murphy and only met Zachary Levi once when they recorded "I See the Light". Moore thought that this was "a good exercise in employing your imagination". When recording action scenes, the voice actors had to jog a little in place in order to make their voices sound realistic. For the songs, Moore and Levi recorded on a soundstage with a 65-piece orchestra under the supervision of composer Alan Menken. They sang live with the orchestra for several times in order to help everyone "get a vibe" and a feel for the music and the singing, then were asked to go in isolation booths to record the actual tracks. In order to aid animators in animating the characters, the filmmakers did interviews with the voice actors and filmed their facial expressions throughout the recording sessions. Disney animated films are usually animated to synchronize with recorded dialogue rather than asking the vocal talent to synchronize their delivery to animation after it is rendered. Thus, Moore felt that the recording process was challenging because at that time she had no animation to look at except for a few sketches.

Due to scheduling conflicts with other projects (Moore had to travel to different places such as London or New York, and Levi could only record on weekends for five hours once every six weeks), they did not record dialogue in the same order as in the final film. "[When I came in], maybe that sequence or scene had been recorded by Mandy (Moore) already, maybe it hadn't. We'd end up doing the same scene five times, depending," Levi said. After watching the finished film, Moore was disappointed because she felt that her voice sounded "shrill", while Levi thought that his performance sounded "incredibly nasally".

Animation

The film was made using computer-generated imagery (CGI), although Tangled was modeled on the traditional look of oil paintings on canvas. The Rococo paintings of French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard, particularly The Swing, were used as references for the film's artistic style, a style described by Keane as "romantic and lush." To create the impression of a painting, non-photorealistic rendering was used.

Glen Keane originally wanted the film to be animated using a traditional 2D animation process. However, Disney executives David Stainton and Dick Cook announced that they would only approve the film for production if it were created using the 3D computer graphics. In response to that demand, Glen Keane held a seminar called "The Best of Both Worlds", where he, with 50 Disney CGI artists and traditional artists, focused on the pros and cons of each style. After the meeting, it was decided that the film would be made in 3D CGI animation, but in a way as to become an extension of the traditional 2D Disney "aesthetic", a term which referred to the naturalistic animation that conforms to the fundamental principles of animation as documented by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in the book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation.

Due to limitations in computer technology, especially regarding attempts to capture the complexity of a human form, many basic principles of animation used in traditionally animated movies had been absent from earlier CGI films; but technological advancements made it easier to blend the two, combining the strengths of each style. Keane stated repeatedly he was trying to make the computer "bend its knee to the artist" instead of having the computer dictate the artistic style and look of the film.

One of the main goals of the animators was to create movement that mimicked the soft fluidity of the hand-drawn art found in older Disney animated films. Keane credited Disney 3D animator Kyle Strawitz with helping to combine CGI with the traditional hand-drawn style. "He took the house from Snow White and built it and painted it so it looked like a flat painting that suddenly started to move, and it had dimension and kept all of the soft, round curves of the brushstrokes of watercolor. Kyle helped us get that Fragonard look of that girl on the swing… We are using subsurface scattering and global illumination and all of the latest techniques to pull off convincing human characters and rich environments."

Rather than focusing on realism, the 3D team used an aesthetic approach. Robert Newman, the film's stereoscopic 3D supervisor, said that "We're using depth more artistically than ever before, and we're not as concerned with the literal transcription of depth between camera and projector as we are the interpretation of it." To do this, they used a new technique called multi-rigging, which is made up of multiple pairs of virtual cameras. Each pair is used individually on each separate element that adds depth to a scene, like background, foreground, and characters, without adjusting for the relation with the other pairs. When sandwiched together later in production, the result was something that would be visually impossible in the real world, but which created an appealing look to the film.

As a counterpart to the appealing and cute design of Rapunzel, the directors wanted to make Flynn Rider "the most handsome, most attractive male lead Disney has ever had." They held a large "Hot Man Meeting" where they gathered about 30 women from the studio and asked them what they considered attractive in a man. They brought in hundreds of images of their favourite male actors and celebrities, which were torn and pasted back again. After much deliberation, his look was eventually narrowed down to one concept drawing.

Technology development

Existing technology continued to present difficulties: in particular, animating hair turned out to be a challenge. Senior software engineer Kelly Ward spent six years writing programs to make it move the way they wanted. As late as January 2010, the directors were still not sure if the Rapunzel character's length of hair was going to work. These problems were finally solved in March: An improved version of a hair simulation program named Dynamic Wires, originally developed for Bolt, was eventually used. To make hair float believably in water, and to surmount other similar challenges, discrete differential geometry was used to produce the desired effects, freeing the animators from executing these specific tasks directly, which would have taken days instead of minutes.

Controversy over the film title change

When first put into production, the film was promoted as having the title Rapunzel Unbraided, which was later changed to Rapunzel. Disney's previous animated feature, The Princess and the Frog (2009)—while being well received by various critics —was not as successful as Disney had hoped, and Catmull later admitted in writing that Disney Animation's faith that The Princess and the Frogs excellent quality would bring in all audiences notwithstanding the word "princess" in the title was their version of "a stupid pill". In order to market the new film to both sexes and additional age groups, Disney changed the title from Rapunzel to Tangled while also emphasizing Flynn Rider, the film's prominent male character, showing that his story is just as important as that of Rapunzel. Disney was criticized for altering the title as a marketing strategy. Floyd Norman, a former Disney and Pixar animator and story artist, said, "The idea of changing the title of a classic like Rapunzel to Tangled is beyond stupid. I'm convinced they'll gain nothing from this except the public seeing Disney as desperately trying to find an audience."

Justin Chang of Variety compared it to changing the title of The Little Mermaid to Beached. Writing for the San Francisco Chronicles blog, Margot Magowan accused Disney of sexism, writing: On November 24, 2010, the day of the film's release, Greno and Howard disputed reports that the title change was a marketing decision. They said they changed the title from Rapunzel to Tangled because Rapunzel is not the only main character in the film. They went on to say that "you cannot call Toy Story "Buzz Lightyear," and they really needed a title that represented what the film is, and that it stars the duo of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

In March 2014, Lasseter explained that Disney had changed the name to improve the film's appeal to the four quadrants: "There was an audience perception that these movies were just for little girls but when boys, men, whatever actually see these movies they like them. So on Rapunzel … we changed the name and we called it Tangled. We did marketing that made the people who would not normally show up say, 'Hey, this looks pretty good.'"

Music

Main article: Tangled (soundtrack)

The musical score and soundtrack album were composed by Alan Menken with lyrics written by Glenn Slater. It marked Menken's return to scoring for animated films, after recurringly doing so for several Disney Animation films until Home on the Range (2004). As several Pixar employees, being in charge for Disney, and the sensibilities being changed, Menken thought it as his biggest creative challenge and said that, he was "finding a way that we could wed musical-theater storytelling with the Pixar style of storytelling was primary". Menken said he attempted to blend medieval music with 1960s folk rock to create the new songs and the score and soundtrack were recorded at a span of two-and-a-half years.

Several songs were written, but eventually cut from the final film; "When Will My Life Begin?" replaced an earlier version called "What More Could I Ever Need?". Menken reported that that opening number went through five or six different versions. Elsewhere, Menken reported that there was originally a love song called "You Are My Forever" that Mother Gothel sang to Rapunzel in a motherly way, but was reprised later in the film by Flynn Rider in a romantic way. This idea was apparently replaced with the two songs "Mother Knows Best" and "I See the Light". The song "Something That I Want" written and performed by Grace Potter from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is featured in the closing credits. The Latin American Spanish version of the song, titled "Algo quiero querer", was recorded by Colombian pop-singer, Fanny Lú.

The soundtrack, released on Walt Disney Records on November 16, 2010, and peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200, number 7 on the Soundtrack chart, and number 3 on the Kid Albums chart. Four years later, a double LP picture disc titled as Songs from Tangled was released on March 21, 2014.

Release

Theatrical

Tangled premiered in Paris on November 17, exclusively screening at the Grand Rex theater two weeks in advance of its French wide release. With over 3,800 tickets sold on its opening day, it set a new record for films showing in a single theater. As part of Disney's 100th anniversary, Tangled was re-released in Helios theaters across Poland on October 21, 2023.

Home media

Tangled was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment as a four-disc combo pack on March 29, 2011. The combo pack includes a Blu-ray 3D, standard Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy. A two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and single DVD are also available. Bonus features for the Blu-ray include deleted scenes, two alternate opening sequences, two extended songs, and an inside look at how the film was made. The DVD includes only the two Original Storybook Openings and the 50th Animated Feature Countdown.

Sales of Tangled in the US and Canada exceeded $95 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales, the highest-grossing DVD of the year 2011; its home video sales exceeded the film's earnings in its first week in theaters. The film sold a record 2,970,052 units (the equivalent of $44,521,079) in its first week in North America, the largest opening for a 2011 DVD. It dominated for two weeks on the DVD sales chart and sold 6,657,331 units ($102,154,692) as of July 18, 2012. It has also sold 2,518,522 Blu-ray units ($59,220,275) by May 29, 2011. As of January 20, 2016, the film has earned a total of $215 million in home video sales in the United States and Canada ($155 million from DVD sales and $60 million from Blu-ray sales).

Reception

Box office

Tangled had a worldwide opening weekend of $86.1 million, and reached the summit of the worldwide box office once, on its eleventh weekend (Feb 4–6, 2011), with $24.9 million. The film earned $200.8 million in North America, and $391.6 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $592.5 million; making it the third-highest-grossing animated film of 2010, behind Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3, and the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2010. It was the third Disney film appearing in the Top 10 films of 2010. As of 2017, it was the sixth-highest-grossing film worldwide produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind Frozen, Zootopia, The Lion King, Big Hero 6, and Moana.

Tangled earned $11.9 million on its opening Wednesday, breaking the record for the largest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening, a record previously held by Disney·Pixar's Toy Story 2. In its first weekend of release, it earned $48.8 million (the highest opening for Walt Disney Animation Studios, surpassing The Lion King ($40.9 million), and later surpassed by both Wreck-It Ralph ($49 million) and Frozen ($67.4 million)), placing second for the period behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which earned $49.1 million. Tangled had the sixth-highest opening weekend for a film that did not debut at #1. Over the traditional Wednesday–Sunday Thanksgiving holiday period, it tallied $68.7 million, again finishing in second place. Tangled also marked the second-largest 3-day and 5-day Thanksgiving opening after Toy Story 2. During its second weekend (post-Thanksgiving), Tangled declined 56% to $21.6 million, although it jumped to first place at the box office. With a final gross of $200.8 million, it is the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2010, and the tenth 2010 film to pass the $200 million mark; it was the fourth-slowest film to pass this mark. Unadjusted for inflation, it is the ninth-highest-grossing film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind The Lion King ($422.8 million), Frozen ($400.7 million), Zootopia ($341.3 million), Moana ($248.7 million), Big Hero 6 ($221.3 million), Beauty and the Beast ($219 million), Aladdin ($217.4 million), and Ralph Breaks the Internet ($201.1 million).

On its opening weekend, it earned $17.4 million in eight territories and ranked second for the weekend behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ($117.3 million). It reached first place at the weekend box office outside North America three times in 2011. It marked the seventh-highest-grossing 2010 film and the third-highest-grossing 2010 animated film. In Russia and the CIS, it set an opening-weekend record among non-sequel animated films (first surpassed by Rio) and among Walt Disney Animation Studios films (surpassed by Frozen). Its highest-grossing markets outside North America was Germany ($44.2 million), where it is the highest-grossing 2010 animated film, followed by France and the Maghreb region ($39.4 million) and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($32.9 million).

Critical response

Tangled received largely positive reviews from critics upon release. CriticsRotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of based on reviews and an average score of . The website's critical consensus is: "While far from Disney's greatest film, Tangled is a visually stunning, thoroughly entertaining addition to the studio's classic animated canon." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score based on reviews from mainstream film critics, calculated a score of 71/100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore during the opening weekend, gave the film a rare average grade "A+" on an A+ to F scale.

A. O. Scott of The New York Times positively reviewed the film as "the 50th animated feature from Disney, and its look and spirit convey a modified, updated but nonetheless sincere and unmistakable quality of old-fashioned Disneyness." Time film critic Richard Corliss wrote that Tangled "wades into the DreamWorks style of sitcom gags and anachronistic sass," while praising the film for achieving "the complex mix of romance, comedy, adventure and heart that defines the best Disney features." Corliss included Tangled at 19 in a list of top 25 All-time Best Animated films. Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times awarded the film four stars out of five; he described the film as a "gorgeous computer-animated look that features rich landscapes and characters that look fuller and more lifelike than they have in the past." Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media gave the film five out of five stars, writing, "Fantastic princess adventure is fun, with great messages." Gael Cooper of NBC News expressed that Tangled may be the best Disney film of all time.

James Berardinelli commented on his review website ReelViews that the film is "entertaining and enjoyable, but not groundbreaking." He also stated Rapunzel is "not as memorable as Snow White, Ariel, or Belle" as well as stating "the songs are neither catchy nor memorable." Todd McCarthy, film reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter opened his review with, "It would have been nice if Disney's self-touted 50th animated feature were one of its best, a film that could stand with the studio's classics, but the world will have to make do with Tangled, a passably entertaining hodgepodge of old and new animation techniques, mixed sensibilities and hedged commercial calculations."

Music

The soundtrack (particularly Menken's musical score) in general was technically praised, however the songs mostly received some mixed reactions for being quite derivative to most of Menken's previous works (particularly the 1990s renaissance ones). Bill Graham from Collider praised them for their variations to the tempo and tone, memorable lyrics, and "blending old with new," However, he also stated that "the film's constant mixture of tones can feel a bit off-putting for some." Roth Cornet from Screen Rant was positive towards them, saying that "Alan Menken's music is as catchy, uplifting and effecting as one would expect." Scott of The New York Times positively reviewed the music, saying that it "takes you back to a charmed world of swoony longing and sprightly mischief," with a slick and efficient atmosphere and grace notes of self-conscious classicism. Corliss from Time was also positive to the songs, noting that though "don't sound on first hearing like top-drawer Menken," the songs still "smoothly fill their functions." He described the opener, "When Will My Life Begin?," as the "heroine's 'I wanna' song," a Disney tradition that stretches back to Snow White's "Some Day My Prince Will Come." "I See the Light" was described as "a generically tuneful love ballad, which is sure to be nominated for a Best Song Oscar."

James Berardinelli, on the other hand, negatively commented the songs as "neither catchy nor memorable." Tim Robey from The Daily Telegraph gave a negative review, saying that they were only "OK—there's nothing you want to whistle on the way home." Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian, who gave the movie two out of five stars, described the songs as "sporting a laboured selection of Broadway-style show tunes," and hence are actually added for profit.--

Accolades

The film has been nominated for a number of awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated Tangled for two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song for "I See the Light", but lost to Toy Story 3 and Burlesque, respectively. It also received an Oscar nomination for the Best Original Song, "I See the Light". The film also received two nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association in the same categories, though lost to Toy Story 3 and 127 Hours, as well as nominations for two Annie Awards, for Best Animated Feature Film and for Writing in a Feature Production.

Tangled was also nominated for two Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards, Best Animated Film and Best Original Song for "I've Got a Dream," which it lost to Toy Story 3 and Burlesque. "I See the Light" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards, but lost to "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3. It has also been nominated for 37th Saturn Award for Best Animated Film.

Tangled won best 3D scene of the year at the second annual International 3D Society Creative Arts Awards.

Tangled was also nominated for favorite film in the British Academy Children Awards for Favourite Film, competing against films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 & 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Cars 2, and Kung Fu Panda 2.

Awards

Other media

Main article: Tangled (franchise)

Video games

Main article: Tangled: The Video Game

A video game based on the film was released on November 23, 2010, for Nintendo DS, Wii, and PC platforms by Disney Interactive Studios.

A world based on the film, Kingdom of Corona, appears in Kingdom Hearts III, released on January 29, 2019, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The story arc takes place during an alternate account of the events of the movie.

In the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, Rapunzel, Flynn, Maximus, Mother Gothel, and Pascal are playable characters, while Rapunzel's Tower and Snuggly Duckling appear as attractions. The storyline of the characters in the game follows almost the same plot as in the film.

Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Maximus, and Mother Gothel are all playable heroes in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode. The Stabbington brothers also appear in Mother Gothel's white skill.

Mother Gothel is also featured in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Short film

Main article: Tangled Ever After

Tangled Ever After is a short sequel released in 2012. The plot revolves around the wedding of Rapunzel and Eugene. Pascal and Maximus lose the wedding rings and chase after them, causing collateral damage along the way.

Manga

A manga adaptation of the film with illustrations by Shiori Kanaki was released to promote the film's Japanese release on March 25, 2011. It was later released in the United States on September 12, 2017.

''Descendants'' franchise

Main article: Descendants (franchise)

In Descendants: School of Secrets, Rapunzel and Eugene have an unnamed daughter (portrayed by Teresa Decher) that appear as a recurring character. In the novel The Isle of the Lost, Mother Gothel appear as one of the villains imprisoned in the titular isle, working as a teacher in Dragon Hall, and has a daughter named Ginny. In Descendants: Wicked World, appears Rapunzel's daughter, Ruby, although only her hair is seen. In the novel Escape from the Isle of the Lost, Eugene appears as the representative of Corona in the National Association of Far Far Away. Originally, Rapunzel was going to appear in Descendants: The Rise of Red, as a teenager named Zellie (portrayed by Sam Morelos), however, Rapunzel was eventually deleted from the final film, causing Zellie to be rewritten as a cameo character named Meadow.

Stage adaptations

An abridged stage adaptation titled Tangled: The Musical premiered on board the Disney Magic of the Disney Cruise Line in November 2015, featuring three new songs written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

In February 2024, it was reported that Disney Theatrical Group is developing a new stage adaptation of the film, with a workshop underway.

Television series

Tangled: Before Ever After, a television movie set between the feature film and the short film Tangled Ever After, aired on March 10, 2017, serving as an introduction to a continuing television series, Tangled: The Series, later renamed Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, that started airing on Disney Channel on March 24, 2017. It ran for three seasons and sixty episodes until March 2020.

Cancelled sequel

In December 2014, Tangleds producer, Roy Conli, revealed that the production team had been "heavily pushed" for a feature-length sequel to the film, but when the writers and directors got together to develop one, they realized, "she cut her hair. It's over!" Conli explained that at Disney Animation under Lasseter, it is always the filmmakers who decide whether they are ready to make a sequel (not marketing or merchandising). In January 2015, Conli again provided a similar explanation when pressed on this point, and also mentioned that directors Greno and Howard ultimately "weren't really interested" in continuing the story.

Upcoming live-action adaptation

In May 2020, Hannah Shaw-Williams of Screen Rant asked whether the success of the movie would lead to a sequel (apart from the short film Tangled Ever After), stating there is no word of it being in active development, while also stating that Disney is "developing a live-action movie about Rapunzel", and stating that it would take several years for a possible movie to reach theatres. The latter film was confirmed to be in development in December 2024, with Disney wanting Baz Luhrmann as director. Later, Michael Gracey was in talks to direct alongside Jennifer Kaytin Robinson writing the script. In April 2025, it was reported that development on the film had been halted indefinitely due to the commercial failure of Snow White (2025). In October 2025, it was reported that the live-action film entered development again following the success of Lilo & Stitch (2025) and that Scarlett Johansson was being eyed to play Mother Gothel. In December 2025, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Sarah Catherine Hook, Teagan Croft, Freya Skye, and Olivia-Mai Barrett had tested for the role of Rapunzel; while Milo Manheim, Charlie Gillespie and Gillie Jones did tests for the role of Flynn Rider; it also said that Johansson had turned down the part of Mother Gothel due to scheduling conflicts and that production is eyeing to begin in June 2026 in England and Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. On January 7, 2026, Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim were officially announced to be set to star in the film as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider respectively. The following day, Kathryn Hahn entered talks to play Mother Gothel.

Notes

References

References

1. Sciretta, Peter. (September 30, 2010). "Exclusive: International Movie Poster for Disney's Tangled". [[/Film]].
2. Barnes, Brooks. (November 19, 2010). "Disney Ties Lots of Hopes to Lots of Hair". [[The New York Times]].
3. "Tangled: 100 minutes (Starz 08/2011 Schedule, Page 4)".
4. "Tangled (2010)". [[Box Office Mojo]].
5. "Tangled (2010)". [[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]].
6. Connelly, Brendon. (September 10, 2009). "Disney Pixar Add Cast to Rapunzel, Bear & the Bow and Toy Story 3, Reveal Plot of Cars 2 and Winnie the Pooh". [[/Film]].
7. Fletcher, Alex. (September 10, 2009). "Mandy Moore to voice 'Rapunzel' musical". [[Hearst Magazines.
8. Franklin, Garth. (December 10, 2009). "Donna Murphy Joins "Rapunzel" Cast". Dark Futures Pty. Limited.
9. "Tangled {{!}} Yahoo! Movies". [[Yahoo! Inc. (1995–2017).
10. Bonanno, Luke. (March 28, 2011). "Interview: Tangled Directors Nathan Greno & Byron Howard".
11. Miraudo, Simon. (December 27, 2010). "Interview: Nathan Greno and Byron Howard; directors of Tangled.".
12. Paluso, Marianne. (March 29, 2011). "Once Upon a Time". [[Christian Today]].
13. Graham, Bill. (July 23, 2010). "SDCC 2010: Disney Animators Panel on TANGLED".
14. Orwall, Bruce. (October 23, 2003). "Disney Decides It Must Draw Artists Into the Computer Age". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
15. Wloszczyna, Susan. (September 17, 2003). "A fairy-tale bending". [[USA Today]].
16. Catmull, Ed. (2014). "Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration". Random House.
17. (July 14, 2004). "Reese Witherspoon in 'Rapunzel'". [[United Press International]].
18. Fleming, Michael. (October 18, 2005). "'Balls' bounces to Rogue". Variety.
19. Minow, Nell. "Interview: Glen Keane of 'Tangled'".
20. Marr, Merrisa. (November 7, 2005). "Debut of 'Chicken Little' Gives Disney Something to Crow Over". The Wall Street Journal.
21. (April 12, 2007). "Rapunzel Gets Second Director". The Laughing Place.
22. Desowitz, Bill. (August 20, 2010). "Wellins Talks Tick Tock Tale". Animation World Network.
23. (October 10, 2008). "Ain't It Cool News: Glen Keane leaving Disney's RAPUNZEL. Who's stepping up?". AintItCool.com.
24. Graham, Bill. (November 27, 2010). "Animation Director Glen Keane Exclusive Interview TANGLED". [[Collider (website).
25. (March 27, 2011). "Interview: 'Tangled' Directors Talk About Creating Disney's 50th Animated Feature".
26. (November 1, 2013). "Tangled – Secret Phone Recording Helped Idina Menzel Land New Disney Role". [[Contact Music]].
27. Dunaway, Michael. (December 12, 2013). "Kristen Bell: A Hollywood Princess". [[Paste (magazine).
28. Kelly, Kevin. (September 13, 2009). "Disney/Pixar's John Lasseter Talks 'Rapunzel' Casting, 'Toy Story 3' Plot, 'Cars 2', 'Winnie the Pooh' and More!". [[AOL Inc]].
29. Corden, James. (December 7, 2021). "Zachary Levi Faked Being British To Land Disney Role". [[The Late Late Show with James Corden]].
30. (October 19, 2011). "Mandy Moore On Tangled: 'I Screamed As Soon As I Found Out' (INTERVIEW)". HuffPost Entertainment.
31. (November 2010). "Mandy Moore Interview, TANGLED". MoviesOnline.
32. "Disney's Tangled: Mandy Moore Interview". Kidzworld.
33. Graham, Bill. (September 29, 2010). "Mandy Moore Exclusive Interview TANGLED". [[Collider (website).
34. Malkin, Marc. (November 26, 2010). "Mandy Moore & Hubby: "We Work Well Together"". [[E! Entertainment Television.
35. "Coverage". Rovi Corp.
36. (2003). "Mandy Moore Goes Under 'Covers'". Billboard.
37. (November 21, 2010). "Disney Animation is closing the book on fairy tales". [[Los Angeles Times]].
38. Warner, Kara. (August 27, 2010). "Mandy Moore's 'Tangled' Heroine Not 'Typical Disney Princess'". [[Viacom International Inc.]].
39. (Spring 2016). "It's a Matter of Trust: At Walt Disney Animation Studios, The 'Story Trust,' A Peer-to-Peer Feedback System, Has Taken Storytelling—And Disney Animation—To New Creative Heights". Walt Disney Company.
40. Philbrick, Jami. (November 19, 2010). "Exclusive: Mandy Moore Talks 'Tangled'". MovieWeb.
41. Murray, Rebecca. "Exclusive Interview with Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi from 'Tangled'". [[About.com]].
42. Wolf, Scott. "Mandy Moore talks about her works as the voice Rapunzel in "Tangled"". Mouse Club House.
43. (October 18, 2011). "Tangled star Mandy Moore: I'd like to think I look like Rapunzel". IPC Media Fashion & Beauty Network.
44. Hunter, Brooke. "Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi Tangled Interview". Girl.com.au.
45. Desowitz, Bill. (November 4, 2005). "Chicken Little & Beyond: Disney Rediscovers its Legacy Through 3D Animation". Animation World Network.
46. Jason. (April 28, 2013). "Tangled Concept Art and Character Art". CGMeetup.
47. Carter, Chris. (July 2013). "An Analysis of the Character Animation in Disney's Tangled". Sense of Cinema.
48. Holson, Laura M.. (September 18, 2005). "Disney Moves Away From Hand-Drawn Animation". [[The New York Times]].
49. Desowitz, Bill. (September 18, 2006). "'Little Mermaid' Team Discusses Disney Past and Present". Animation World Network.
50. (January 24, 2011). "Get 'Tangled' up in hair-raising 3D!". The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online.
51. (2011). "Byron Howard & Nathan Greno Tangled Interview". Girl.com.au.
52. Cornet, Roth. (November 18, 2010). "Zach Levi on Being a Disney Hunk in 'Tangled', A Singer, A Superhero & 'Chuck".
53. Lee, Marc. (January 27, 2011). "Tangled directors on the latest Disney animation". The Telegraph.
54. (December 26, 2014). "11 Things You Didn't Know About Tangled". Disney.
55. (March 17, 2011). "Roundtable Interview with Glen Keane". DAPs.
56. (December 5, 2010). "'Tangled' directors unravel film's secrets". SiouxCityJournal.com.
57. Patricia Cohen. (December 29, 2010). "Perfecting Animation, via Science". NYTimes.com.
58. Hill, Jim. (August 8, 2005). ""Rapunzel Unbraided" aims to be " ... a film of astonishing beauty."". Jim Hill Media.
59. "The Princess and the Frog". [[CBS Interactive]].
60. Catmull, Ed. (2014). "Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration". Random House.
61. (March 9, 2010). "Disney restyles 'Rapunzel' to appeal to boys". [[Los Angeles Times]].
62. (March 9, 2010). "Disney wrings the pink out of 'Rapunzel'". Los Angeles Times.
63. Chang, Justin. (November 7, 2010). "'Tangled' Review". [[Variety (magazine).
64. Magowan, Margot. (November 22, 2010). "Disney's male execs stop movies starring girls". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
65. Markovitz, Adam. "How did Rapunzel become 'Tangled'? Directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard set the record straight".
66. Williams, Christopher. (March 31, 2014). "'The world is a better place with Disney animation in it': John Lasseter tells the Telegraph how he saved Disney Animation Studios from the doldrums". The Daily Telegraph.
67. Graham, Bill. (September 27, 2010). "Alan Menken Exclusive Interview Tangled". [[Collider (website).
68. (November 15, 2010). "Alan Menken Talks 'Tangled', 'Sister Act', 'Leap of Faith', 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', 'Aladdin' & More".
69. Burlingame, Jon. (2010-11-10). "Alan Menken: 'Tangled' up in cues".
70. Hammond, Pete. (September 9, 2010). "Oscar's Animation Race Just Got 'Tangled'".
71. Blauvelt, Christian. "Alan Menken discusses 'Tangled' and the past, present, and future of the animated musical".
72. "Tangled". Animated Views Forum.
73. "Fanny Lu canta para Walt Disney". Elespectador.com.
74. "Tangled (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) by Alan Menken". [[Apple Inc..
75. "Music Albums, Top 200 Albums & Music Album Charts". Billboard.com.
76. "Soundtracks". Billboard.com.
77. "Kids Albums". Billboard.com.
78. Various Artists. (2017). "Songs From Tangled Picture". Walt Disney Records.
79. Delorme. (July 16, 2010). "Le nouveau Disney en avant-première au Grand Rex". FilmsActu.com.
80. Perraudat. (November 17, 2011). "Démarrage Paris 17/11/10 : Raiponce remplit le Grand Rex". Cinema-France.com.
81. NoMonday. "Uwielbiane klasyki wracają na ekrany kin Helios z okazji 100-lecia Disneya!".
82. Lawler, Richard. (January 25, 2011). "Disney to release Tangled on Blu-ray and 3D March 29th". [[Engadget]].
83. [http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/tangled-makes-record-dvd-sales/20110414.htm "Tangled makes record DVD sales in its opening week"] {{Webarchive. link. (January 26, 2021 . ''Rediff.com''. Retrieved April 16, 2011.)
84. "Tangled (2010)  — Financial Information". The-Numbers.com.
85. "Weekly Domestic Blu-ray Sales Chart for Week Ending May 29, 2011". The-Numbers.com.
86. "Tangled 4K Blu-ray".
87. "November 26–28, 2010 Weekend".
88. "Overseas Total Box Office".
89. "February 4–6, 2011 Weekend".
90. "Overseas Total Box Office".
91. "2010 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
92. "2010 WORLDWIDE GROSSES". [[Box Office Mojo]].
93. "WORLDWIDE GROSSES". [[Box Office Mojo]].
94. "Tangled". [[Box Office Mojo]].
95. Rogers, Troy. "Tangled Breaks Box Office Record Behind Harry Potter". TheDeadBolt.com.
96. "Biggest 3-day Thanksgiving Weekends at the Box Office". [[Box Office Mojo]].
97. "Biggest Opening Weekends That Did Not Debut at #1". [[Box Office Mojo]].
98. "Weekend Index 2010". [[Box Office Mojo]].
99. "2010 Yearly Box Office Results". [[Box Office Mojo]].
100. "Weekend Box Office Results for February 7–9, 2014". [[Box Office Mojo]].
101. "Movies Taking the Longest to Hit $200 Million at the Box Office". [[Box Office Mojo]].
102. "All Time Domestic Box Office Results". [[Box Office Mojo]].
103. "Overseas Total Box Office". [[Box Office Mojo]].
104. (January 12, 2011). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Tangled,' 'Tourist' Top Chart". [[Box Office Mojo]].
105. (February 1, 2011). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Tangled' Edges Past 'Hornet'". [[Box Office Mojo]].
106. (February 9, 2011). "Around-the-World Roundup: French Comedy Nips at 'Tangled's Heels". [[Box Office Mojo]].
107. "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". [[Box Office Mojo]].
108. (December 1, 2010). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Potter' Continues to Dominate". [[Box Office Mojo]].
109. "Germany Yearly Box Office". [[Box Office Mojo]].
110. "TANGLED". [[Box Office Mojo]].
111. Giles, Jeff. (January 7, 2011). "Ron Perlman's Best Movies".
112. Holt, Nathalia. (November 12, 2019). "The Token Female Pixar Story Artist". [[Vulture (website).
113. "Tangled (2010)". [[Fandango Media.
114. "Tangled Reviews". [[CBS Interactive.
115. Fritz, Ben. (November 28, 2010). "Box office: 'Tangled' feasts as 'Burlesque', 'Faster', 'Love & Other Drugs' fight for leftovers". [[Los Angeles Times]].
116. Scott, A.O.. (November 23, 2010). "Back to the Castle, Where It's All About the Hair". [[The New York Times]].
117. Corliss, Richard. (November 26, 2010). "'Tangled': Disney's Ripping Rapunzel".
118. Corliss, Richard. (June 21, 2011). "The 25 All-Time Best Animated Films".
119. Turan, Kenneth. (November 24, 2010). "Movie review: 'Tangled'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
120. Sandie Angulo Chen. (March 29, 2011). "Tangled — Movie Review". Common Sense Media.
121. Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer. (January 13, 2012). "''Tangled'' may be the best Disney Movie of all time". [[NBC News]].
122. Berardinelli, James. (November 22, 2010). "Tangled: A movie review by James Berardinelli".
123. McCarthy, Todd. (November 8, 2010). "Todd McCarthy's Film Review: 'Tangled'". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
124. (November 23, 2010). "TANGLED Review".
125. (December 19, 2010). "'Tangled' Review".
126. Robey, Tim. (December 25, 2013). "Tangled, review".
127. Bradshaw, Peter. (January 27, 2011). "Tangled – review".
128. Reynolds, Simon. (December 14, 2010). "In Full: Golden Globes — Movie Nominees".
129. "Disney's Tangled Getting a Live-Action Remake with Greatest Showman Director". People Magazine.
130. "'Black Swan' leads Critics' Choice nominations". insidemovies.ew.com.
131. "38th Annual Annie Nominations". Annie Awards.
132. (December 29, 2010). "Phoenix Film Critics Name THE KINGS SPEECH Best Film of 2010". Phoenix Film Critics Society.
133. "Academy Awards nomination list". TheState.com.
134. Saturn Awards. (February 24, 2011). ""Inception" dreams up 9 Nominations for the 37th Annual Saturn Awards while AMC's "The Walking Dead" walks away with 6". Variety.
135. (February 10, 2011). "Dragon, Pixar, Disney top 3D Society Creative Arts Awards". AnimationMagazine.net.
136. (October 23, 2011). "British Academy Children's Awards Nominations Announced".
137. (November 27, 2011). "2011 British Academy Children's Awards Winners Announced".
138. "2011 Golden Reel Award Nominees: Feature Films". [[Motion Picture Sound Editors]].
139. Gans, Andrew. (February 13, 2012). "Alan Menken and Glenn Slater Win Grammy Award". Playbill, Inc.
140. King, Susan. (December 16, 2010). "Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards". Los Angeles Times.
141. "NMA Winners – 2011".
142. (June 29, 2011). "Teen Choice Awards Nominees – 2011 List". NationalLedger.com.
143. "9th Annual VES Awards". visual effects society.
144. "Disney Tangled: The Video Game Release Information for Wii". GameFAQs.com.
145. (September 6, 2019). "Update 33: Snow White, Tangled {{!}} Livestream".
146. Arias, Jackie. (2022-11-27). "Disney Dreamlight Valley Player Recreates Rapunzel's Room From Tangled".
147. (2017-09-12). "Disney Manga: Tangled". TOKYOPOP.
148. Alverson, Brigid. "Manga, An All-Ages Starter List {{!}} Mondo Manga".
149. "Escape from the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel".
150. Frontado, Jonathan. (April 2, 2015). "'Tangled: The Musical' Coming to Disney Cruise Line". Disney Parks Blog.
151. (November 11, 2015). "Disney's TANGLED: THE MUSICAL Live-Streams Onboard the Disney Magic Cruise!".
152. "'Tangled: The Musical' Fact Sheet". Disney Cruise Line.
153. Rosky, Nicole. "Stage Version of Disney's TANGLED Is In the Works".
154. Iannucci, Rebecca. (June 3, 2015). "Disney Channel Making ''Tangled'' Series; Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi to Star". TVLine Media, LLC.
155. (February 29, 2020). "Cast aside the Sunday blues with all new #DisneyFamJam and #JustRollWithIt, along with a ground-breaking episode of #RavensHome, and the #RapunzelsTangledAdventures series finale!".
156. Bodey, Michael. (December 30, 2014). "Big Hero 6: another animation marvel from Disney". News Corp Australia.
157. Brew, Simon. (January 31, 2015). "Exclusive: why Disney never made Tangled 2". DoGtech LLC.
158. Shaw-Williams, Hannah. (May 24, 2020). "Will Tangled 2 Ever Happen?".
159. Fraser, Kevin. (December 11, 2024). "Tangled: The Greatest Showman director in talks to direct live-action remake for Disney". [[JoBlo]].
160. Rubin, Rebecca. (December 11, 2024). "'Tangled' Live-Action Movie Set at Disney".
161. (April 3, 2025). "Tangled Live-Action Remake Put on Pause at Disney".
162. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (October 9, 2025). "'Tangled' Back in Development at Disney with Scarlett Johansson".
163. Bullock II, Elliott. (December 18, 2025). "Casting for Disney's Live-Action "Tangled" is Underway". The DisInsider.
164. Kit, Borys. (December 18, 2025). "Tangled Live-Action Movie Eyes Sarah Catherine Hook, Teagan Croft".
165. Saez Urzua, Natalia. (January 18, 2026). "Disney pone sus ojos en Burgos para el live-action de Enredados: por que la catedral es clave". BURGOSconecta.
166. Grobar. (January 7, 2026). "New Tangled Movie Casts Teagan Croft & Milo Manheim as Rapunzel, Flynn Rider".
167. Kit, Borys. (7 January 2026). "'Tangled' Live-Action Movie Finds Its Leads: Teagan Croft, Milo Manheim (Exclusive)".
168. D'Alessandro. (January 8, 2026). "'Tangled': Kathryn Hahn In Talks To Play Mother Gothel".