Day 27: "Your dream stinks. I was talking to her."

It's been a while since Disney had a good, non-Pixar branded, animated movie.  They've done it again, and it looks like the 50th time is the charm.  Tangled, Disney's sideways take on the Rapunzel fairy tale was funny as hell.  A completely computer generated film, but with the style and charm of their classic hand-drawn features, Tangled succeeds where more recent fare has come up short.  Based (loosely) on the Brothers' Grimm fairy tale, writer Dan Fogelman has learned many valuable lessons from the Disney classics of the past: tell the story, inject appropriate humor, invoke peril, happily ever after.  Simple storytelling done right.  The characters performances are fantastic, as every facial and body expression is just as easily interpreted as the dialogue.  I haven't enjoyed a Disney movie this much since the days of Aladdin and The Lion King. 

Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is portrayed as a smart girl, who just wants to experience the world outside her window.  She seems to be a bit of a hippie, so if you think that the only things she needs are patchouli and ankle bells, you're not alone.  Flynn Rider (great name! Zachary Levi) is the wise-ass, street savvy petty thief who agrees, through a highly Disney series of events, to show Rapunzel that world.  The supporting cast of characters in this absolutely makes this movie the comedy gem it is.  Maximus, the palace guard's horse, is one of my new favorite animal characters (yup, I've got a top ten for that). He has one of the funniest fights this side of Jackie Chan.  Pascal the chameleon, the den of rogues from the "Snuggly Duckling"(again, brilliant name!), even Rapunzel's "guardian", all have really great, laugh-out-loud bits.

It was really refreshing to see Disney return to its storytelling roots with this.  Using CGI to update a classic fairy tale for the modern audience was a real treat.  If you have kids, watch this movie.  If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife, watch this movie.  If you have an hour and a half, watch this movie.  You will feel like a kid again, if only for a little bit. 8.25/10.

Tomorrow's movie: POT LUCK!!!!!  I think I will do this every week, just for a bit of spontaneity.  I've had to struggle to watch what I picked the day before recently.  Not that they've been bad, just gotta be in the mood for some of 'em.  See you then, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!