Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The characters are engaging, the story is clever, and the animation is absolutely positively gorgeous, at times almost breathtaking in its use of glowing color and fine naturalistic detail.

Except for the music which is just so-so, this film reminds me of my reaction to seeing The Little Mermaid for the first time; it’s an engaging, boisterous, funny romp swirling around a young girl emerging into the “real” world.

One of the greatest achievements of this film is how the human characters are animated. They obviously look like cartoons but they have just enough human qualities, mannerism, and expressions to make them seem real. Yet they don’t exhibit the creepines of some animated humans that try too hard for realism.

Rapunzel with her huge eyes and long glowing hair is quite an achievement. Her voicing, mannerisms, movements, and expressions make us forget temporarily that she’s just a projected image concocted from pixels, paint, and shadow. She’s charming, funny, and mean with a frying pan. Just what you want in a cartoon character, I guess!

Bottom line: Disney again proves its mastery of the animated fairy tale.

Review copyright (c) 2011 by Dennis D. McDonald