It appears I’ve lied to you. Not directly, but I made false implications. When I wrote about Disney’s forthcoming animated take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, “Tangled,” I made it sound like Disney hand animated the movie. But that’s not the case.
No, it turns out that “Tangled” is actually a computer animated film. For some strange reason, I find that disappointing.
I have nothing against computer animated films. I’ve made it clear how much I love just about everything Pixar offers, and I’ve also very much enjoyed films like “Kung Fu Panda” and “How To Train Your Dragon.” Computer animation never prevented my liking a movie, and as long as it’s done well, the style’s never hindered to my escape into the movie’s fantasy.
Yet when I found out that “Tangled” was computer animated, I felt just that. I could hardly contain my excitement when I discovered a two-minute trailer for the movie circulating on the Internet, but as soon as it ended I felt my attitude toward “Tangled” drastically changed.
Nothing was wrong with the clip (though I don’t know how I feel about the modern music over the pseudo-medieval setting. But Alan Menken’s doing the score and I trust him). It lived up to the promise I mentioned earlier, looking like a fun, cute romp. But I still can’t hold back my disappointment.
I remember the very first production stills I saw for “Tangled.” They certainly look hand drawn to me, and when I first saw them, I immediately began to feel pulled into Disney’s latest fairy tale world. I was instantly hooked, and couldn’t wait for more.
Then the first teaser came out, and it breathed vitality into a story I’d only caught glimpses of before. It seemed perfect, and again, it still looked hand drawn. I wouldn’t have thought I’d necessarily connect those two things, but apparently in this case I am.
It just feels a little strange for a Disney fantasy movie to appear in computer animation. Although the graphics look beautiful, and like a computer version of a painted palette, they still somehow scream “cartoon” to me in a way Disney’s hand drawn animation never has. And I think that has nothing to do with the quality of the work; I believe I’m just having a hard time slotting “Tangled” in there with Disney’s other fairy tales because it looks nothing like them.
Even when one compares the films of Disney’s golden age to those of the last couple decades, one can see the progression in the animation. It’s harder to draw such comparisons between hand drawn and computer animation.
Really I think I’m just mourning how beautiful the early production stills looked. I don’t know if it’s because they were my first starry-eyed glimpse of the film, years ago, or if because such things always look more magical than the reality, but no matter how perfect the computer animation is it won’t match up to those images.
It doesn’t help that the tone of “Tangled” feels like a blend between the fairy tale films and Pixar’s fare. Not that I’m complaining; I’m very excited for a “Disney Princess” story that actually balances the time it gives to its male and female leads, lets the princess be an action hero, and revels in a quirkier tone. I’m sure that the more I see of “Tangled” the more I’ll warm up to its animation, or ideally, the less I’ll notice that it seems “different.” I’m hoping this is all just a momentary lapse in my anticipation for the film.
Related Articles:
Disney’s Plans to Broaden its Apppeal
“Princess and the Frog” Hints at New Era for Disney