Tangling with American Cinema
Nov. 25th, 2010 11:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluejeans07Happy Thanksgiving people!
Here's a cranky review about 'Tangled'. Short version: saccharine. It was like biting into a sugary sweet grocery store cupcake, covered in pink frosting and sprinkles.
I know this movie has been getting good reviews from movie reviewers, and I also have lots of friends who love this movie as well. And hey, it's great that people like it, if it does well in the box office, then it means more animated projects coming out of Disney. Encouragement for new animation is always good, right?
But when I read a review that calls this particular movie, "Disney is finally definitely back. Not only is their latest release as good as anything Disney released in its first hey-day or its second 1990s animation renaissance, it might even be ... better." I'm going to have to ADAMANTLY disagree with it.
'Tangled' is not better than 'Lion King,' 'Aladdin,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Hunchback,' etc. In my opinion, it doesn't even rank up there with these films. Why? Because 'Tangled' is pretty much the definition of what a generic person tends to think what Disney movies are, syrupy sweet princess who can sing and control the animals with her voice, with lots of musical numbers, and a heroic, brave prince. Other Disney movies have a great balance between comedy and drama, of tragedy and triumph, there are highs and lows in the story like a wave to keep the audience entertained, yet not too overwhelmed with IN YOUR FACE WITH DISNEY ACTION. Tangled... was just in my face.
But Jean! This movie was modern! It had existential angst! Oddball comedy! Dialogue! A heroine that fits in with your thoughts of feminism! Flynn Rider is hot! Mother Gothel is actually interesting!
Yes, this movie was modern, but to me, it falls under the problem of being too modern. Current animated movies suffer from the problem of using sitcom dialogue and situations to make the movie relevant and funny to today's audiences. Now, I do like sitcoms (esp. How I Met Your Mother), and I don't mind that a movie once in awhile uses this cleverly to be funny... but I have a problem when people think that this is the ONLY way to be funny in current animated movies. As much as I loved HTTYD, I wanted wallop Hiccup and all the other children in the movie repeatedly for talking this way, for being so obviously different from their parents who had hilarious modern dialogue with AMAZING Scottish accents. It took me out of the world, especially when Hiccup was being too modern for a fantasy movie with established fantasy dialogue conditions.
Another problem with this sort of dialogue is that yes, it's modern RIGHT NOW. But what about in 10-20 years? Will this movie be able to evolve into a classic? Will it be something that a child in the future can watch and wonder why everyone's talking so weirdly? Or will Rapunzel's cry of "BEST. DAY. EVERY." be like what saying "GROOVY~" is to someone from my generation? I have a feeling that this movie won't age terribly well, that while other Disney films have become classic and timeless, this movie is so with current trends that it will look dated. At least HTTYD had a really engaging, wonderful story to make up for the dialogue, plus it was only a small number of people and an even smaller number of moments that it used really current sitcom dialogue. In Tangled, EVERYONE TALKED THIS WAY. EVERYONE. If the horse and the chameleon could talk, they would talk this way as well.
The main thing I didn't like about this movie was that it was so full of explanation right from beginning to end. This movie tells the audience how to think and feel about everything going on right that moment, from Rapnuzel's explanation about her life in the tower in the beginning, to Mother Gothel's unsubtle manipulations of Rapunzel, to Flynn's introduction, to singing about Rapnuzel's emotions about leaving the tower... it goes on. I feel a good movie needs to trust their audience to understand the subtle moments in a film, likewise, I also believe a good movie SHOWS the audience rather than TELLS them about every little detail and emotion that these characters are feeling. Film is the MOST visual medium that we have! We have 2 hours to be immersed in new worlds and lives! Why wouldn't someone take advantage of this and use it to SHOW US AN INTERESTING STORY and instead feel that they need to TELL US?
The design. Seeing this movie designed this way made me really sad. Usually, even if I don't like a movie for their story or whatnot, I can usually respect the design work that went into it (aka Bee Movie). But my heart fell when I saw this film, I felt like I walked into a Gymboree with all of its pastel pinks, purples, and yellows. I knew that this movie was designed after Disneyland's Fantasyland and it does look like it, and while I do love Disneyland and Fantasyland, I don't like to spend my entire DAY in Fantasyland. It's cute and twee, a nice break after going to Tomorrowland or Frontierland, but it's a moment in a day and I can move on after I feel it's getting too sweet for my liking. Once again, unsubtle in a THIS IS A DISNEY FANTASY MOVIE FOR CHILDREN ESPECIALLY GIRLS sort of way.
As for the characters... I didn't feel anything for them. I felt like these characters were trying too hard with the whole, WE'RE INTERESTING! LIKE US! LOVE US! BUY STUFF WITH US ON IT! It's like the 'So Exciting!' scene from Moulin Rouge with the actors acting out the entire idea for their play in that frantic, manic manner in order to get the Duke's approval and funding.
And finally... the music. Usually, I can remember at least one song clearly from a Disney movie. I don't even like Randy Newman, but I was still humming 'Almost There' after my first viewing of 'Princess and the Frog'. This time however... I can't remember ANY of the songs. They've all seemed to have molded together in my mind in a blur of musical cupcake sweetness. I do remember that I liked the score, the score was quite good, but I can't remember the score either.
I went into the movie with not really any hopes aside from, "Okay Disney. You've proved me wrong before, do it again" and came out feeling confirmed and validated that I wouldn't like this movie. There were good elements in the story, I liked the lantern idea, the negative shape of the flowers when Rapunzel remembers, etc. The shots were composed really nicely, and it was edited well, but these elements were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of THIS. IS.SPARTA DISNEEEEY! that I couldn't enjoy them. There was this huge feeling of the marketing department marking off a checklist on what they think is a profitable movie, "Scrappy cute heroine that could be made into dolls, check. Witty, sarcastic action hero that could be made into all sorts of toys for both genders, check. Cute animal sidekick for plush dolls, check. Cool horse for dolls to ride on, check."
I know that my opinion about this movie is unpopular and harsh. I'm being hard on this movie because this is Disney and while I don't like this particular movie, I've loved their other movies. I want them to show me good stories in a good way, and not be confined to the demands of marketing or what they think the audience wants. I was disappointed and even a little bit hurt because I know how good they can be, I know how timeless and beautiful their movies have been. This movie was just everything I dislike about modern animated movies coming out of America, that even the really great ideas that they had for this movie had to be dumbed down because someone in power thought that audiences don't want to be shown a clever, interesting movie.
I wish there was a way to get enough people to tell studios, "If you give us a good story and show it to us in a competent manner, we will give you our money and our support. We will show your movie to our children and show them why we loved it so much when we were their age. Your movie will live forever in thanks for the wonderful story." But this will never happen.
Here's a cranky review about 'Tangled'. Short version: saccharine. It was like biting into a sugary sweet grocery store cupcake, covered in pink frosting and sprinkles.
I know this movie has been getting good reviews from movie reviewers, and I also have lots of friends who love this movie as well. And hey, it's great that people like it, if it does well in the box office, then it means more animated projects coming out of Disney. Encouragement for new animation is always good, right?
But when I read a review that calls this particular movie, "Disney is finally definitely back. Not only is their latest release as good as anything Disney released in its first hey-day or its second 1990s animation renaissance, it might even be ... better." I'm going to have to ADAMANTLY disagree with it.
'Tangled' is not better than 'Lion King,' 'Aladdin,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Hunchback,' etc. In my opinion, it doesn't even rank up there with these films. Why? Because 'Tangled' is pretty much the definition of what a generic person tends to think what Disney movies are, syrupy sweet princess who can sing and control the animals with her voice, with lots of musical numbers, and a heroic, brave prince. Other Disney movies have a great balance between comedy and drama, of tragedy and triumph, there are highs and lows in the story like a wave to keep the audience entertained, yet not too overwhelmed with IN YOUR FACE WITH DISNEY ACTION. Tangled... was just in my face.
But Jean! This movie was modern! It had existential angst! Oddball comedy! Dialogue! A heroine that fits in with your thoughts of feminism! Flynn Rider is hot! Mother Gothel is actually interesting!
Yes, this movie was modern, but to me, it falls under the problem of being too modern. Current animated movies suffer from the problem of using sitcom dialogue and situations to make the movie relevant and funny to today's audiences. Now, I do like sitcoms (esp. How I Met Your Mother), and I don't mind that a movie once in awhile uses this cleverly to be funny... but I have a problem when people think that this is the ONLY way to be funny in current animated movies. As much as I loved HTTYD, I wanted wallop Hiccup and all the other children in the movie repeatedly for talking this way, for being so obviously different from their parents who had hilarious modern dialogue with AMAZING Scottish accents. It took me out of the world, especially when Hiccup was being too modern for a fantasy movie with established fantasy dialogue conditions.
Another problem with this sort of dialogue is that yes, it's modern RIGHT NOW. But what about in 10-20 years? Will this movie be able to evolve into a classic? Will it be something that a child in the future can watch and wonder why everyone's talking so weirdly? Or will Rapunzel's cry of "BEST. DAY. EVERY." be like what saying "GROOVY~" is to someone from my generation? I have a feeling that this movie won't age terribly well, that while other Disney films have become classic and timeless, this movie is so with current trends that it will look dated. At least HTTYD had a really engaging, wonderful story to make up for the dialogue, plus it was only a small number of people and an even smaller number of moments that it used really current sitcom dialogue. In Tangled, EVERYONE TALKED THIS WAY. EVERYONE. If the horse and the chameleon could talk, they would talk this way as well.
The main thing I didn't like about this movie was that it was so full of explanation right from beginning to end. This movie tells the audience how to think and feel about everything going on right that moment, from Rapnuzel's explanation about her life in the tower in the beginning, to Mother Gothel's unsubtle manipulations of Rapunzel, to Flynn's introduction, to singing about Rapnuzel's emotions about leaving the tower... it goes on. I feel a good movie needs to trust their audience to understand the subtle moments in a film, likewise, I also believe a good movie SHOWS the audience rather than TELLS them about every little detail and emotion that these characters are feeling. Film is the MOST visual medium that we have! We have 2 hours to be immersed in new worlds and lives! Why wouldn't someone take advantage of this and use it to SHOW US AN INTERESTING STORY and instead feel that they need to TELL US?
The design. Seeing this movie designed this way made me really sad. Usually, even if I don't like a movie for their story or whatnot, I can usually respect the design work that went into it (aka Bee Movie). But my heart fell when I saw this film, I felt like I walked into a Gymboree with all of its pastel pinks, purples, and yellows. I knew that this movie was designed after Disneyland's Fantasyland and it does look like it, and while I do love Disneyland and Fantasyland, I don't like to spend my entire DAY in Fantasyland. It's cute and twee, a nice break after going to Tomorrowland or Frontierland, but it's a moment in a day and I can move on after I feel it's getting too sweet for my liking. Once again, unsubtle in a THIS IS A DISNEY FANTASY MOVIE FOR CHILDREN ESPECIALLY GIRLS sort of way.
As for the characters... I didn't feel anything for them. I felt like these characters were trying too hard with the whole, WE'RE INTERESTING! LIKE US! LOVE US! BUY STUFF WITH US ON IT! It's like the 'So Exciting!' scene from Moulin Rouge with the actors acting out the entire idea for their play in that frantic, manic manner in order to get the Duke's approval and funding.
And finally... the music. Usually, I can remember at least one song clearly from a Disney movie. I don't even like Randy Newman, but I was still humming 'Almost There' after my first viewing of 'Princess and the Frog'. This time however... I can't remember ANY of the songs. They've all seemed to have molded together in my mind in a blur of musical cupcake sweetness. I do remember that I liked the score, the score was quite good, but I can't remember the score either.
I went into the movie with not really any hopes aside from, "Okay Disney. You've proved me wrong before, do it again" and came out feeling confirmed and validated that I wouldn't like this movie. There were good elements in the story, I liked the lantern idea, the negative shape of the flowers when Rapunzel remembers, etc. The shots were composed really nicely, and it was edited well, but these elements were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of THIS. IS.
I know that my opinion about this movie is unpopular and harsh. I'm being hard on this movie because this is Disney and while I don't like this particular movie, I've loved their other movies. I want them to show me good stories in a good way, and not be confined to the demands of marketing or what they think the audience wants. I was disappointed and even a little bit hurt because I know how good they can be, I know how timeless and beautiful their movies have been. This movie was just everything I dislike about modern animated movies coming out of America, that even the really great ideas that they had for this movie had to be dumbed down because someone in power thought that audiences don't want to be shown a clever, interesting movie.
I wish there was a way to get enough people to tell studios, "If you give us a good story and show it to us in a competent manner, we will give you our money and our support. We will show your movie to our children and show them why we loved it so much when we were their age. Your movie will live forever in thanks for the wonderful story." But this will never happen.
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no subject
Date: 2010-12-19 04:42 am (UTC)Eeeeemmm this is kind of a weird question but...can I see your TS3 review? I am also one of the few that don't like the movie
no subject
Date: 2010-12-19 06:13 pm (UTC)Hmm... I don't think I ever wrote a review of TS3 in my LJ... but I do remember writing one in the comments of
Add 'toys' to that sentence and there's the ending to TS2, which I thought was a better movie. >.>