3D Blu-ray Review THE HTF 3D ADDICT: Tangled (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

What can I say?  I love 3D!  From the moment I began watching 3D content in my home I quickly discovered that I needed more content.  I suspect that those of you just purchasing your first 3D hardware will acquire the same ferocious appetite.  That's why I became the HTF 3D ADDICT.  I personally love images that pop off the screen and come inches away from your face without becoming overly gimmicky.  However, I certainly appreciate the nature documentaries that offer beautiful depth and separation.  These are not necessarily reviews of the film themselves.  I am not going to concentrate on story or supplements -- you can find the 2D reviews elsewhere on this forum.  My job is to let you know exactly what kind of 3D experience to expect from the titles that are being released.   As I will be receiving a handful of new product from the studios expect to see more title coverage.

TANGLED

Studio: Walt Disney

Product Release: March 29, 2011

Ratio: 1.78:1

Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French & Spanish 7.1 DTS-HD HR

Running Time: 100 Minutes

Rating: G

ON A SCALE 0-5

Overall 3D Presentation Rating: 5

3D Separation: 5

3D In Yo' Face Factor: 3

"You broke my smolder!"

Nobody can retell a fairytale as uniquely and expertly as

Disney.  For their 50th animated feature, Disney chose to

modernize the classic tale of Rapunzel, keeping somewhat

faithful to the original German fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.

As the film opens we learn how Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy

Moore) is kidnapped as a baby from a King and Queen by

an old woman (voiced by Donna Murphy) who finds that the

hair of the child has healing powers that will keep her forever

young.  Making certain that nobody else has passage to these

special powers, the princess is locked away atop a hidden tower.  

As Rapunzel grows into a young teenage girl, so does the

length of her hair.  The elderly woman who has taken on the role

of the Princess' mother visits her daily, calling for her to let

her hair down so that with every brush, she remains young.

Enter Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi), a thief by trade,

who just happens upon the tower while being chased by just

about everyone he has double-crossed and stolen from.  Upon

meeting Rapunzel, Flynn is unwillingly coaxed into helping 

the Princess escape the confines of the tower so she can

discover the wonders of the outside world.

Though the story is familiar to adults, this modern interpretation

offers a fresh perspective thanks to its exquisite animation that

looks more hand drawn than computer generated and the addition

of some friendly animals that include a horse named Maximus

and a cute chameleon named Pascal.   Tangled also boasts 

an entertaining, funny cast of medieval characters that we first

meet in The Snuggly Duckling Bar which becomes the setting

for one of the best musical moments in the film.  Unfortunately,

as charming and cute a film Tangled is, the music and lyrics

by composer Alan Mencken and Glenn Slater are completely

forgettable.  I don't think anyone will finish the film remembering

a single tune.

Tangled has a very old-fashioned Disney look to it and you 

can sense that the animators did everything possible to retain

that classic feel.  Transfer is ultra-sharp and detailed but

nothing else seems overdone as colors have more of an oil

painting feel rather than being abundantly vibrant.  Black

levels are quite acceptable and there is no artifacts present.

Keeping with the classic feel of the film, Disney hasn't

resorted to much "gimmickry" with its 3D effects.  Though

the animation is greatly enhanced by the technology the

effects are more subtle than being "In Yo' Face."  Several

objects do protrude the screen ever so slightly which include

swords, elbows, hands and splashing water. One of the more

memorable 3D moments of the film occurs when Rapunzel

is first introduced to the world outside her tower.  The

cleverly placed animated greenery in the foreground gives

a nice feeling of depth as the Princess romps across the forest floor.  

Ghosting is a minor issue here.  As with most any 

film it rears its ugly head in any scene that is dimly

lit.  You can see slight ghosting within the background

of Rapunzel's tower confines or The Snuggly Duckling

Bar.  Objects like a dropped rope or even pointed swords

exhibit double images around its edgings.  

The 7.1 DTS Master Audio was downconverted to

5.1 on my system but sounded full-flavored and

immersive.  Dialogue is expertly carried through the

front channels with effect noises that are expertly

placed across the entire soundfield which lend to 

making the 3D experience even more realistic.  The

film score comes across powerfully and I was quite

pleased with some of the underlying LFE activity that

came beneath a stampede of galloping horses and 

other climatic moments within the film.  Overall, I would

rate this as a quality listening experience.

Tangled arrives in a 4-disc package that includes the

Blu-ray 3D and 2D versions, DVD and Digital Copy.  

There is added supplemental material that includes

a behind-the-senes tour of the filmmaking process, deleted

scenes, expanded songs and two alternate versions of

the film's opening sequence.  Matt Hough offers a more

detailed look at these supplements in his review.

CONCLUSION

Tangled certainly will not stand as Disney's most 

memorable effort, but I'll be darned if I didn't have 

an immensely enjoyable time watching it.  The film 

has so much "heart" to it, and by the time it wrapped

itself up I had a tear in my eye.  

The film and its effective 3D imagery makes for the

perfect family movie and it comes with the highest 

of recommendations.

Images are for illustrative purpose only not representative of the picture quality of this disc. 

Equipment

LG 60PX950 THX Certified 3D display

LG BX580 3D Blu-ray Player

Denon 3808CI Receiver

Atlantic Technology H-PAS AT-1 fronts, 4400 center; 4200 rear speakers

SV Sound Subwoofer

 

[Brian W. Ralston]

Great commentary/review Ron. I had the privilege of seeing this film on the Disney lot before it was released and I absolutely loved it. One thing I found interesting though was that Disney could choose which version of the film to screen for the Academy for Oscar voting consideration (3D or 2D)...and they chose to screen the film for Academy voters in 2D and NOT in 3D. I found that interesting. And my Academy voting member friends did too. So much so that even though they had seen the official 2D Academy screenings to Tangled...they went out and saw the 3D versions on their own just to see what the difference was. And universally they all said the 2D version was MORE emotional and MORE engaging to them than the 3D version.

After much thought, they felt that Disney knows this from inside research and they specifically chose the 2D for Academy voters for this reason. While the 3D version is beautiful to look at...the wonder of looking and taking in all the 3D imagery on a big theater screen takes a little LESS focus on getting emotionally involved in the characters and story. While the 2D version took away that one component of the brain having to work overtime on focusing on the screen and allowed the viewers to get MORE emotionally invested in the film, story and characters. So...It is the 2D version of this film (and most films)...that Disney continues to choose to screen for Academy voters.

I just found that to be an interesting side note and wanted to share.

 

[Matt Hough]

It IS interesting that Disney chose to screen the 2D rather than 3D version. Having watched both yesterday, I much preferred the 3D. I found it a much more immersive experience, and all of that detailed work seemed to pop quite a bit more in 3D.


And, let's not forget, Tangled didn't get that Oscar nomination Disney was hoping for. I think a more memorable song score would have tipped the nomination toward it instead of The Illusionist, but I'm just guessing about that. I have no idea what the order of votes were for the three nominees in the Animated Feature category.