Tangled

It was Jessica’s birthday this weekend and to celebrate, Helen came down from Edinburgh.  She was asked at work what she was doing for her sister’s birthday and said, “We’re going to see the new Disney film, Tangled, and them we’re going to Pizza Hut.”  Great, was the reply.  How old is your sister? About twelve?

Err.. No.  Double that and you’ll get the right sort of figure.  The thing is, everyone, by and large, enjoys pizza (I remember this exotic new food being introduced in the Seventies!) and you must have a heart of stone if you don’t enjoy Disney.

Tangled is really good. Not, perhaps, up there with Aladdin, Beauty and The Beast and Little Mermaid but that’s a pretty high standard.  It’s the story of Rapunzel, of course, a puzzling sort of story.  I remember as a kid thinking that it must hurt poor old Rapunzel to have the Witch and the Prince clambering up her hair and I’m glad to say in the film she ties it round a sort of pulley arrangement before anyone starts doing gymnastics. It’s a good story with some very funny lines, looks wonderful, and has a scene with floating magic lanterns which is just beautiful.

However… I could have done with the Evil Witch being a jolly sight more evil.  I wanted cackling and gloating and gleeful over-the topness, just like Ursula in Little Mermaid or, perhaps the grandmother of all evil witches, the Wicked Queen in Snow White. One of the many satisfying things about Harry Potter is how completely evil Voldermort is.

I’m not giving away too much of the story when I say that Tangled’s Wicked Witch is your average Old Crone who, by the magic in Rapunzel’s hair, is granted Youth and Beauty.  Only she’s more 30-oddish and not that stunning.  And that’s all she wants.  Why?

It might seem a bit of an Ur? Dur? Question, but Youth and Beauty isn’t really enough.  The WW from Snow White wanted Y+B so she could be the powerful Wicked Queen.  Ursula is after power too and  the magnificent originator of these seekers after Y+B, Rider Haggard’s She, wanted to be eternally young so she could stick around long enough for the boyfriend to turn up.  (He was last seen in Ancient Greece, so no one could accuse her of inconstancy!) The trouble with Tangled’s WW is that she was more like Wilma from Desperate Housewives or Tyra Banks being Fierce on America’s Next Top Model than genuinely scary.  (One of Tyra Bank’s lines really is genuinely more scary; Who will be eliminated tonight? Makes you think a bit, that.)

Maybe the Disney people wanted to tone down the scariness, but I think they just didn’t think her motivation through enough.  It’s worth keeping in mind if you’re thinking out your own story.  What does the villian want?

But I enjoyed Tangled. And Jessica had a lovely birthday.