Another Tangled Post

…but this time from Jill!

So last weekend when the Nerdgirls were all together, we watched Tangled.  Which really should make perfect sense to you.  It was my 2nd time seeing it, and again I enjoyed it a lot.  And again it reminded me of several other Disney movies – the older classic ones I love.  I think Jen has touched on a few of these, but here’s why I love Tangled:

• Rapunzel’s chameleon friend, Pascal

An animal best friend who acts like a person?  Just like Abu from Aladdin!  (FYI: This is NOT the same as Flounder from The Little Mermaid because he could actually talk.)

• Maximus

The awesome horse who is treated like a person by the male main character.  Just like Samson in Sleeping Beauty!

• The Boat Scene

That boat is basically the same one as in The Little Mermaid.  Hello, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) songs in Disney history)!

• An evil, manipulative witch who sings

Mother Gothel is a great character.  Evil, but very entertaining.  And she sings!  Just like Ursula in The Little Mermaid!  Btw, Ursula totally used to scare me and I wouldn’t listen to “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”  But now I realize that it is a great song, and it doesn’t scare me as much.

• Girl taken from royal parents and raised not knowing she’s a princess.

Just like in Sleeping Beauty!  Ok, granted, in one situation she was stolen and in the other she was taken by fairies to be protected, but that’s pretty similar.

Now I’m definitely not knocking Tangled for using common elements in Disney films – I love it for doing that!  Those classic Disney films are amazing, and I haven’t seen many of the ones past Pocahontas because they felt different, but Tangled feels back like the good old ones.  Plus it has a few awesome elements the older ones don’t have!  Like a cocky male character – Flynn is fantastic – and girl power!  Rapunzel saves herself and Flynn many times, unlike some of the traditional heroines.

I would love to be a Disney scholar, but I’m not there yet.  So what am I missing?  Other Tangled similarities to Disney movies?  Let me know!

– Jill

I See the Light!!

Back in the fall, I went to a lot of trouble to “winter-proof” my apartment.  I live in a super old building (the oldest in town according to the apartment ad…..and why anyone would think that is a good thing to put in an ad I will never know) that gets really cold in the winter and is very, very, very, very expensive to heat.  So I did everything in my power to prevent the cold air from getting in.

*Shades down–Check!

*Towels as insulation in window–Check!

*Bubble wrap as insulation against window–Check!

*Plastic covering windows–Check!

*Plastic bags shoved down into window that won’t close all the way–Check!

Let me tell you, that was a nightmare to put all of that stuff up!  It was also incredibly depressing because that meant that all winter long I had only one view of the outside world.

Look at that sad little square 😦

I decided that I had to allow myself at least a small area to see outside so that I would know if I needed extra time to clean off my car.

Well, last night was the night when it all came down.  I realized several things about my elaborate plans.  Half the towels had fallen down.  The cats had ripped holes in at least three of the plastic coverings.  Oh, and sometimes bubble wrap being pressed up against moist windows for months causes things to mold.  That was really fun last night cleaning all of that stuff up.

But now…….but now I can see out my windows!!!  It is glorious!!!  I didn’t realize just how depressing my apartment had become with no natural light and no views of outside.  It is so beautiful in here now!  The cats spent all day today lying in the sunbeams on the floor.  It has actually been a relatively mellow day here at the apartment cat-wise.  Hopefully this is a sign of things to come!

Look how sunny it is!!!

Jen

P.S.  Sorry about the silly title, but I totally have Tangled on the brain.  Last night when I was out emergency supply shopping (bleach!!) I bought a copy of the DVD since mine still hasn’t arrived from Amazon and I was pretty sure I would feel the need to watch it again this weekend.  Luckily I managed to find a home for my other copy when it arrives.  My dad is going to take it off my hands for me 🙂

P.P.S.  And yes, fellow nerdgirls, if I watch it this weekend I will be more than willing to see it again with you next weekend.  You’re talking to the girl who saw it four times (maybe five?) in the theater.

P.P.P.S.  I feel like such a grownup ever since I bought my banana stand.  Although just saying that makes me wish it was a Bluth banana stand.

Happy Tangled Day!!!

Today is the day I have been waiting for with bated breath for a very long time.  Today’s the day Tangled comes out on DVD!!!  My copy is winging its way towards me and will hopefully arrive sooner rather than later (that’s one of the downfalls of living in small town Iowa…..it’s always LATER).

Since I have already posted about Tangled way too many times, I am going to celebrate today by posting a video that showcases all of Disney’s 50 animated features.

No matter who you are, there has got to be at least one movie in there that touches your heart.  Watching it makes me damn glad that I grew up when I did.  I was just turning 8 when The Little Mermaid came out, so I was the perfect age to appreciate the wondrous string of films that included Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.

So go out and buy Tangled today because it is right up there with the Disney classics as one of my all-time favorites!

Jen

P.S.  I think my favorite clip in that whole thing has to be Winnie the Pooh sitting there dancing in front of his honey.  So adorable!

Update on Tangled…

Okay, so I totally saw Tangled again last night with my friend Erika.  It was even more wonderful and amazing the 2nd time!!!  Most of you are probably like, yeah, whatever….you already told us that you loved it, why are you posting about it again???

Well, I noticed that there was a glaring error in my first review, and I felt the need to correct it.  Here is an exact quote from my first review:  “The songs aren’t bad (they aren’t phenomenal, but they are kind of catchy).”  I was very very wrong about that.  After seeing the movie again, I must say that the songs are all fantastic!!  I think I wasn’t really prepared for computer animated characters to break into song the first time I saw it, so that kind of weirded me out.  Also, I have this problem where I usually can’t like a song until I’ve heard it at least a few times.  I am not sure why, maybe it’s because I like familiar things instead of new things.  Who knows?

But, I am currently listening to the soundtrack right now (thank you libraries for saving me so much money!!) and I can tell you that I will probably listen to it most of the day.

So, if you haven’t already seen this movie, you should probably go soon.  If my silly cruise weren’t going to get in the way I could probably see it at least 3 more times.

Jen

Go See Rapunzel…I Mean Tangled!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their families.  I had a great time hanging out with my family during the 4-day weekend.  We played games, went to a craft fair, watched football, ate, and went to the movies.  We were going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One (it would have been the 2nd time for me, my mom, and my dad, and the 5th time for my sister) but we chose to see Tangled instead.

Boy am I glad that we chose Tangled!!  Not that I don’t still love HP, but I don’t think I would have gone to see Tangled otherwise.  Now I have seen it once and will probably go to it at least one more time in the theater.

We just went to a regular old show, not a 3-D one, but I don’t think we were really missing out on anything.  There were not a whole lot of really obvious 3-D things going on, so I don’t think it is necessary to see it that way.

Let me just say that this is my favorite animated movie in a very long time.  I will say that I loved Wall-E and Up, but they are so emotionally draining to watch that I just can’t do it on a regular basis.  I could honestly watch Tangled every week for months and never get sick of it.  I wish it was out on DVD so I could literally do that.

Tangled is the story of Rapunzel (they didn’t call it that because they thought boys wouldn’t go see it…..stupid marketing people!) and her amazing magic hair.  Mandy Moore does the voice for Rapunzel and I thought she was fabulous!!!!  I know not everyone likes Mandy, but I have a soft spot in my heart for her because of Chasing Liberty.  She does a great job with the character and of course, does all of her own singing.

But the best parts about the movie were the other two main characters.  Mother Gothel is the bad guy (voiced by Donna Murphy) and she is awesome.  She really freaked me out.  She’s emotionally abusive and totally manipulative and just plain perfect as the baddie.  She reminded me of a combination of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and The White Witch from Narnia.

But what I really want to talk about is Flynn Ryder!!!  He was so fantastic!!  The guys in Disney Princess movies usually don’t get to do a whole lot.  They show up for a few minutes, sing a song and then disappear for most of the movie.  Flynn gets just as much screen time as our fair Rapunzel and thank goodness he does because he is so funny!!  Did I mention this movie is funny???  It is freaking hilarious!  Zachary Levi is really good at doing Flynn’s voice, and dare I say it?? Flynn is actually kind of a hottie (does that make me weird???).

The movie is funny and charming and warmed my little grinchy heart.  The songs aren’t bad (they aren’t phenomenal, but they are kind of catchy) and thankfully everyone in the cast can actually sing.  There is one scene near the end that was so beautiful it literally took my breath away.  It reminded me of the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast when the camera pans down through the chandelier.  My breath stopped short when I saw that for the first time, and it totally happened again during Tangled when they lit the lanterns.  So gorgeous.  Okay, now that I think about it, that might have been great to see in 3-D.

So, I have rambled on longer than the movie now, so I will just say go see Tangled!!!!!!  You will not be disappointed.  Everyone in our theater was laughing and having a good time.  Out of our group of four (one of whom is very picky about animated movies) we all adored it, so I know you will too.

Jen