Addendum to the First Annual Wherein I Rant Awards

Folks, as I'm sure anyone reading this blog knows, I am a near perfect individual. However, even I make mistakes now and then, and even I say things I regret. Not all the times I've called someone an idiot, certainly not, I was right all those times, and I remain right.

However, some of you will remember on the last day of 2010 I did a post called "The First Annual Wherein I Rant Awards" where I counted down the best and worst of film and video games of 2010. Some of you will perhaps even recall my awards for Best Animated Feature, and Best Picture. For those who don't, I said that Inception was the best film last year, and Toy Story 3 was the runner up, and that Toy Story 3 was the best animated film, and Tangled was the runner up.

Oh boy, I'm not going to make any friends with this post.

Back when I saw Tangled, I did a review of the film where I praised the film endlessly. Well folks, since then I've seen Inception, Toy Story 3, and Tangled again, and I have to say... Tangled was the best movie released last year.

Now, please understand, I'm not saying Inception or Toy Story 3 were bad films, that would be moronic, both were fantastic movies that had very little wrong with them. The thing is though, after seeing all 3 again... I really do regret saying Inception or Toy Story 3 were better films, when in all honesty, they weren't.

Inception, though one of my favorite films of last year, suffered from having too many characters and not enough exposition on any of them. All the actors did phenomenal jobs, and the writing for each character was excellent, but when you have dozens of characters in your films, you don't have a chance to truly explore most of them. The only characters we really know anything about by the end of the film are Leo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy, who's dreams they are entering.

It's still a great film, with some of the best cinematography I've ever seen, and every single actor does a good job. The directing is excellent, the action sequences are intense, and the characters they do explore are really interesting (although, in my opinion the most interesting character isn't Leo DiCaprio, but Cillian Murphy, but that's another blog post entirely) but after another viewing, I do wish they had been able to explore the characters of Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, or Ken Watanabe a bit more. One of the things I loved about The Dark Knight was that every major character was fully developed. The Joker, Batman, Alfred, Rachel, Harvey, these characters were all explored, and unfortunately I just can't say the same about Inception. Again, fantastic film, just slightly LESS fantastic on a second viewing.

Toy Story 3... Yeah people are going to hate me for this. Now, I have to say, this movie holds up better than Inception does on a second viewing, to the point where I'd say Inception and Toy Story 3 are pretty much a tie for second best film released last year. Now, I did love seeing Andy grown up, and the fact that they gave us the movie we wanted to see. At the end of Toy Story 2 they went back knowing it wouldn't last forever, and that's what I wanted to see. What happens when it is over? They told us, and that alone was enough reason to love Toy Story 3. The fact that they introduced new characters, and that each and every one was a great addition to the series? Just icing on the cake.

That said, there were a few very minor complaints I did have the second time around. First of all, I found it extraordinarily strange the way Andy's mother just rushes him out the door when he's leaving for college, making him pack everything... I don't know, it didn't seem the way a real mother would act. At the same time, the very ending of the film *spoilers* where Andy is playing with his toys one last time... Yes, it was touching. Yes it was sad, and a good scene... But it just didn't seem like the way a real person would act. I know, I know, I'm complaining about realism in a movie with talking toys, but still. Fantastic movie with just a couple quirks.

Tangled, on the other hand, only got better the second time I watched it. As I sat there and watched, picking up on more and more subtleties, such as the incredibly detailed backgrounds I just fell in love with it more, and I still have not a single complaint about it. And this is me we're talking about, I love to complain.

This is one of the only films I own the soundtrack to, just because it's the best soundtrack I've heard in AGES! This is the only DVD/Blu-Ray/Whatever I've bought on the day it was released since The Dark Knight!

I think the real tell was at the academy awards. You see, every year, there's some movie I get angry at for being snubbed. In 2008, for example, it was The Dark Knight, for not even getting a nomination for Best Picture, an award it should have won.

This year though, Inception got nominated for a lot of stuff, won some stuff, lost some stuff, and while it got a nomination for Best Picture... I was honestly fine with it not winning, over films like The Social Network or The King's Speech.

However, Tangled not even being NOMINATED for Best Animated Picture? Criminal. Absolutely criminal. I loved How To Train Your Dragon, sure, but Tangled was a much better film. And Randy Newman's "We Belong Together" beating "I See the Light"?! What kind of sick joke is that?! "I See the Light" deserved that award more than "You Got A Friend In Me Mk. 26"

So folks, in short, I take it back. Inception and Toy Story are tied as the second best films of 2010. And Tangled? Tangled is in fact both the best animated picture, and the best overall film.

It had everything. Perfectly developed characters who you actually cared about, hysterical humor that rarely went for cheap jokes, absolutely spot on storytelling, some of the best animation I've ever seen, traditional or CGI, and a brilliant soundtrack.

For example, the King and Queen. They're only in that film for around 5 minutes. One scene at the beginning, one scene at the end, and one scene in the middle. They never utter a word throughout the entire film. And yet, in the middle of the film, as they light the lanterns in memory of their lost daughter, the Queen fixes a necklace on the King's neck, and the two have a moment. Just a brief look. And in that moment, they convey so much that by the end of the film, it's easy to forget that there wasn't a line of dialogue uttered by either of them in the entire film. It was a look that conveyed pain. That got across what the King was thinking, and a moment where you realize just how painful it is for the two of them. That they're missing yet another of their daughter's birthdays. Her 18th, to be exact.

And then the moment ends. And the two characters are more interesting, and more well developed than Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, or any of the other actors that weren't Leo DiCaprio or Cillian Murphy in Inception.

That's using film as a visual medium. Which it is. It's a brilliant scene, I'd put on par- No, above, anything in Inception or Toy Story 3.

And that's why Tangled was the best movie of last year. Sorry Inception, I love ya', but Tangled was the superior film.

Movie Review - Tangled

Tangled, for those of you who have been living in some sort of alternate universe where you aren't spammed with advertisements for everything having to do with Disney every five minutes (which admittedly actually sounds pretty nice) is the latest Disney film. It is, like many older Disney movies, and like last year's "The Princess and the Frog" is a modernized version of a classic fairy tale. This time, Disney chose the well known story of Rapunzel.

You know the story, girl has a wicked stepmother/witch/whatever who traps her in a tower, and for some reason she grows really long hair and yada yada yada blah blah blah. If I have to tell you the story of Rapunzel... Who are you? Seriously. If you don't know the story this film is based on... Go Google it you strange person.

The major difference, and one that I will admit made me very hesitant of seeing this film, is that this is not traditional animation, this is CGI. And looking back at Disney's CGI track record... Errrr... It's not the best. I mean, on the one hand you have movies which are good but not great like Meet The Robinsons or Bolt, which are both worth seeing... And on the other hand you have Chicken Little and... Well...



Yeeeeaaah... Not a good track record for Disney here when it comes to CGI* thus far. So, while the trailers looked good I've been disappointed by a movie with a good enough trailer before so I've since learned not to trust them. And so I went into the theater hopeful, but skeptical. So what was the verdict? Is the movie good? Decent? Terrible?

Ladies and gentlemen, this movie is absolutely FANTASTIC.

Seriously, I never thought I would say this, but this is a real contender for my favorite animated film of the year, and that's saying a lot considering this year brought movies like "How to Train Your Dragon" and of course "Toy Story 3". In fact, this is one of the best MOVIES I've seen this year. And I saw Inception, so... I was wowed.

But let's back up a minute, shall we? What makes Tangled so good? Well, I'm tempted here to say "everything" and just stop writing, but NO! I shall tell you just what makes this movie so darn good.

First, let me tell you about the plot. As you could see from my statement above, everyone knows the story of Rapunzel, so it would have been very easy for this film to feel repetitive and redundant and repetitive and redundant. But was it? No! Not at all! They introduced many new elements that vastly improved the typical story of Rapunzel. So let me give you a quick outline of the plot. This is spoiler free in my opinion, since everything I tell you is recapped in the first 5 minutes of the film, but uh... If you really care that much about spoiling the first 5 minutes of the film... Scroll down a bit.

Are they gone? Ok good. Now then, long ago there was a magic flower. An old hag found the magic flower, and learned that it had magical properties that would return her to youth when she sang to it. She kept this power to herself and would return to the flower every so often, to return her youth. Centuries passed, and there was a kingdom which sprung up in the area, ruled by a beloved King and Queen. The Queen was pregnant, but unfortunately before the child was born, she became very ill. Dying, the entire kingdom searched for a miracle. And thus, they found the flower, much to the dismay of the old hag, Gothel.

The Queen was restored to health and the girl, Rapunzel, was born. Gothel, unwilling to give up her eternal youth, however, snuck into the castle, and attempted to steal some of the girl's hair, which she knew would have the same magical properties of the flower. However, as she cut a lock of Rapunzel's hair from her head, it turned brown, and lost it's magical properties. Still unwilling to leave her eternal youth behind, she stole the child, and hid away with her in a tower deep in the forest, never to be found again.

Cut to 18 years later, when Rapunzel has grown, and wants to leave the tower. "Mother" Gothel, isn't pleased with this however.

Now, let me say, the writers for Rapunzel did an AWESOME job. She totally feels like a fully fleshed out character, and not a stereotypical princess, which would have been an easy trap to fall into. The voice actress did an awesome job with her lines, and just in general they took a generic princess character, Rapunzel, and made her kind of awesome. Her character feels intelligent, capable, and fun. Also, there's a very interesting dynamic between her and "Mother" Gothel. You see, Gothel raised her, and Rapunzel really thinks she's her real mother.

And so, even though to the audience it's very obvious that Gothel is evil, you can also really feel for Rapunzel, as everyone's had a point where they've been frustrated with a close family member in some way, and can relate to still loving your family, even when you don't particularly like them.

The other main character of the film, aside from Rapunzel, is Flynn Rider, the daring charismatic thief. The best way I can describe Flynn, is if you took one part Nathan Drake (or for that matter any character voiced by Nolan North), one part Captain Mal, and one part Aladdin, and mixed them together into one awesome character.

Flynn, voiced by Zachary Levi the actor who plays Chuck in, well, Chuck, is a LOT of fun. His dialogue is always fun, and well written, and... Well, he's just awesome. He's, again, a really well done character. Major props, again, to the writers for that character.

But what would a Disney musical extravaganza be without music? ...Er... I guess it would just be Atlantis, But that's aside the point. What I was getting at is that the music in this film, written by the legendary Alan Menken, with lyrics by "Glenn Slater" who I've never heard of, is really really good. I could tell you about it, or I could give you an example.

Guess which one I'll pick? (Hint: Both.)



The music feels both modern, and at the same time completely feels like the music from classic Disney movies like, again, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, or The Lion King. Due in no small part I'm sure, due to the fact that it was composed by, well, Alan Menken. The guy who WROTE all the music for those movies.

But, the real big turnoff for most people, myself included, was the animation. So I suppose I should probably talk about that some, right? Right. So is the animation good? HECK YEAH! This is, I don't hesitate to say, some of the best CGI I have EVER SEEN. Avatar has nothing on this movie, not because this is more photo realistic, but because this is more gorgeous.

Let me give you an example. The tower. The tower Rapunzel and Gothel live in. Every surface in the tower has been painted by Rapunzel during her 18 years living in the castle. The result? An absolutely gorgeous set, which, just looking in the background, is jaw dropping. It's visually stunning, seeing intricate designs on every surface. The outside of the tower is also gorgeous, and the sequence about 2/3rds of the way through the movies, during the song "I See The Light" is probably the most amazing piece of CGI animation I've ever seen. It's fantastic, on par, perhaps even surpassing, anything Pixar, the best animation studio on the planet, has put out.

If you get a chance, see it in 3D. Why? Well, while there won't be that many things popping out at you, the 3D adds a depth to the film which makes it even more visually stunning.

The action sequences are awesome, the characters, even the minor ones, are all a lot of fun, the humor is always spot on, and... This movie just rocks! I loved this movie. It was absolutely incredible. You are doing yourself a disservice if you dismiss this film as "just another Disney CGI film" like Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, or Chicken Little (And 2/3rds of those movies were pretty darn good, see if you can figure out which two.), and you should see this film.

10/10. This movie is incredible. The voice acting, the animation, the writing, the music... All perfect. Go see it. End of story.


*For the love of god if I get a single person who tries to tell me I'm wrong about Disney CGI movies because I'm forgetting Pixar I will give that person an internet punch in the face. That's right. I will reach through your monitor and give you an internet punch in the face. PIXAR =/= DISNEY. Pixar is (now) owned by Disney, but this was NOT produced as a Pixar film, and I was speaking of DISNEY ANIMATION movies, NOT Pixar animation movies. Big difference.