Tangled Party Supplies have been some of our top-selling items for quite some time now. Long before the movie came out, we had people requesting party supplies for this theme.
The movie was released around Thanksgiving, but with all of the hubbub and chaos of the holidays and school, we never got around to seeing it. I had heard great things about it, but honestly? I expected it to be the standard Disney recipe of a pretty princess in trouble, a dashing hero who arrives to save the day, a few cute animals, and several catchy show-tunes. I tend to watch these movies on auto-pilot, only half-watching while the on-screen antics play out in front of me. I take my kids to see plenty of the animated features, but I never expect to be particularly entertained by them. And that’s okay. These movies aren’t made for me, they are made for my children, so I don’t expect a lot of sophisticated humor, complicated plotlines, or spine-tingling twists and turns. On the day after Christmas, after a trek to the mall to return some ill-fitting gifts, and get a pair of eight year old ears pierced, we went out to dinner in our tiny little town and noticed that Tangled was playing in our little movie theater up the street.
Sun Theater
Seriously? Isn’t that theater just about the cutest? At any rate, we went to see Tangled, and I ended up being very glad that we did! It was delightful, for everyone who attended. our little theater was packed to the gills, and as we left, I heard people raving about it, kids and grownups alike. Disney seems to have finally figured out a formula that Pixar perfected years ago. Make movies that parents will be able to enjoy just as much as their kids. Seems simple, right? But most movies that are aimed at children, are not nearly as much fun for parents to watch. Thankfully, Tangled does not follow this pattern.
Tangled offers us a heroine, Rapunzel, that on paper seems like pretty standard fare. Beautiful, isolated, a lost princess, and in need of rescue. But at the same time, she is much more than we usually see in fairy tales. She takes it upon herself to drive her own fate. She is conflicted about what she does, but with a sense of determination to see her quest through. In fact all of the characters rise above their one-dimensional storybook status. The hero, Rider Flynn, needs to be saved by Rapunzel, just as much as she needs him to help her. The villain in the story, Gothel, is definitely evil, but also truly loves Rapunzel. The two animal characters in the movie, Pascal the chameleon, and Maximus the horse, could carry an entire movie on their own, without ever speaking a word!
All of our kids loved this movie, which was unsurprising. But the parents in attendance all enjoyed it too, and that made an enjoyable family outing so much better than we expected. Don’t wait, go see this movie while it is still in theaters. The animation is lush, and gorgeous. The movie is funny, and tense, and moving (particularly the scene where Rapunzel is reunited with her real parents.) You won’t be disappointed, and it will make planning all of those Tangled birthday parties with your kids even more fun!
