Disney teases 'Tangled,' 'Tron: Legacy'

By Sarah Sluis

After Disney releases Secretariat this Friday, it has two big releases left on its 2010 slate: Tangled, the studio's fiftieth animated feature and a return to fairy tale princesses, and Tron: Legacy, a supersized sequel to the 1982 cult hit. I had the chance to watch 20 minutes of Tron: Legacy in 2D and a feature-length version of Tangled in unfinished form, also in 2D.

First up, Tron: Legacy. I came into the preview with pretty low expectations. The first Tron teaser trailer, which you can watch on YouTube, starts and ends with a motorcycle chase scene. It looks "cool," but not enough to make me care. I need plot. Based on the preview I saw, the actual film should have appeal that extends beyond fanboys. Sean Bailey, Disney's head of production, dropped the term "character-driven," and I really hope that's true. The scenes we saw set up a compelling relationship between the father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund). Sam feels abandoned by his father, who mysteriously disappeared when he was a child, and their reunion scene is ice-cold. Clearly something will have to happen to bring father and son closer together.

We also saw a short portion in 3D, which revealed that the movie will use a strategy that Alice in Wonderland should have: all the real-life sequences will be in 2D, and the sequences inside the video-game world will be in 3D (note: this could change, but was consistent with the footage I saw).

My takeaway: The footage changed my outlook from "don't care" to "I will need to see this."

Next up, Tangled. Those that grew up with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast will experience a

little bit of deja vu within the entirely new and oh-so-gently parodic Tangled. Though the directors firmly claim the animated feature is not a parody, the male love interest (and him alone) is given some Shrek-inspired goofiness. When a character says at the end of a fairy tale, "You're probably wondering if we get married?" how can you not say you're poking a little bit of fun at the genre?

Tangled will score the most points for turning the passive Rapunzel character, burdened by her long locks, into a strong, determined young woman whose hair is part weapon, part magical tool. She's also a blonde-haired, beautiful girl who favors pink and purple dresses, but let's stop while we're ahead. In one of the funniest and most realistic sequences, she's struck by a mixture of guilt and giddy freedom after leaving her tower/prison. How true! What kid doesn't feel a little wistful when striking out on their own, and the move also underscores the psychologically manipulative relationship the princess has with her "mother."

While many of the most sweeping scenes were presented in unfinished form, one was completed. A scene in which thousands of magic lanterns rise into the sky displayed the most startlingly beautiful luminescence I have ever seen in CG animation. Animated movies have begun to really raise the bar in their visual look--How to Train Your Dragon and Wall-E, for example, had a high-end, live-action look to them. Tangled is a bit of a mix, with some details seeming more cartoony (like too-smooth faces and rather generic interiors), while other rise above. The forest seems enchanted, conveying a diverse topography. While falling in the "cartoon" category, the expressive horse Maximus and chameleon Pascal are two of the most charming characters in the movie (though the horse wins by several body lengths, so to speak).

Tangled has songs--but they fall to the background. Mandy Moore, a singer, voices Rapunzel, and Broadway veteran Donna Murphy (the witchy mother) performs her songs with impeccable elocution. The brief, haunting tune that Rapunzel sings to activate her hair has the most impact, but Rapunzel's opening "I Wish" song (learn more about the trope here) fails to ignite. To be fair, I heard the songs before they were mixed with surround sound and mastered, which could bump up their impact, but the soundtrack didn't seem the focus here.

Each of these films should do incredibly well for Disney. I hope Tron: Legacy has even more special-effects tricks up its sleeve than I saw, and that Tangled's unfinished scenes end up just as awe-inspiring as the magic lantern scenes. Mark your calendars: Disney's set list is one of the best in town. And check out my pictures from Disney's post-screening reception below, completed with one blue Tron-inspired side of the room, and another decked out in Medieval ivy and giant lanterns.

Tangled:

Tron: Legacy: