All this time I’ve been a Disney fan and I had no idea that there was an official ceremony for adding a princess to the Disney Princess Court. This October 2nd, for the first time an event called ‘Rapunzel’s royal celebration’ will take place at Kensington Palace in London, UK. Girls from across the globe & every Disney princess character will join the festivities. Well, I guess if Disney thinks it will sell more merchandise, then I’ll go along with it.
Happy to announce the winners of our recent contests here on The Disney Blog. For the Tangled DVD package say congratulations to Blaine C. of Orlando, FL and Cheryl G. of Woodland Hills, CA. The Great American Pie Festival Family Four Pack Winner is Carolyn… Read More »Contest Winners: Tangled Pie
Tangled, the 50th feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios is destined to join the ranks of Disney Classics. It has likable characters, great sidekicks, songs that appear to have that timeless element, and a story that will withstand the test of time without seeing out of place. The movie also features a style of animation that I believe has captured some of the artistry of the original hand drawn classics, why combining the new depth of field that’s capable with digital animation. All in all it’s a great template upon which to build future Disney animated films.
You all know the story: When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voiced by ZACHARY LEVI) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (voiced by MANDY MOORE), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower she’s been locked away in for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief, and the unlikely duo sets off on an action- packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an overprotective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. Tangled is a story of adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair.
Which brings me to the DVD Blu-Ray combo pack I was sent to review. I love the that you get both a DVD and a Blu-Ray in the package. This allows me to have a Blu-Ray disc for when I eventually own one. But Disney needs to do more to share bonus features across both discs. For now, all I can say is that the bonus features on the Blu-ray sound great. But I just can’t see them. I, of course, miss the Director’s commentary. That should be standard for any Disney DVD if you ask me.
The copy of the DVD I reviewed had excellent color and sharpness of detail. Although the film was available in 3D in theaters, it doesn’t really lose anything when viewed in 2D. There is a 4 disc version that includes the 3D version if you have a 3D TV at home, or plan to buy one in the future. That’s also the only version that includes a digital download for your portable device.
DVD and Blue-ray Bonus Features and a special look and some concept art from the film below the cut:
As part of the promotional tour for the DVD, I had a chance to sit in on a virtual roundtable with Tangled’s directors Nathan Greno & Bryan Howard. I’d say the biggest news is that Greno and Howard are already tapped to develop another film for Disney.
Q – Congratulations on the film’s success. Have you given any thought to making a sequel?
A – Nathan Greno: We’d only do a sequel if there was a great story to tell. The movie buttons up really nicely… but we do love those characters… I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Again, we’d have to have a great story already in mind if we wanted to do a sequel…
Q – Are you pleased with the film’s title change from “Rapunzel” to “TANGLED”?
A – Byron Howard: When Nathan and I figured out that this film was really about two characters, Flynn and Rapunzel, we knew that changing the title would be a good idea. We like that TANGLED as a title sounds smart and intriguing, while also relating to the tangle of plot, characters and emotion in the film.
Q – Having worked in both mediums, what do you prefer about computer animation and what do you miss about traditional 2D animation?
A – Nathan Greno: I really love both 2D and 3D animation. 2D is really graphic and classic. 3D has amazing textures and cameras to play with. It all comes down to your story… some tales work best in 2D, some in 3D!
EPCOT’s 2011 International Flower & Garden Festival opens today. While I won’t be able to make it out until this weekend, I did send a spy today who took these sneak peeks of the preparations still underway for one of my favorite events at Walt Disney World.
Familiar toy shaped Topiaries from Toy Story 3 will great guests as they enter EPCOT.
And there will be sand sculptures again. This year highlighting Wild Cats from the DisneyNature label.
Apparently Disney marketing thought subliminal messaging would help Tangled at the box office. Find Tangled Vinyl Banners like this one on eBay. (via Superpunch and Cartoonbrew)
Update: boy I was off my game this morning. Missed two more nominees: “Day & Night”: Teddy Newton from Pixar for Best Animated Short and “The Tempest” – Sandy Powell for Costume Design. That makes it 14 total nominations. Apologies to Teddy and Sandy. Congrats… Read More »Disney Oscar Nominees
Fan covers or fandubs are a popular phenomenon on YouTube. This year’s Disney Animated Feature “Tangled” has generated its share of videos in the genre. So for this week’s Videopolis, I thought I’d introduce the idea of a singoff. Listen to the three fan covers of “When Will My Life Begin” from Tangled and then vote in the poll below for your favorite.
1. MrMikeSings
2. MartyBMusic
3. NinsMusic
Vote Results:
The clear winner was #3 NimsMusic with over 80% of the vote.
It’s not part of the voting, but I’ve include a fun parody video below the jump:
