This holiday season, Walt Disney Pictures will treat families to “Tangled,” a fun-filled, 3D re-imagining of the classic Brothers’ Grimm fairy tale, “Rapunzel.” The movie will introduce the character of Princess Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), a feisty, tower-bound teenager who also happens to be the owner of 70 feet of unruly, flaxen hair. But when Rapunzel falls for the kingdom’s most wanted (and most charming) bandit, the duo embarks on an action-packed adventure that is sure to have boys, girls and adults enthralled until the very end. We chatted with directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard about bringing this immortal fairytale to the big screen.
“Tangled” is an modern retelling of “Rapunzel,” and also boasts exciting new 3D, CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). Why was it important to you to mesh old and new in this film?
Nathan Greno: Our goal in creating this film was to really do something unexpected. So there is definitely a look in the film that reflects our roots in the classic Disney [tradition], but because it’s all done in CGI it’s very fresh. The pacing, action, and humor are all very contemporary. We love that the people who have seen [advanced screenings] of the film are saying that the movie is unexpected.
There is lot of focus on how funny “Tangled” is, but because this is a Disney movie, can audiences expect to cry a little, too?
Byron Howard: Yes, they will cry, we guarantee it. Like Walt [Disney] always said, “For every laugh, there should be a tear.” We count on the emotional parts of the story to make you care about the characters, and there’s definitely a lot of deep emotion in “Tangled.” Comedy gets people into the theater, but once you’re there you want to have the whole experience—you want to laugh, you want to cry, you want to have a great time. The movie is an amazing roller coaster ride that hits every emotion.
NG: There’s a lot of sincerity in this movie. We’re not poking fun at ourselves by any means. It’s not a snarky re-imagining of “Rapunzel”—it has a lot of heart.
Unlike its predecessors, this movie is not named for Rapunzel herself. Instead, there’s a lot of focus on the hero and action in this movie.
BH: We definitely aimed to make “Tangled” for adults and kids, for boys and girls. The movie has a great balance between the main two characters, Rapunzel and the hero Flynn Ryder [voiced by Zachary Levi]. We had to make sure that they were funny, compelling, smart and emotional. We really poured everything we had into making the characters real.
What’s one thing you hope children take away from “Tangled?” NG: The wonderful message in the story is that if you have a dream, you can make it come true.
“Tangled” opens in theaters November 24. For more information, visit Disney.com/tangled.
