Tangled: The Series

I didn't think that I would enjoy this series, as I thought Disney was again milking and squizing the last bit out of this cow. At some points in the series it did become a bit too long and slow. Life lessons for parents and kids are ok. Overall a nice storyline, nice twists and ok character developments. The ending was decent.

As a fan of the original Tangled, I was curious where they were going with this series. Happy to say if you're a Tangled fan the series follows the film almost seamlessly.

First there's the TV movie, Tangled: Before Ever After, which I personally didn't care for too much. It was a bit too hammy and moralistic, low on humor and cliché. "Stubborn princess disobeys father. Father doesn't understand stubborn princess." We've seen this story play out so many times.

Now the SERIES on the other hand really gets things going. I would still recommend watching Before Ever After because you get explanations for some major plot elements of the series.

First there's the humor. I think Tangled the Series is really funny. It's anchored by being set in a renaissance / medieval period and it manages to work the period into its humor, which is really great because it reminds me of things like The Princess Bride or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, other films that did well with not taking the setting seriously. That's a huge plus for Tangled.

Then there's the voice cast which is awesome since it's being helmed by the original voices. You never get a sense that you're not seeing Rapunzel or Flynn being the way they are, and the voices really help with that. In fact one of the best things about Tangled is that we get to see more of Flynn and especially Rapunzel. As much the film developed her character, it was still limited by the runtime. The series really fleshes her out and we have a more defined idea of who Rapunzel is. Flynn was always flashy and we get a lot more of Flynn, the arrogant side and the deeper "Eugene" part of him. Although we really should be calling him Eugene since that's what he goes by in the series. There's also a new character who is just fantastic, Cassandra. The banter being Cassandra and Eugene is one of the running jokes that the series plays with really well. As a trio, they work really well together.

It's also nice to see Rapunzel and Eugene "dating" in a sense. Since the film went by so fast, we have more of a chance to see what their relationship is like.

So far I've been really loving this. It's like an expansion pack of the original movie - more insight into the kingdom, more insight into the characters and a bigger setting to play around with.

Back at 2010, Disney released Tangled, a movie about Rapunzel, after being in the tower for a long time since childhood, goes out with a thief named Flynn Rider in order to pursue the lanterns on her birthday. Her biological mother, Mother Gothel, however, intends to use Rapunzel's hair in order to retain her youth. It became a box office success and thus plans for a television series were made.

Originally spun off from Tangled: Before Ever After, the series continues the adventures of Rapunzel during her adjustments to the life of a princess while encountering a mysterious return of her 70 feet magical golden hair. Little did she know that mysteries surrounding the world of Corona lie ahead as she tries to uncover them along with Cassandra, Eugene, and many others.

Now that it's been nearly 6 months since the show ended, I'm not going to do any spoilers and give the show some praise. Not only is this one of the best animated Disney channel series, but it's a great continuation of the movie. I know there's many people out there that either love it or hate it, but as a person who loved the movie back at the early 2010s, I personally love this show.

Not only does it expand on the original film with very deep storylines, it provides some solid character development for not only for Rapunzel and Eugene, but every other character in the entire show notably Cassandra. In fact, the characters are both likeable and relatable with some engaging and heartfelt voice work from Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Eden Espinosa and everyone else including Julie Bowen, Clancy Brown, and Jeremy Jordan. The pacing for every episode so far has been solid as it provides some atmosphere.

The animation is also another great aspect. The character designs of Rapunzel Eugene, Maximus, and Pascal along with the other characters from the movie are good while the new character designs are also good. Not to mention that the visuals are perfectly colored especially the look of Corona.

And last but not least the music. Alan Menken, who composed the music and songs for the movie, returns for the show and provides some great new songs with Kevin Kliesch notably "Wind in My Hair" in the opening intro. Also, the music score is haunting uplifting, and poignant.

Overall, Tangled: The Series is a great show. To those who haven't seen the show yet, check out the movie first.

Although I can't really tell what audience this show is aiming for, it is quite enjoyable. As many other reviews tell you, "Tangled: The Series" is an overall combination of warm-hearted, fun scenes that are found in the typical children's show and some other scenes that may frighten kids. That combination is a little unusual; nevertheless, the show is still amazing. I'd say pre-teens would enjoy it the most.

As you might have also seen other reviews say, this series contains MANY fillers. Not sure if I would recommend this show to people who want to get straight to the point. Most of the fillers do include character development, though.

One thing I also want to mention that I saw in another review is that the protagonists are a little different than in the movie. Rapunzel's innocence is quirky and lovable in the movie; in the series, to many (not necessarily to me), it just makes her seem annoying and naïve. Which, she was definitely naïve in the movie, but you'd think after all that she'd been through, she would be much less. She was only the slightest bit less. It makes it even more ironic that she mentions quite a few times in the show that she isn't naïve anymore. Eugene, well, is just her go-to guy for emotional support. He wasn't much of an "emotions" guy in the movie, though I understand he could've grown to be like that the more time he spent with Rapunzel. It's just weird to me to go suddenly from an orphan/thief to a sort-of therapist.

One reason I enjoy this show probably a little more than I should is simply because I am a Tangled lover. Definitely recommend to any Tangled lover. Overall wonderful show!

This series is great and this is why:

1. Animation

Many people complain about the 2D style... Let me tell you something: this is so much better than the cheap CGI alternative they had. There was no way to create more than 1500 minutes of footage for the whole series in the same style as the movie, which is the most expensive animated movie of all times. Great character design, top quality facial expressions, beautiful backgrounds and colors. The choice was perfect!

2. Voice Actors

We've got the original cast from the movie plus Jeremy Jordan, Eden Espinosa and James Iglehart, among others. They bring TTS characters (old and new) to life, displaying all kind of emotions flawlessly. And their voices... OMG! Wich leads me to the following item.

3. Songs

Alan Menken and Glenn Slater came back to write the songs and it really paid off: Waiting in the Wings (which got an Emmy), Nothing Left to Lose, Crossing The Line, and the list goes on. The songs are beautiful, move the plot forward, bring character depth and the animation on them is just amazing.

4. Writing

The mythology, the expanded universe, the world building and all the characters are amazing. Not to mention these guys had it all planned out right from the start (I can't say more without getting into spoilers)

Watch it!