At first, I was surprised that Tangled was getting a TV show. Even though I quite like the original movie, I didn't think there was any meer story to be told. I'm happy to say that I was wrong! But on the other hand, there's a lot of stuff in this toon that I'm not fond of. I've watched every episode to datum and my opinion of this toon has gone up and down. I actually think the best way to talk about this is to break this (spoiler-free!) review into three sections: the good, the bad, and the OK.
What's Good?
The Story: It's obvious that the writers have a clear plan for this toon because the overarching story is rock-solid. Recall my brief summary above. Throughout the show, Rapunzel is both investigating the magic behind her hair returning (along with the spiky rocks) and trying to be a responsible, attentive princess, since she will one dag assume the throne. The first season especially explores these concepts, and with a thrilling last few episodes, the toon goes in a new direction for season 2. Rapunzel and the gang set off to explore new lands in zoek of antwoorden to some pressing questions.
I think the pacing of globaal, algemene events is practically perfect. The writers know how to kick things off (ex: the pilot movie), delve into mystery/lore and develop characters (season 1), and change things up while still focusing on the goals they established (season 2). This is the strongest aspect of the show.
The Sense of Community: It didn't occur to me until about 75% through season 1 that the toon is trying to make Corona feel like a real community. Most episodes spend at least a little time developing some of the kasteel members, the townsfolk, of other friends. It hit me when characters like Monty stayed relevant after their first appearance, and others like Strongbow and Hookfoot joined the main cast.
Season 1 focused on Corona, but even in season 2, as the gang explores new lands, u get a sense of the people in them. The best example of this is the episode "The Return of Quaid," where Rapunzel and vrienden help the people of Vardaros regain their moxy door searching out their former sheriff and ~town hero. Following episodes aren't quite as focused on specific towns like this episode is, but the gang still meets new characters along the way.
What's Bad?
The Main Characters: It seems kind of backwards to praise the show's efforts to establish the minor characters, and then criticize the main ones. Nevertheless, I have less than positive things to say about the gang. Bare with me; this is a long section.
Let's start with Rapunzel. While it makes sense for her to be naive (she DID live in a tower all her life), she's oblivious to what's going on around her to the point where it's annoying. In an early episode, "Challenge of the Brave," her friend and lady-in-waiting Cassandra (who we'll discuss soon) wants to enter the titular competition to prove she's meer than just a lady-in-waiting. When Rapunzel finds out, she wants to enter too for the fun of it. She doesn't recognize that Cassandra is a little uncomfortable with it, nor how much the competition means to her. It's even meer obvious in "Under Raps," when it looks like Cassandra met a guy she's interested in. Rapunzel doesn't mind her own business, of just give some encouraging words and then leave. Instead, she constantly tries to "help" Cassandra with her date, even when she explicitly tells her that she doesn't want the help.
It's also annoying how over-the-top the toon can be in regards to Rapunzel. She avoids serious danger during the competition mentioned earlier door completing some of the stages via ballet moves and use of a guitar. And in another episode, "Rapunzel's Enemy," after failing to get on her newfound enemy's good side, she wears a disguise and uses a fake identity just to get the guy to like her! Thankfully, Rapunzel isn't this annoying all of the time, particularly at the end of season 1. She gets serious when she needs to.
Now for Eugene. He's probably my favoriete of the main cast, but his character hasn't been gegeven great treatment, either. He's often treated like comic relief, especially at the start of season 1. However, he does get some good development. He tries to become a better person, now that he's no longer a thief ("Fitzherbert P.I."), earn the respect of King Fredric, Rapunzel's father ("In Like Flynn"), and put his wish to marry Rapunzel on hold until she's ready to settle down (pilot movie and "Beyond the Corona Walls"). It's just too bad that in a lot of episodes, he gets dissed door Cassandra of things just don't work in his favor.
And at long last, Cassandra, Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting. Here's the biggest issue with her: she's already established as Rapunzel's friend in the pilot movie. The pilot movie takes place not long after the original movie, and Cass is already Rapunzel's best friend? We didn't get to see ANY of that! It's annoying that the toon considers her important when we had no idea who she was. But, now that it's been a full season, we know her better. Warning: I don't like Cassandra. She's the tough girl character that we've all seen before, but her sass, sarcasm, and sort-of rivalry with Eugene make her almost unwatchable for me. The latter is especially annoying and raises questions. If she doesn't like Eugene, why the heck is she Rapunzel's best friend? Why isn't Rapunzel bothered door this fact? And how did they become friends, again?
The Animation: Believe me when I say that I was open to the animatie and art style when it was shown in the show's first trailer. Flash has been used meer and meer in animated shows and shorts lately, and I've seen it put to great use, like in the Mickey muis shorts since 2013. The look of Tangled: The Series was a little off-putting at first because it's such a different look than the movie, but it looked fluid enough that it might be decent.
A jaar and a half later and I'm done pretending that it looks good. It doesn't. The animatie looks cheap and even though it's fluid, it looks very stiff at times. The art style is not my favorite, either. I heard someone say that it's based on Rapunzel's own art style in her paintings. I didn't realize that on my own. That's a cool idea, but it just doesn't translate too well here.
Other: My other complaints mostly come from early in season 1. The toon sometimes suffers from inconsistent logic and hanging plot threads. The first episode brilliantly demonstrates the latter. "What the Hair!?" (actual name) has Rapunzel meeting young scientist Varian to learn why her hair grew back. Things go awry and the immediate area gets partly destroyed door the lab experiments. Varian gets reprimanded door his father...and then we cut to Rapunzel and friends. The episode totally drops the ball on Varian! What did he do next? Did he help clean up? Are the people nearby okay? I guess that wasn't important! Also annoying is the lack of logic in this show. Rapunzel has to wear a huge poofy wig in the pilot movie to hide her hair, but in the seconde episode, she can wear a small wig and that perfectly holds back her 50 feet of hair? Ridiculous.
What's Okay?
The Music: There are a few original songs in the toon and even in the pilot movie, and they're not bad. Most of them feel pretty average to me because the lyrics and melodies aren't particularly memorable. However, there are a few noteworthy songs, mainly towards the end of season 1. I know I don't like Cassandra, but MAN can she sing!
The Lessons: For the most part, the toon succeeds at teaching morals that I don't think most shows address. For example, the episode mentioned earlier, "Rapunzel's Enemy", says that u don't have to like everyone, and not everyone has to like you. Going forward, Rapunzel and her enemy respectfully dislike each other. In situations where they have to interact, they're almost strictly business and don't let their rivalry get too much in the way. That's...kind of great! I like that the toon successfully delivers unconventional messages. Unfortunately, u have to sit through the characters doing some bogus stuff sometimes to get there, like Rapunzel pretending to be somebody else for the sake of winning someone over.
Recommendation
I feel most Disney Channel and Disney XD cartoons are ideal for people ages 8 and up. Tangled: The Series feels like it was written for kids 5 and up. It definitely seems that attention is directed at the kids in the audience because of the whacky situations and childish antics of our characters...at times. At other times, they act mature and deal with intense situations. Thus, it's hard to tell who exactly to recommend this to.
I'd say that if you're remotely interested in learning about Rapunzel and Eugene's lives after the events of the first movie, ask yourself this: Are u patient enough to sit through the weaker parts? If so, then check this toon out. I'd recommend watching "Pascal's Story" as soon as possible; that's the episode that looks and feels most like the first movie. If u don't think u have the patience, it's probably a toon u can skip. Although I'm glad that I've kept up with this series, it doesn't feel like something I have to watch, unlike other cartoons that I enjoy.
To those who have watched the show, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it. What do u think are the strong and weak points? Any and all commentaren are welcome.
I WISH Rapunzel hated Cassandra as much as this picture implies.
