The 2010 Disney film Tangled is a modern and charming take on the classic fairy tale “Rapunzel”. It mixes traditional storytelling with original songs, comedic characters, and a visually stunning art style. A film starring an unlikely hero, a strong heroine and a sword-fighting horse—what could be better than that?

“Tangled” was released November 24, 2010, making it Disney’s 50th animated feature. It is a musical adventure film directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. The film features the voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and Donna Murphy. The story is about the long-lost princess, Rapunzel, who yearns to escape the confines of her secluded tower in search of an adventure. Rapunzel’s hair has magical powers, such as healing the sick and granting eternal youth—powers her step-mother, Mother Gothel, takes advantage of. Gothel refuses to let her leave in fear that Rapuzel will discover who she truly is and Gothel will lose her eternal youth. Desperate to leave, Rapuzel accepts the aid of a smooth-talking criminal, Flynn Rider, who stumbles upon her tower. Together they embark on a thrilling adventure of finding one’s true identity.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is its art style. “Tangled” blends together features of computer-generated imagery (CGI) with traditional animation. This, combined with its use of non-photorealistic rendering, gave the film a unique and almost painting-like art style. The scene where this is the most prominent is the one with paper lanterns descending onto water. This moment is especially captivating as it departs from the usual 3-D CGI of the 2010s and instead focuses on sharp defined images. This whole scene creates a Renaissance painting look to give it a dreamy and whimsical feel. The distinctive process took animators almost six years to produce the final project. The production value of the film is estimated at about $260 million, which would make it the most expensive animated film ever made.

No musical is complete without a soundtrack, and composer Alan Menken did not disappoint. Menken said he attempted to blend medieval music with 1960s folk rock to create the new songs. The songs range from upbeat exposition songs to heartfelt love ballads. All the songs are whimsical, uplifting and dreamy. The song “I See the Light” was even nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar.

Besides it being an entertaining adventure story, “Tangled” also carries a good message with it. The main message is “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Rapunzel is not a stereotypical damsel in distress, but is in fact a clever, independent woman and can take care of herself. Flynn Rider is first introduced as a selfish criminal. However, over the course of the movie, he learns the virtues of kindness, generosity and selflessness. Mother Gothel is a passive-aggressive villain who does not rely on obvious superpowers but rather her subtle wits to keep Rapunzel captive.

This movie is not perfect; however, it is still a charming, feel-good movie for the whole family. The action is swift, the songs are catchy, the side characters are comedic, and the main characters have a romantic and cute-to-watch dynamic. It has scenes to make the audience laugh, cry and sing-along. “Tangled” is just another quintessential Disney classic.