Tangled (2010)
- The original script for Tangled was written over a decade before production finally began in 2010.
- Byron Howard, Nathan Greno originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Byron Howard, Nathan Greno's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
Tangled is a 2010 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. The film is a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, following a young woman with 70 feet of magical golden hair who has been locked in a hidden tower for 18 years by Mother Gothel, voiced by Donna Murphy, a manipulative woman who kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby to exploit her hair's rejuvenating properties. When the charming thief Flynn Rider, voiced by Zachary Levi, stumbles into her tower while fleeing the law, Rapunzel strikes a deal: she'll return his stolen crown if he escorts her to see the mysterious floating lanterns that appear every year on her birthday.
Tangled was notable as the most expensive animated film ever produced at that time, with a budget of $260 million reflecting the years of technical development required to render Rapunzel's hair β 100,000 individually animated strands that needed to move realistically while maintaining its fairy-tale luminosity. Alan Menken's return to Disney musical composition brought a contemporary Broadway energy to the songs, with "I See the Light" earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The lantern scene, in which thousands of floating lanterns illuminate a lake while Rapunzel and Flynn sing, became one of Disney's most visually iconic romantic moments.
Tangled earned $592 million worldwide and is considered one of the key films in the Disney Animation revival known as the Disney Renaissance 2.0, paving the way for Frozen's massive success three years later.
