Another staple-piece in the Disney princess films, “Tangled” only comes up with one nominations this year. Down two nominations from last year’s “the Princess & the Frog”, Disney’s 2009 contribution, “Tangled” fails to grab the Best Animated Feature nomination, all but taken by Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 3”.
“Tangled” is a nice, witty film, but just like last year’s “the Princess & the Frog”, the original songs sound labored and miles away from the originals like “the Lion King”, “Aladdin”, and “Pocahontas”. “Tangled” does carry the “Shrek” adult humor, however, and as “Shrek” has never been nominated for an Academy Award, “Tangled” is lucky to get the song nod.
“I See the Light” comes out of the pivotal moment in the film when the princess reaches her longstanding dream with the prince-looking love interest. The two share a gorgeous moment on a boat with floating lanterns filling the sky, a truly heartfelt moment. The song, however, was not my favorite song of the film. “Mother Knows Best” was written and performed better, but I assume the Academy wanted to recognize the film’s “A Whole New World” (“Aladdin”) song that carries the film’s discovery moment.
Mandy Moore and Chuck’s star Zachary Levi perform the song well, but ultimately, “Tangled” will not be winning the award on Oscar night. Against Randy Newman’s final “Toy Story 3” representation (and even “127 Hours” original song), “I See the Light” will remain just a good old fashion Disney reprise, and just not an award winning one.
(31 OF 41 FILMS REMAINING)-(24 DAYS TO OSCARS)
