There’s More In You Than You Know (A Post By Lucretia) November 22, 2010

Lucretia, my wife, recently had the opportunity to preview the new Disney movie “Tangled.”  Below are her thoughts…wow…I LOVE MY WIFE…her insights are GREAT…

Mid October, I had a very special opportunity to go to Disney Animation Studios to see the movie Tangled, based on the Rapunzel fairy tale, and meet with the producer, directors, and animator for Rapunzel. What struck me most about the film and those directly involved with its making was the heart behind the movie.

Tangled is Disney’s 50^th full-length animation but has taken a long and complicated journey to its completion. Glen Keane, the animator of Rapunzel and original director of the film, first started developing the idea for the movie in 1996. The official proposal to Disney was done in 2001. Disney was in favor of the film but wanted computer generated animation rather than hand-drawn. The technology was not really even available at the time to make the quality of movie envisioned so Keane undertook the challenge to create a CG film where the “computer bends it knees to the artist” and becomes a “pliable pencil.” Further changes ensued in 2006 when Disney merged with Pixar and Keane merged with John Lasseter to work on the movie. In 2008 Keane had a heart attack and directing duties were turned over to Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, but Keane remained on as animation director. Earlier this year the movie Rapunzel was renamed Tangled and had only 40% animation done with only a few months left before deadline for completion. Well, I can definitely say that Tangled has been a labor of love and not something Disney simply rushed to completion simply for the sake of profit. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and felt that the effort and heart that went into it shines through.

As a Christian, I appreciated the experience on an even different level. Within everyone is something missing that only Jesus can fill. That is the way we were made. I also believe that for boys there is a constant longing and questioning of the heart to know that they are man enough and have what it takes. For girls, that longing / questioning is to know that we are beautiful and worthy of the time and pursuit for relationships. It is a part of who we are and were created to be. As daughters of The King, girls have the heart of a true princess within each of us. We know deep down that we were created for something more. Why do little girls want to dance with daddy, twirl in dresses, and wear sparkles? Why are fairy tales so appealing? The whole princess thing is part of our God design and heart. I have such a heart for girls and am selective about what I expose Charisse to. I cannot wait until she sees Tangled as her first theater movie! This movie really does address the heart issues of both boys and girls – you do have what it takes and you are worthy and beautiful – there is more in you (than you know).

Tangled is a great family fun movie with action, adventure, romance, comedy, and a not-so-evil bad guy. Disney was very successful in making a fresh and modern fairy tale that also taps into its classic roots. Look for Pinocchio and familiar book titles in the pub scene as well as subtle references throughout the movie to other Disney classics. The village scene is designed after Fantasyland at Disney Parks. There are timeless truths and issues of the heart addressed – dreams, family, sacrificial love, redemption, a longing for something more, potential within that must come out, and the courage to reveal your true self.

Flynn Rider is a worldly thief with a back-story who is the key to freedom for a sheltered girl with unlimited potential and magical hair. The story is about their adventures and growth as individuals and a couple. The ”bad guy“ is a vain and selfish mother figure who steals and then imprisons Rapunzel in order to stay young and “beautiful” forever. And of course, there is the chameleon and guard-dog horse as the comedic animal sidekicks as well as an eclectic group of pug thugs. And, you must not forget the frying pan. Tangled has such a depth of story and characters that I cannot wait to see it a second time with my family!

The highlight of my trip was getting to know the animator for Rapunzel (and Ariel, the Beast, and Aladdin) Glen Keane. Keane’s story of becoming a Christian and how that impacts his animation was incredible. He really has an amazing story and seems to have an amazing heart to go with it. We all went “ahhh” when he told how he became animator of Ariel. He was assigned Ursula because he always did big bad guys. He heard Jodi Benson singing “Part of Your World” and was thinking about the longing and being made for something more as in earth and heaven rather than sea and land. He went to his boss and requested to change to Ariel. The boss questioned whether he could draw pretty young girls. His wife was his inspiration for drawing Ariel who was the first Disney princess that really spoke to my heart (I was about 16 yo.) and is Charisse’s favorite. The Beast, especially the transformation scene, was his story of the change that Jesus worked from within to without in his own life. You can definitely see his heart come through his characters.

Keane also talked about the journey of creating the character of Rapunzel. She is an uncontainable, irrepressible young girl of enormous potential who has something special placed within her that must come out. His daughter was his inspiration. Rapunzel’s unofficial motto is ” plus est en vous ” which is French for ” there is more in you (than you know).” It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20 which is special to me personally. Keane came across that saying early in her character development and it was part of shaping Rapunzel. Keane gave his insight into 3 different parts of the Rapunzel movie and the spiritual truths that they conveyed. The opening scene is representative of James 1:17. The scene where Rapunzel heals Flynn’s hand is being the unique individual God created you to be and revealing your true self to others rather than just trying to fit in and be like everyone else. The tragic and climactic scene in the tower towards the end shows the power and “magic” unlocked by true and sacrificial love from the heart. It also brings the story full circle back to the opening scene referencing James.

There is such attention to detail in this movie. Keane’s daughter who is also an artist did the artwork that became Rapunzel’s mural in her tower. If you look closely, you will notice that the drawings begin near the floor with very child-like drawings and get more sophisticated the higher they get as Rapunzel grows taller and more talented. The animators took painstaking detail to make sure that the facial expressions and emotions portrayed were modeled after actual small muscle movements of the human face. The 3D (I only the saw the movie in 2D and was not sure about the 3D aspect of the film) feature I was assured was carefully done to subtly draw the viewer into the film rather than have the film jump out at you. The lantern scene, based on actual lantern festivals from Southeast Asia, is supposedly incredible in 3D. The scene was inspired by Lasseter’s 20^th wedding anniversary trip to Tahiti where a husband of an Indonesian woman gave him and his wife a lantern to write a note on and send off into the night with a kiss. For more Tangled details and fun facts you can check the link below:

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/51076050.html

The music is also wonderful! Alan Menken who was the genius behind The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast does not disappoint. When Will My Life Begin? is the song of Rapunzel’s heart. The haunting Healing Song is in regards to the magical hair. Mother Knows Best is the villainess song. I’ve Got A Dream is the fun pub song that unites all of our hearts regardless of your past. The Kingdom Dance is a musical montage of happiness. And, the highlight is I See The Light duet with Rapunzel and Flynn in the lantern scene. Below are links to two songs from the soundtrack that are paired with film footage released from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJPGSmI22-A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROSkilpe1-k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5iFxpkz40o&feature=related

If you want to check out scenes from the movie and get to know some of the characters better, then check out the videos from the link below:

http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/tangled/?cmp=dmov_dpic_tan_url_tangled__Extl#/videos/

For anyone uncertain about seeing Tangled, I hope this helps. I am not a movie critic but do not think this one will disappoint. I really appreciated my behind the scenes look at Tangled and Disney Studios and wanted to share it with you. It is reassuring to know that there is still value placed on family fun and biblical principles. After all, all truth is God’s truth. And, if you want to send a message to Hollywood that family films with Christ-like morals and values are in-demand, then seeing the movie on opening weekend (November 24-28) speaks volumes with opening weekend box office sales.

As a doctor, I do believe in an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As a Christian, I believe it is so much easier to teach God-esteem, your worth in Christ, and becoming who He created you to be as well as seeing yourself as He sees you as special and created with a purpose and a plan early on rather than dealing with all the issues that result from never believing God’s truths about yourself. What if every parent gave their children a biblical view of themselves? Maybe our children would have the inner strength and confidence from Christ within to make better choices more in line with God’s truths about themselves rather than Satan’s lies. What if we believed that about ourselves? Like everything else, it more an issue of the heart. And, there is more in you (than you know)… because God placed it there and He wants to live inside your heart and unlock that unlimited potential!