Tangled is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale Rapunzel in the collection of folk tales published by the Brothers Grimm, it is the 50th Disney animated feature film.
It was directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard (in the former’s feature directorial debut), and produced by Roy Conli, with a screenplay written by Dan Fogelman. The film stars the voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy. Tangled tells the story of Rapunzel, a lost, young princess with magical long blonde hair who yearns to leave her secluded tower. Against her foster mother’s wishes, she accepts the aid of an intruder to take her out into the world which she has never seen.
Before the film’s release, its title was changed from Rapunzel to Tangled, reportedly to market the film gender-neutrally. Tangled spent six years in production at a cost that has been estimated at $260 million, which, if accurate, would make it the most expensive animated film ever made and one of the most expensive films of all time.
The film employed a unique artistic style by blending together features of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and traditional animation while using non-photorealistic rendering to create the impression of a painting. Composer Alan Menken, who had worked on prior Disney animated features, returned to score Tangled, and also wrote the film’s songs with Glenn Slater. Tangled premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 14, 2010, and went into general release on November 24.
The film earned $592 million in worldwide box office revenue, $200 million of which was earned in the United States and Canada, making it the eighth highest-grossing film of 2010, and was praised by critics for its animation, writing, characters, and musical score. The film was nominated for a number of awards, including Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 29, 2011; a short film, Tangled Ever After, was released later in 2012 and a television series premiered in 2017.