History Awesome / Tangled

*** Another Fridge-Awesome: Gothel has been on the planet far longer than Rapunzel and Eugene put together. So how did they manage to defeat her? By doing something she wouldn't expect. Gothel's cynicism dictates that people are ultimately selfish creatures only interested in self-preservation, and Eugene shouldn't have been an exception. And yet, [[MachiavelliWasWrong she didn't see it coming he would choose Rapunzel's well-being over his own]].

** Fridge-Awesome: Eugene cutting Rapunzel's hair (and in that simple act, [[MundaneMadeAwesome freeing her from Gothel]]) can be seen as [[{{Symbolism}} symbolic]] that he's helping Rapunzel [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything cut ties]] from her toxic mother, the one person standing in the way of her happiness and her true parents.

** Pascal's TheDogBitesBack moment. When the rapidly aging Gothel is stumbling around, Pascal notices some of Rapunzel's hair next to him, so he grabs it with his mouth and holds it taut, leading Gothel to trip and plunge out the window - if she weren't already aging to dust, she would've suffered the standard DisneyVillainDeath at Pascal's own paws!

** Pascal's TheDogBitesBack moment when the rapidly aging Gothel is stumbling around, Pascal notices some of Rapunzel's hair next to him so he grabs it with his mouth and holds it taut and Gothel trips and plunges out the window where she ages into dust!

** Also, they pushed the technology another step past ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' and ''Literature/HortonHearsAWho'' by incorporating smartly-placed squash-and-stretch into three-dimensional character models, an animation principle previously only reserved for hand-drawings!

** A bit meta, but the animation team gets an extra CMOA for their dedication to the whole project - when confronted with the fact that hair is so notoriously difficult to render in CGI, they didn't give up and backtrack to cel-drawn animation, try for another easier-to-animate fairytale, skimp on the quality, or just flat-out give up. No, they worked with programmers and created a brand-new custom-coded animation engine specifically to render hair, just to ensure that it all came out as the very best they could make it!
** The success of the movie also helped ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' to be made.

* How about when Rapunzel stands up to Mother Gothel? After Rapunzel has an epiphany that she's the lost princess, she whispers in shock about what she's just realized, and Gothel retorts by saying: "Rapunzel, you know how I feel about the mumbling." She then says to her angrily "I'm the lost princess, aren't I?" In response to Gothel's shocked face she draws herself up and says coldly "Did I mumble, ''Mother''? Or should I even ''call'' you that?"

[[caption-width-right:350:A Disney Princess just won over the hearts of an entire bar full of thugs. We've come a ''long'' way from [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs running from spooky trees]].]]

* Maximus the horse. For one, he's severely badass (especially considering that he's a ''horse''!) not only being able to have a sword fight with Flynn, ''using his teeth'' to wield the sword, but also nearly ''winning'' as well. There's also [[{{Determinator}} his determination]] which is downright ''scary''. This beast is probably up there with Inspector Zenigata and Javert as the world's most determined lawman (er, horse)! By the end, he's even taken over the job of head guard for the entire kingdom, and as a result crime disappeared "almost overnight" (as did most of the apples).

* Flynn and Maximus' brief duel at the dam scene was part this and part SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

** Keep in mind, there are two guards leading Flynn by his arms. And he takes both of them out effortlessly ''before'' he "jumps the handcuffs". Also impressive how he cows down the big scary men he'd been running from all movie.

*** When you look closer, Gothel was reaching to pat Rapunzel's head. This was Gothel's subtle, patronizing way of telling Rapunzel she was inferior and weaker than her. Rapunzel not taking it this time, grabbing Gothel's arm and telling her she was wrong about her, is a very nice way of showing her CharacterDevelopment.

* Gothel's death.
** Rapunzel, after Mother Gothel has just stabbed Flynn Rider to inflict a fatal wound. BoundAndGagged, she struggles until her gag comes off just to tell Gothel that no matter what Gothel does to her, she'll never stop fighting, never stop trying to escape, and will never sing to her again (which is the only thing keeping Gothel alive and young) unless she lets Rapunzel use her hair to save Flynn's life first, preparing to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] her own freedom and happiness to save Flynn's life.
*** Immediately after, when Rapunzel is allowed to heal Flynn, Flynn chops off Rapunzel's hair, ensuring that Gothel will immediately wither up and die from old age, sacrificing his own life to free Rapunzel. Better, he had ''no idea'' that it would kill Gothel. All he knew was that it would save Rapunzel from being captive for the rest of her life.
*** Just the context of the act itself. It's an act of ''setting Rapunzel free''!

*** It's as if the whole movie exists for the sake of that one moment. Everything before it leads up to it, and everything after it stems from it. More in-depth discussion [[http://www.naclhv.com/2014/05/the-gospel-according-to-disneys-tangled.html here]].
** It's definitely a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome when you can manage to make ''blonde hair turning brown a death sentence''. Which it was.
* Sure, he gets stabbed immediately afterwards, but who didn't cheer for Flynn when he started ascending Rapunzel's tower at the climax? Especially since he strikes the famous "climbing the tower" pose associated with the fairy tale.
** He even calls out "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"
* How about when Rapunzel stands up to Mother Gothel? After Rapunzel has an epiphany that she's the lost princess, she whispers in shock about what she's just realized, and Gothel retorts by saying: "Rapunzel, you know how I feel about the mumbling." She then says to her angrily "I'm the lost princess, aren't I?" In response to Gothel's shocked face she draws herself up and says coldly "Did I mumble, ''Mother''? Or should I even ''call'' you that?"
** Better, she ''grabs her arm''. Gothel tries to break free, ''and CANNOT''. Compared to how weak she was at the beginning of the movie, being unable to lift Flynn or anything, it shows how much stronger she has become.
*** And how she says this during that moment makes it even more awesome:
---->'''Rapunzel:''' NO! [[MachiavelliWasWrong You were]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong wrong]]'' [[MachiavelliWasWrong about the world, and you were wrong about]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong me!]]'' [[MachiavelliWasWrong And I will]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong never]]'' [[MachiavelliWasWrong let you use my hair]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong again!]]''
*** When you look closer, Gothel was reaching to pat Rapunzel's head. This was Gothel's subtle, patronizing way of telling Rapunzel she was inferior and weaker than her. Rapunzel not taking it this time, grabbing Gothel's arm and telling her she was wrong about her, is a very nice way of showing her CharacterDevelopment.
** Indeed, it's that brief moment when Gothel gets the OhCrap face that gives away everything. No denial can cover that look, and for the first time in the movie, you almost get the vibe of TranquilFury from Rapunzel. (Awesome and scary)

* Maximus the horse. For one, he's severely badass (especially considering that he's a ''horse''!) not only being able to have a sword fight with Flynn, ''using his teeth'' to wield the sword, but also nearly ''winning'' as well. There's also [[{{Determinator}} his determination]] which is downright ''scary''. This beast is probably up there with Inspector Zenigata and Javert as the world's most determined lawman (er, horse)! By the end, he's even taken over the job of head guard for the entire kingdom, and as a result crime disappeared "almost overnight" (as did most of the apples).
* The movie itself is a CMOA for animation in general. Start with the level of attention and focus paid to Rapunzel's hair, which is notoriously hard to render in CG. Next is when her tear heals Eugene, which is by far the most visually impressive and beautiful resurrection scene in any movie.
** And a third for the CostumePorn. Holy cow, have you seen the ''detail'' on Rapunzel's dress alone? The complicated flower pattern on the front section of the skirt is not drawn on. It is ''embroidered with metallic thread.'' The ''whole damn thing.'' The rest of the costumes include all the actual seams, wrinkles, even weathering that actual, wearable clothes would have. (Contrast the ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''' red spandex suits. Looks cool but how would you actually put it on?) The edging of the rest of Rapunzel's skirt is not just done in thread, it's done unevenly - as though she either handstitched it or was a bit uneasy on the sewing machine. And must we even mention the complex hair-braiding?!
** Of course her dress would be wildly embroidered, there was not all that much else she could do in that tower room. She also painted every square inch of that room too.
*** The costume porn even extends to the ''sound'' the clothes make as they move, Flynn squeaks and jingles constantly due to all the leather and buckles he wearing.
*** Also, if you look closely during the Kingdom Dance sequence, Rapunzel gets some paint on her dress when she paints the kingdom's emblem in the square.
** Add a fourth moment for them to the list. Watch the scene before the King and Queen release the lanterns again - the pain on the King's face is so very evident, even in CGI. They manage to get incredible emotion across in ''CGI'' without any sound whatsoever - just a character model's face.
** The ''lantern scene'', especially when seen in 3D. That is the point where the movie exceeds its genre and becomes, for a few magic minutes, a form of high art.
** When you see Rapunzel's mother, she looks very similar to Rapunzel, but not exactly. In other words, just like a real mother/daughter would look. Instead of being a GenerationXerox, they actually look like real people, despite the stylised nature of the artwork.
** Also, they pushed the technology another step past ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' and ''Literature/HortonHearsAWho'' by incorporating smartly-placed squash-and-stretch into three-dimensional character models, an animation principle previously only reserved for hand-drawings!
** A bit meta, but the animation team gets an extra CMOA for their dedication to the whole project - when confronted with the fact that hair is so notoriously difficult to render in CGI, they didn't give up and backtrack to cel-drawn animation, try for another easier-to-animate fairytale, skimp on the quality, or just flat-out give up. No, they worked with programmers and created a brand-new custom-coded animation engine specifically to render hair, just to ensure that it all came out as the very best they could make it!
** The success of the movie also helped ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' to be made.

* It's a tiny thing, but look at Rapunzel's face after Gothel insults her at the start of the reprise of "Mother Knows Best". When Gothel did the same earlier in the full song, Rapunzel looked sad. This time, she almost looks angry and confused or curious, as if she's wondering why Gothel would say such a thing if she's supposed to be the one who really cares about her. In other words, it marks her truly beginning to figure things out. And then, her sharp NO when Gothel keeps insisting she come along. It's just the strength in her voice as she says it.
* Rapunzel apparently independently discovered astronomy (unless she has more than those three books), just from watching the stars outside her window and noting their consistent configuration and movement over time. She put enough study into it to paint a [[http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljxhyyR10U1qicvbxo1_1280.jpg chart of the stars]].
** What's more, it was in response to Gothel's explanation that the "floating lights" were just "stars". Had Rapunzel been a tad less educated about astronomy, she ''might've'' believed it. But instead, it's her knowledge about stars and their natural movement through the sky that told her the yearly lanterns were anything ''but'' stars.
* The girls in the market being able to braid Rapunzel's, as earlier mentioned, 70 foot hair into one single thick braid hanging higher than her feet. As anyone who has had experience in braiding hair, dealing with long hair is no easy job, let alone something the length of a truck

* Maximus the horse. For one, he's severely badass (especially considering that he's a ''horse''!) not only being able to have a sword fight with Flynn, ''using his teeth'' to wield the sword, but also nearly ''winning'' as well. There's also [[{{Determinator}} his determination]] which is downright ''scary''. This beast is probably up there with Inspector Zenigata and Javert as the world's most determined lawman (er, horse)!

*** When you look closer, Gother was reaching to pat Rapunzel's head. This was Gothel's subtle, patronizing way of telling Rapunzel she was inferior and weaker than her. Rapunzel not taking it this time, grabbing Gothel's arm and telling her she was wrong about her, is a very nice way of showing her CharacterDevelopment.

*** Also, if you look close during the Kingdom Dance sequence, Rapunzel gets some paint on her dress when she paints the kingdom's emblem in the square.

---->'''Rapunzel:''' NO! You were ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong wrong]]'' [[MachiavelliWasWrong about the world, and you were wrong about]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong me!]]'' [[MachiavelliWasWrong And I will]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong never]]'' [[MachiavelliWasWrong let you use my hair]] ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong again!]]''

---->'''Rapunzel:''' NO! You were [[MachiavelliWasWrong ''wrong'' about the world, and you were wrong about ''me''! And I will ''never'' let you use my hair ''again!'']]

---->'''Rapunzel:''' NO! You were [[MachiavelliWasWrong wrong about the world, and you were wrong about ''me''! And I will ''never'' let you use my hair '''''again''!''']]

* Maximus the horse. For one, he's severely badass (especially considering that he's a ''horse''!) not only being able to have a sword fight with Flynn but also nearly ''winning'' as well. There's also [[{{Determinator}} his determination]] which is downright ''scary''. The beast is probably up there with Inspector Zenigata and Javert as the world's most determined lawman (er, horse)!

[[caption-width-right:350:A Disney Princess just won over the hearts of an entire bar full of thugs. We've come a ''long'' way from [[Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs running from spooky trees]].]]

** The success of the movie also helped ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' to be made.

[[caption-width-right:350:A [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Disney Princess]] just won over the hearts of an entire bar full of thugs. We've come a ''long'' way from [[Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs running from spooky trees]].]]

---->'''Rapunzel:''' NO! You were [[MichiavelliWasWrong wrong about the world, and you were wrong about ''me''! And I will ''never'' let you use my hair '''''again''!''']]

* [[spoiler: Gothel's death.]]
** Rapunzel, after Mother Gothel has just [[spoiler: stabbed Flynn Rider to inflict a fatal wound]]. BoundAndGagged, she struggles until her gag comes off just to tell Gothel that no matter what Gothel does to her, she'll never stop fighting, never stop trying to escape, and will never sing to her again (which is the only thing keeping Gothel alive and young) unless she lets Rapunzel use her hair to save Flynn's life first, preparing to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] her own freedom and happiness to save Flynn's life.
*** Immediately after, when Rapunzel is allowed to heal Flynn, Flynn [[spoiler: chops off Rapunzel's hair, ensuring that Gothel will immediately wither up and die from old age]], sacrificing his own life to free Rapunzel. Better, he had ''no idea'' [[spoiler: that it would kill Gothel. All he knew was that it would save Rapunzel from being captive for the rest of her life.]]
*** Just the context of [[spoiler: the act itself. It's an act of ''setting Rapunzel free''!]]

** It's definitely a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome when you can manage to make [[spoiler:''blonde hair turning brown a death sentence'']]. Which it was.
* Sure, [[spoiler: he gets stabbed immediately afterwards]], but who didn't cheer for Flynn when he started ascending Rapunzel's tower at the climax? Especially since he strikes the famous "climbing the tower" pose associated with the fairy tale.

* How about when [[spoiler:Rapunzel stands up to Mother Gothel? After Rapunzel has an epiphany that she's the lost princess, she whispers in shock about what she's just realized, and Gothel retorts by saying: "Rapunzel, you know how I feel about the mumbling." She then says to her angrily "I'm the lost princess, aren't I?" In response to Gothel's shocked face she draws herself up and says coldly "Did I mumble, ''Mother''? Or should I even ''call'' you that?"]]
** Better, she [[spoiler:''grabs her arm''. Gothel tries to break free, ''and CANNOT''. Compared to how weak she was at the beginning of the movie, being unable to lift Flynn or anything, it shows how much stronger she has become.]]

---->'''Rapunzel:''' [[spoiler: NO! You were [[MichiavelliWasWrong wrong]] about the world, and you were wrong about ''me''! And I will ''never'' let you use my hair '''''again''!''']]
*** When you look closer, [[spoiler:Gother was reaching to pat Rapunzel's head. This was Gothel's subtle, patronizing way of telling Rapunzel she was inferior and weaker than her. Rapunzel not taking it this time, grabbing Gothel's arm and telling her she was wrong about her, is a very nice way of showing her CharacterDevelopment.]]
** Indeed, it's that brief moment when [[spoiler:Gothel gets the OhCrap face that gives away everything. No denial can cover that look, and for the first time in the movie, you almost get the vibe of TranquilFury from Rapunzel. (Awesome and scary)]]

See also the pages for ''Awesome/TangledEverAfter'' and ''Awesome/TangledTheSeries''.

[[caption-width-right:350:A [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Disney Princess]] just won over the hearts of an entire brothel of thugs. We've come a ''long'' way from [[Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs running from spooky trees]].]]

* Fridge-Awesome: During "I've got a Dream", Gothel peeks through a window into the Snuggly Duckling and is ''mortified'' to see Rapunzel having ''fun'' with these thugs. The awesome part is, she's seeing first-hand that all her efforts (to mold Rapunzel into this [[ShrinkingViolet timid]], [[CowardlyLion frightened, nervous]], [[BlindObedience obedient]] [[{{Manchild}} little girl]] who would remain in her tower) were ''in vain''. There before her stands [[MeaningfulEcho a strong, confident, beautiful young woman]] who doesn't even hide from [[FaceOfAThug the]] [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood very]] [[DarkIsNotEvil people]] she's been brought up to fear.