“Tangled” Weaves A Tale With Rapunzel’s Hair

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The two decided that to expand the story, they wanted to take Rapunzel out of her tower which meant more action sequences which would push the boundaries of computer animation. Typically a character might have their own animator and team dedicated to them. In this case, the tresses had their own team dedicated to them. Early tests had Rapunzel wearing braids at the top of her head to limit the motion of the locks, but everyone felt that was a way of cheating the system – and it showed to audiences who saw it on the screen. “Computers have a hard time recognizing when one object is touching another,” Howard explained. “The hair would be

something we had to tackle, it just became this massive issue.”

“We made some quick adjustments that made the results much, much more predictable,” Howard added, “In the end, the great thing is what you watch what’s on screen you have no idea that that’s some of the most complex technology ever.”

In order to make the movie feel like a Disney movie, Greno and Howard took inspiration from the older movies and projects. To keep with the traditional style, the two made a trip to Aneheim to see Disney’s vision of converting a 2D world into a 3D one, Disneyland. The castles and buildings from the movie are inspired in part by Central Europe and by the iconic structures in the theme park. Greno himself drew special inspiration from his favorite film, Dumbo. As a child, he would draw his own comic books and strips, but Dumbo was the one movie that really inspired him to want to work for Disney one day. The combination of a wildly imaginative landscape plus heavy emotional content was something he strove to bring to Tangled. He believed that it was a combination of the two that made for a film that could appeal to children and adults alike. Bright colors became a key mark, but so did character development “We try to layer these movies with strong emotional moments,” Howard explained.

(More on TIME.com: Growing Up: Toy Story 3’s Andy, John Morris, on the End of Everything)

“At some point, the movie came together,” Greno said, adding that besides the technical aspects one of the key elements to a successful film was just doing what Disney does best: They always tell a epic story. “Byran and I don’t have kids, but we have nieces and nephews. We want this movie to play for everyone… [Early screenings have shown] there’s enough there for everyone, and well that’s a great feeling for us.”

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