Once upon a time, there was a studio called Disney that used to make wholesome family-friendly classics like “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin.” Then one day, mediocrity seeped in like a thief in the night and the old studio synonymous with quality entertainment disappeared. For the next fifteen years, the old Disney Animation Studios was reduced to a shell of its former self while the mantle of “animation powerhouse” was transferred to Pixar, a prodigious studio that Disney partnered with in the mid-90s to save face.

While there have been some movies released under the Disney Animation banner that flirted with classic territory (“Lilo & Stitch,” “Hercules,” “The Emperor’s New Groove”) by trying to be something different, most of their output ranged from mediocre to just plain bad. And although I thought last December’s “The Princess and the Frog” was a nostalgic throwback to the studio’s great musicals of the past, it still didn’t leave me with that magical feeling.

The dreadful trailers for “Tangled” didn’t do much to restore my confidence in the studio and there was a point where I even pondered passing on the opportunity to reviewing the film. Man, I’m so glad I didn’t because I would have missed out on the best Disney animated movie since “The Lion King.” Yeah, that’s high praise but not to take anything away from “Tangled,” when you think about it, Disney hasn’t really made a fantastic animated film since their great animal kingdom Hamlet-adaptation in 1994.

Instead of sticking too close to its source material – the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Rapunzel” – co-directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, and writer Dan Fogelman re-invent the story into a screwball road-trip adventure in the vein of “Romancing the Stone” where both male and female lead characters rely on each other to get past several obstacles and reach their destination. This would also explain why the film is regrettably saddled with the generic title “Tangled” instead of “Rapunzel.”

Taking a petal from “Beauty and the Beast,” “Tangled” begins with an enchanting opening sequence where we’re narrated the story of a beautiful princess named Rapunzel who was kidnapped by an evil old hag named Gothel (Donna Murphy) for her glowing magical hair which harnessed the power of healing wounds and restoring youth when sung to. To keep Rapunzel for herself and from finding out about her real parents, Gothel locks the child in a door-less tower hidden deep within a forest far away from the kingdom.

Years go by and Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), now a feisty 18-year-old who enjoys reading, painting, baking and playing with her pet chameleon Pascal, longs to leave the tower. But when she requests permission to leave, her “mother” Gothel refuses and scares her into staying in the tower through some messed up passive-aggressive scheme. Distraught, the young Rapunzel resigns herself to a life of solitude.

Enter Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), a dashing Errol Flynn-like thief, who stumbles upon the hidden tower after evading authorities and double-crossing his dim-witted cohorts the Stabbington brothers (both voiced by Ron Perlman). Thanks to some very creative use of her mile-long hair, Rapunzel is able to hold the cocky Flynn hostage and negotiate a deal where he would have to take her to the kingdom in exchange for his satchel of jewels, which she hides away. The reluctant Flynn agrees and the duo head out on a road trip where they bump and clash into an assortment of peculiar characters including a royal guard’s horse determined to apprehend Flynn, and a band of crooks who have a penchant for singing and dancing.

Like all Disney films, the animation in “Tangled” is top-notch and flawless. Though I would have preferred if the filmmakers had gone the route of “The Princess and the Frog” and rendered the film using traditional animation, the bright, colorful and gorgeous CG animation of “Tangled” has been purposely designed to mimic the look and feel of a 2-D animated film.  An action sequence featuring a waterfall reminded me a lot of the “Indiana Jones” films and an opening heist sequence where Flynn steals from a priceless tiara from the royal palace is very reminiscent of the “Prince of Persia” games. Additionally, the fairy-tale like back-story is sumptuous. The film’ most breathtaking sequence though is a pivotal lantern sequence set on a lake towards the end with Flynn and Rapunzel on a boat. It just may be the most breathtaking animated sequence I’ve seen all year!

The songs in “Tangled,” composed by the great Alan Menken, aren’t as good as some of the six-time Oscar winner’s greatest works but they’re fun and enjoyable in the context of the film. The three stand-outs are the traditional villain song (“Mother Knows Best”) which is phenomenally performed by Broadway vet Donna Murphy, “I Have a Dream,” a comic track set in a pub, and “I See the Light,” a love theme that's practically begging to be Oscar nominated.

Finally, it’s the characters of “Tangled” that allow it to stand over most of Disney’s recent work and on an even field with some of Pixar’s films. Instead of being the silly damsel-in-distress, Fogelman writes Rapunzel as a smart, feisty and resourceful young woman but also with a tinge of childishness not seen in Disney princesses for a long time. Similarly, Flynn Rider is what you’d get when Robin Hood meets Aladdin and Prince of Persia. Mother Gothel, impeccably voiced by Donna Murphy is also the studio’s most memorable villain since Eartha Kitt’s hilarious Yzma in “The Emperor’s New Groove.”

BOTTOM LINE: Ignore the lame trailers of “Tangled” because this is one the biggest surprises of 2010! It’s a beautifully written and colorfully animated feature that holds its own against the very best films in the Disney canyon. With memorable characters, fun songs and an anything but predictable storyline, the movie stands as the second-best animated title of the year (after “Toy Story 3”) and more importantly, the best Disney Animation Studios release since “The Lion King” in 1994.

GRADE: A-

TANGLED

Directed by: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard

Written by: Dan Fogelman (songs written and music composed by Alan Menken

Ron PerlmanMandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman

Rated: PG (for brief mild violence)