Shorts Review: Tangled Short Cuts “Checkmate”

Rook to L9.

Some Spoilers Below

Disney Channel grows its Tangled franchise with “Short Cuts”, small scenes that play like outtakes from the new series. This episode focuses on Pascal and Maximus, two of the most beloved characters from the movie who have been used fairly infrequently so far. This is a smart move – both over-utilizing and under-utilizing them would be a mistake. Sidekicks can’t successfully sustain a storyline on their own (Disney has certainly made that mistake before: Kronk’s New Groove has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). “Checkmate” provides the perfect solution in isolating these two at a dose of just under three minutes.

Like many of Disney Channel’s shorts, this is a silent film. It has a simple plot, too. Pascal resorts to a series of gags trying to get Maximus to play chess with him, and eventually succeeds. As always, Pascal is absolutely adorable. He’s just precious, especially in this new animation style. While such oozing cuteness might weaken the emotional heights the full series is trying to achieve, here it has free range. The episode is also beautifully scored. Even as a silent short it garners the audience’s full attention.

Disney Channel doesn’t have to worry about squeezing this franchise dry just yet – there is more than enough content to go around. This first short is just another example of how rich the Tangled world is.