 It took Levi approximately one year to record all of his dialogue due in part to his busy schedule . Levi recorded once every six weeks for six hours at a time , recording each of his lines at least twice . The actor 's voice ultimately helped shape and develop Flynn 's character . Howard explained , " He 's so smart and clever , and his adlibs are so great , and you like him straight away ... he brings that to Flynn . " On Levi 's own influence on his character , the actor explained that Flynn 's " voice was really just a slight variation of [ his ] own . " Wanting to sound " more appropriate " for the film 's medieval setting , Levi " cleaned up [ his ] own diction and made things a little bit more polished , " referring to Flynn 's accent as Mid @-@ Atlantic . Describing Tangled as a " very family friendly " version of Romancing the Stone ( 1984 ) , Levi studied and channelled the film 's star , American actor Michael Douglas , and English legend Robin Hood . However , when Levi heard his performance in its entirety for the first time after the film 's release , the actor admitted that he was ultimately dissatisfied with his performance , explaining , " I felt like I sounded incredibly nasally and I was plugged up , " likening the experience to hearing one 's voice played back on an answering machine . 
