Whenever Disney tackles a fairy tale, the company takes on many challenges, and they often have to make significant alterations to the original stories to make them a hit for contemporary audiences. Many try to blame Disney for being inappropriate for children without knowing the original stories in which these popular films are based; if they did, they might bite their tongue next time they want to cast another stone at the company.
For fairy tales, while initially created for children, were not generally nice or ending in "happily ever after." These stories were usually created to produce fear in children and often taught them a lesson. The Brothers Grimm loved putting a nasty spin on these stories. Cinderella's evil Stepsisters had their eyes plucked out by birds as payment for their cruelty and vanity. Little Red Riding Hood learned that talking to strange creepy men could result in seriously bad consequences (an allegory for kidnapping, rape and death). Rapunzel's story, however, was probably the toughest fairy tale that Disney decided to tackle to date.
The Brothers Grimm version of the story of Rapunzel is, at its heart, the greatest fairy tale family melodrama. This is a classical soap opera, folks. A young couple moved into a house next door to a witch with a very lush garden. The wife became pregnant and had strong cravings for greens – no doubt the neighbor's expansive vegetable patch made her hungry. The soon-to-be-father snuck over to the witch's garden and stole vegetables (historically in Germany's folklore, where a lot of Rapunzel's history comes from, it was dangerous to deny a pregnant woman a food she craved, so family members went to extreme lengths to obtain such foods). The husband was caught, however, and the witch was furious. In exchange for her vegetables, the soon-to-be-father was forced to promise his unborn baby as payment to the witch. Rapunzel was born, and the witch (or Mother Gothel) took Rapunzel away and locked her up in a tower (every teenager's worst nightmare come true). Mother Gothel wanted Rapunzel all for herself and, like an extremely over-protective parent, would not let her go out and experience the world. But, eventually, a handsome Prince heard Rapunzel's beautiful voice, saw Mother Gothel call out, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" and saw a way to visit this young maiden. So he did just as Mother Gothel did – he visited Rapunzel in her tower, and the two fell in love. The Prince planned to spirit her away and marry her, but Rapunzel became pregnant after one of their sexual encounters, and Mother Gothel found out. In the original Brothers Grimm edition, Rapunzel tells Mother Gothel that her dress is getting too tight around her belly. The witch becomes enraged, so she cuts off Rapunzel's hair and casts her out into the world, where she eventually delivers twins. When Rapunzel's Prince returns to the tower, he only finds the witch, then falls back out and lands on thorns that blind him. He wanders the wilderness until he hears Rapunzel's familiar voice; filled with emotion, the two find each other and Rapunzel cries with him in her arms. Her tears heal his eyes, and his vision is restored…and the two can live happily ever after.
It's no wonder that Disney's version had to go through so many script re-writes. The main issue was generally the same: no one knew how to solve the third act. And how would the public react to the new Disney Princess getting knocked up? In such an overly-conservative time, it would be a dangerous move.
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After seeing Tangled and knowing the original story of Rapunzel, you might think that Disney did some serious straying…but, they were actually very clever about the way in which they handled the heroine and hero's relationship…and the idea of Rapunzel's virginity and beauty.
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In the movie Tangled, Rapunzel's tiara symbolizes her virginity. At the very beginning of the film, Flynn cleverly snatches away the tiara (which is heavily guarded as requested from her actual parents). Flynn fights other men for this tiara, and it is initially important to him because of the wealth, power and (dare I say it) bragging rights it could get him. But, he cannot truly have Rapunzel's tiara until she chooses to give it to him. There is a world out there she wants to experience…and that experience ends up becoming a very long and exciting date, I would say.
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In the middle of this date, Mother Gothel finds her and tries to bring her back home. When Rapunzel refuses (as all young adults do when they discover love and are ready to leave the nest), mother uses her typical, manipulative scare-tactics to keep her daughter at home forever. In "Mother Knows Best (Reprise)":
Rapunzel knows best
Rapunzel's so mature now
Such a clever grown-up miss
Rapunzel knows best
Fine, if you're so sure now
Go ahead, then give him this (Mother Gothel reveals the tiara)
This is why he's here!
Don't let him deceive you!
Give it to him, watch, you'll see!
Trust me, my dear
That's how fast he'll leave you
I won't say I told you so - no
Rapunzel knows best!
Is this not what most adults tell young people to keep them from having sexual relationships? The literal contexts are different, but the words and the expressions are the same.
Eventually, Rapunzel gets to finally experience the "floating lights", the one thing she has dreamed about for years and years. In arguably one of the most romantic and beautiful sequences ever made for a film, Rapunzel finally gives Eugene (I will call him Eugene here since he has experienced a character arc at this point) her tiara, telling him that she's "not scared anymore." He takes it from her, but puts it to the side, and says, "I'm starting, too." It is no longer her virginity that he is symbolically just taking: he is making love to her, because he loves her. His intentions are now pure.
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| Copyright Disney |
But, Eugene has some Flynn problems to take care of, and has to leave Rapunzel. Flynn offers the two scary thugs the tiara, but they no longer want it. Mother Gothel has told them what the most valuable prize regarding Rapunzel is: her healing hair. Symbolically, one could argue that, as these men perceive that Rapunzel's virginity is no longer intact, they do not want to fight for it anymore. I am more inclined to focus on something else. Rapunzel's hair, representing her beauty, is something that they can market and sell…just as the world markets and sells female beauty, even prostitutes their bodies, these men would like to make money off of Rapunzel's beauty…be her pimps, as it were.
Mother Gothel tricks the thugs and sends Eugene to his death, but he manages to escape and goes to rescue Rapunzel. Mother Gothel stabs him, and Rapunzel begs to heal him…and in the moment where Eugene can have a guarantee of his life continuing, he nobly cuts off Rapunzel's hair…no longer can she be marketed and controlled by those that seek personal gain from her beauty. She is beautiful just as she is. She is free.
In this version, Rapunzel's tears still save her beloved…while he may not be a Prince or blinded by thorns, he has suffered because of his love for her. Her tears revive him, and they live happily ever after…just the way a classic Disney fairy tale should end.
Yesterday was a very, very exciting day for me.
For the first time in my lifetime, a Disney Princess film premiered with a blonde for a heroine.
And Alan Menken was doing the music.
And this was a film that had gone through so much reworking…I mean, 3 different titles! 2 totally different casts! (I'm a little bummed that Kristin Chenoweth did not end up in Tangled, but considering that she, as Rapunzel, was supposed to be trapped in squirrel form while some random teenager ends up in hers…I think we're lucky this project got an overhaul).
I'm not going to lie…after having some knowledge as to what this film has gone through, and to then see some really downright awful commercials…I was afraid that this film was going to be Disney attempting to do Shrek, which is definitely not something the company should ever do. Enchanted was okay because the majority of the film was live-action…but in general, it's not brilliant to make fun of yourself in front of everyone. It only makes you look even more like a fool. Of course, that's just my opinion.
In all honesty, the only advertising I really liked for this film was the teaser trailer.
It annoyed me that a lot of the advertising didn't involve the film's main villainess, Mother Gothel. Before I saw the film, it was because I was very familiar with the original version of Rapunzel – after seeing the film, it's because of that and the fact that the character is just really well done by Donna Murphy and the animators for this film.
The original tale of Rapunzel is really more of a heavy family drama than a light-hearted Disney musical (of course, Disney has tweaked every fairy tale that they've touched, as they have every right to, and that's fine by me). I mean, I don't think it would have gone over well for the audience to see Flynn's eyes bleeding and stumbling around blind while screaming in agony.
I am a little sad, however, that so much of the familial basis was altered. In the original fairy tale, Rapunzel is not born a princess, but is the daughter of a Baker and his Wife, who tragically must give up their child to a Witch because the Baker raided her garden after the pregnant Wife got hungry for some greens.
However, I can let this go because Flynn is allowed to have a "Cinderella" moment, if you will. Because he came from nothing, and as an underdog was able to rise up and accidentally fell in love with a princess.
Of course, this doesn't change the fact that Mother Gothel isn't even a witch…maybe Disney was trying to just change things up a little, I guess.
While I was thrilled to finally see a central mother-daughter relationship in a Disney film (because, let's face it…there just really hasn't been in any previous Disney films), I do wish the relationship between Rapunzel and Mother Gothel had felt a bit more significant. It was too easy for Rapunzel to turn her back on her mother towards the end, and it was too easy for Mother Gothel to be so easily detached. After all that time together, the two of them should still deeply love one another, even if it Gothel kidnapped her for selfish reasons…she still raised her as her own. She clearly loves her daughter enough that she's willing to travel very far to get her daughter some special shells for her paint…
I am not completely discounting what we did see between them by any means. Mothers are great at putting superficial ideas into their daughters heads, manipulating them and belittling them…and the classic teenager to parent dilemma of, "I need to do things on my own and experience the world" versus "I have protected you all of your life and I can't let you go because I love you" was done in a fairly moderate way to not overdramatize the film…but I will say, coming from a girl who's been there, it hurts a lot more than Disney showed. At least we've broken ground. I'm hoping the in the future Disney will "dig a little deeper" on this issue.
And speaking of music…while I don't feel the music for this film is on the same level as Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, it was definitely enjoyable, and it was a treat to see Menken's work on an animated Disney film again...Glenn Slater provided some clever lyrics in there, too.
The only really awkward moment was during the song "I See the Light"…while the music is rather beautiful (and the imagery just as gorgeous to match), I was rather taken aback when, after hearing Rapunzel and Flynn singing in their heads, saw them suddenly singing to each other in harmony ¾'s of the way through the song. That was potentially the weirdest thing in the film…you get past it, but it was a poor choice in my honest opinion.
If anyone out there remains skeptical about this film because of the vocal talent, let me put their mind at ease. Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy (a Broadway veteran) and the rest of the cast do a fantastic job! I wish I had been able to see Zachary sing more (he originally had more, a solo and a reprise that was first a love song from Mother Gothel to Rapunzel and after with him a love song to Rapunzel)…hopefully Disney will include whatever files they have saved from these cut songs and include them on the Blu-Ray/DVD release!
Chock it up to a simple story, a good script, great animation and vocal talent…but the characters in this film are rather well-developed. A fellow colleague of mine remarked that he felt Rapunzel was the first really likeable Disney Princess…I don't know if I can fully agree with him on that, as every Disney Princess is simply a product of her time, but Rapunzel is definitely the sweet girl next door, with a little bit of fun and spunk. She's not afraid of being goofy, of being herself, and that's definitely an attractive quality to see in anyone. In the line of Disney Princesses, therefore, her characterization seems like a breath of fresh air. As for Flynn, I was not sure coming in to see the film that I would like him…I originally saw him mostly as a Disney marketing ploy that was going in the wrong direction. But through the course of the film, he stops being completely self-absorbed and detached from the cares and worries of life and has a quite nice and full character transformation.
Here is a quick little comment I need to make – while the King and Queen in this film do not speak, their animation is so perfect, so realistic and so powerful that in the span of a few seconds you will be holding back tears. Whoever animated them needs some serious recognition at Disney…that footage is absolutely powerful.
Speaking of the animation…just in general, it is quite beautiful. The background story of this film reminds me a lot of what happened to Sleeping Beauty, but perhaps ending on a more positive note. What bothered me, however, was that at times the consistency of Rapunzel and Flynn's faces seemed a little spotty. I won't pretend that Disney has always been perfect in this category, but it seemed only aggravated with this style of animation. Rapunzel looked like three different women to me! And there was one shot where Flynn's hairline was way too forward on his forehead (which made him suddenly a lot less attractive by my taste).
Still, overall the animation was rather gorgeous. Trying to mimic the look of oil paintings was a brilliant idea.
I will actually have to go back to the theaters to see this film again…besides the fact that I really enjoyed the film, my 3D glasses darkened the picture significantly, so I'm going to have to see it in 2D to be able to really appreciate the hard work the animators and designers did on this film. Please note that I'm not discouraging anyone from seeing this in 3D! There are no tacky, gimmicky stunts pulled because you're wearing special glasses. The vast landscaping, buildings and just overall texture really benefit from the 3D (and speaking of texture…the way Rapunzel's hair is animated is just fantastic!). But if you want to see the true coloring of the film, you're going to have to nitpick.
Overall, I give this film two thumbs-up. And it looks like everyone else is, too…it was recently announced that Tangled has had the biggest Thanksgiving Weekend Opening ever with $11.5 million garnered on its first day of release! That's more than Toy Story 2 did, who had the title before Tangled.
I leave you with a quote by Glen Keane regarding the whole Rapunzel project (after the concept for Rapunzel: Unbraided got the boot), who has worked for several long, hard years on this film:
"I think that's what Disney needs to do right now. No one else can do it. We should not be embarrassed or make excuses for doing a fairytale."
I am thankful for people at Disney being proud of their legacy and continuing on with it with attitudes like this. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
