This is both a movie review and an intellectual comparison of the movie and the fairy tale Rapunzel. To read the other parts of the comparison: part 1, part 2, part 4
I really like the majority of the changes that Disney makes to the Rapunzel story in this section. They change Rapunzel from a rather dumb girl who has barely any agency into a clever and curious woman. They also make Flynn (the Prince) less of a jerk. Flynn helps Rapunzel accomplish what is important to her.
In the original story Dame Gothel discovers Rapunzel is dallying with the Prince through Rapunzel's stupidity. I like that the Disney version changes the story so that when Mother Gothel discovers Rapunzel's betrayal it is not through any action of Rapunzel's.
The betrayal of Mother/Dame Gothel is much more potent. In Tangled, Rapunzel actively chooses to leave the tower; as opposed to the tale, where Rapunzel stays tamely in the tower. This allows us to sympathize with Mother Gothel's response to Rapunzel's betrayal. We all know the pain of rejection, and while Mother Gothel's motives toward Rapunzel are certainly not pure, she does try to keep Rapunzel happy and she might possibly love Rapunzel in a twisted sort of way.
There is a sort of symmetry in the plot switch between the movie and the fairy tale. In the tale Rapunzel is cast into the outside world, for which she is horribly unprepared. In Tangled, Rapunzel is taken back to her tower, denying her the pleasures of a wide and exciting world that Rapunzel has only begin to experience. This plot change really highlights the differences between the medieval world and the modern world in attitudes toward women and what their ambitions should be.
Flynn ends up imprisoned, about to be put to death, as opposed to blinded. I'm not sure how I feel about this change, although I understand that a blind character is a bit heavy for a Disney movie. I'm also not sure what the significance of the Prince being blinded is. It could possibly mean that without his true love the Prince is unable to see anything? Or possibly being blinded is retribution for keeping Rapunzel in the tower for a long period of time instead of helping her escape right away. Another possibility behind the blindness is that the Prince is being punished for violating Rapunzel's innocence outside of the sanctity of marriage.
I'm amazed that no one in the City puts together that Rapunzel is the lost princess. There are no other blondes in the entire city. I feel it might be safe to assume that the Princess and Rapunzel are the only blondes that the city people ever see.
I almost feel bad for the thugs that are betrayed, first by Flynn and then by Mother Gothel. If Flynn hadn't double crossed them, would they have been so quick to join up with Gothel? In a way Flynn's selfishness causes his own downfall.
How do the thorn bushes suddenly appear at the base of the tower in the original story? Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for whomever Rapunzel is pulling up into the tower if they had to stand in a thorn patch? And wouldn't Rapunzel's hair get tangled in the thorns? I guess it is possible that the room at the top of the tower bowls out far enough that the thorns at the base aren't a problem, but if that were the case, wouldn't the Prince have fallen out of range of the thorns? It seems as though the thorns suddenly sprout just to screw the Prince over.
The Scene
************Warning; here be spoilers***************
In order to do this coherently I'm going to go chronologically, laying out a section of plot from the fairy tale, the corresponding section of movie plot, and state my analysis.
Rapunzel is a very old tale with many variations, I am going to try to summarize as many variations as I can, but there might be some that I miss. Please let me know of any insights that I might overlook.
The Fairy Tale:
Now that the Prince has gained Rapunzel's trust and friendship he begins to visit her nightly. Each time he visits her he tells her a little about the outside world and he brings a small amount of silk. Rapunzel begins weaving the silk into a ladder. One day Dame Gothel discovers that Rapunzel is pregnant. In a fit of rage she cuts off Rapunzel's hair and casts Rapunzel out of the tower. That night the Prince visits the tower. Dame Gothel throws down Rapunzel's hair, tricking the Prince into thinking that she is Rapunzel. When the Prince enters the tower Dame Gothel reveals herself, telling the Prince that he will never see Rapunzel again. She then pushes the Prince from the tower, he falls to the ground and is blinded on the thorns that are planted at the base of the tower.
Variations:
In some versions the Prince is purposefully only giving Rapunzel a small amount of silk each night to ensure that she falls in love with him, in other words he is delaying Rapunzel's introduction to the larger world out of fear that she will fall in love with some other man.
Some versions omit Rapunzels pregnancy. Instead of having Dame Gothel discover Rapunzel is pregnant, Dame Gothel finds the ladder that Rapunzel is making. Other versions have Rapunzel carelessly asking Dame Gothel why it is so much harder to pull Dame Gothel into the tower than it is to pull the Prince.
Some versions have the Prince falling out of the tower in a panic, as opposed to being pushed out by Dame Gothel.
In some versions Dame Gothel looses her grip on Rapunzel's hair; the hair falls out of the tower, trapping Damn Gothel there to die slowly.
The Tangled Version:
This is where the Tangled version really starts to diverge from the traditional tales. Rapunzel decides to take a big risk and demands that Flynn be her guide to the floating lanterns in the city. Flynn does not want to guide Rapunzel to the city, but she bribes him, promising that she will return the crown he stole after he brings her back to the tower safely. Rapunzel displays anxiety at the thought of entering the outside world, but is determined to face her fears in order to realize her dream.
Rapunzel leaving her tower for the first time.
Rapunzel and Flynn have many adventures on the road together, developing a close friendship along the way. After his initial attempts to scare Rapunzel off, Flynn lets Rapunzel discover and enjoy the world for herself. He doesn't push a specific worldview on Rapunzel or try to prevent her from meeting other men. They team up with a headstrong horse, befriend a hoard of bloodthirsty bandits with hearts of gold, dance in the streets of the city, and outrun a flood. Rapunzel uses the magic healing properties of her hair to heal Flynn. As their adventure continues Rapunzel and Flynn fall in love.
Flynn and Rapunzel sharing a romantic moment.
However, Mother Gothel has discovered that Rapunzel left the tower. Gothel follows Rapunzel and concocts a plan to undermine Rapunzel's self confidence and ensure that Rapunzel stays in her control forever.
Mother Gothel enjoying Rapunzel's hair
Mother Gothel convinces the two thugs that were originally teamed up with Flynn, at least until Flynn double crossed them and left them behind with no loot, to help her intimidate Rapunzel. They also trick Rapunzel into believing that Flynn was only pretending to like her in order to acquire the crown.
Mother Gothel promises the thugs Flynn as a prize for helping her.
The intimidation attempt works, and Rapunzel accompanies Mother Gothel back to the tower, heart broken. The thugs are double crossed again, this time by Mother Gothel, and are arrested. Flynn is also arrested by the Royal Guards, who take him to be executed for theft.
Flynn walking to the gallows.
Analysis:
I really like the majority of the changes that Disney makes to the Rapunzel story in this section. They change Rapunzel from a rather dumb girl who has barely any agency into a clever and curious woman. They also make Flynn (the Prince) less of a jerk. Flynn helps Rapunzel accomplish what is important to her.
In the original story Dame Gothel discovers Rapunzel is dallying with the Prince through Rapunzel's stupidity. I like that the Disney version changes the story so that when Mother Gothel discovers Rapunzel's betrayal it is not through any action of Rapunzel's.
The betrayal of Mother/Dame Gothel is much more potent. In Tangled, Rapunzel actively chooses to leave the tower; as opposed to the tale, where Rapunzel stays tamely in the tower. This allows us to sympathize with Mother Gothel's response to Rapunzel's betrayal. We all know the pain of rejection, and while Mother Gothel's motives toward Rapunzel are certainly not pure, she does try to keep Rapunzel happy and she might possibly love Rapunzel in a twisted sort of way.
There is a sort of symmetry in the plot switch between the movie and the fairy tale. In the tale Rapunzel is cast into the outside world, for which she is horribly unprepared. In Tangled, Rapunzel is taken back to her tower, denying her the pleasures of a wide and exciting world that Rapunzel has only begin to experience. This plot change really highlights the differences between the medieval world and the modern world in attitudes toward women and what their ambitions should be.
Flynn ends up imprisoned, about to be put to death, as opposed to blinded. I'm not sure how I feel about this change, although I understand that a blind character is a bit heavy for a Disney movie. I'm also not sure what the significance of the Prince being blinded is. It could possibly mean that without his true love the Prince is unable to see anything? Or possibly being blinded is retribution for keeping Rapunzel in the tower for a long period of time instead of helping her escape right away. Another possibility behind the blindness is that the Prince is being punished for violating Rapunzel's innocence outside of the sanctity of marriage.
I'm amazed that no one in the City puts together that Rapunzel is the lost princess. There are no other blondes in the entire city. I feel it might be safe to assume that the Princess and Rapunzel are the only blondes that the city people ever see.
I almost feel bad for the thugs that are betrayed, first by Flynn and then by Mother Gothel. If Flynn hadn't double crossed them, would they have been so quick to join up with Gothel? In a way Flynn's selfishness causes his own downfall.
How do the thorn bushes suddenly appear at the base of the tower in the original story? Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for whomever Rapunzel is pulling up into the tower if they had to stand in a thorn patch? And wouldn't Rapunzel's hair get tangled in the thorns? I guess it is possible that the room at the top of the tower bowls out far enough that the thorns at the base aren't a problem, but if that were the case, wouldn't the Prince have fallen out of range of the thorns? It seems as though the thorns suddenly sprout just to screw the Prince over.
I wondered why Flynn, who'd just stolen the Princess' crown, and obviously knows about the lost Princess, didn't figure the whole thing out sooner.
ReplyDelete