Rapunzel is the protagonist of Disney's 2010 animated feature film, Tangled. She is the princess of Corona, known for her long, magical, golden hair. As a child, Rapunzel was abducted by a wicked crone and locked away in a remote tower for eighteen years—in during which, she became fascinated with a phenomenon involving "floating lights" that only appear on her birthday. With the aid of the handsome thief, Flynn Rider, Rapunzel escaped her tower to learn more about the lights and pursue her dream of exploring the outside world. Rapunzel is loosely based on the protagonist of the classic German fairy tale Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm. She is the tenth official Disney Princess and the first CGI-animated princess. Like Sheriff Callie, she is voiced by Mandy Moore.
Background[]
Eighteen years before the events of Tangled, Rapunzel's parents, King Frederic and Queen Arianna of Corona, were anticipating their firstborn. Unfortunately, very late in her pregnancy, the queen fell ill with what would surely result in her death, as well as her child's. Fearing the death of his love, the King dispatched multitudes of soldiers and villagers alongside the populace to search for a rumored magic flower, created by a single drop of sunlight, with the potential to heal illnesses. After much searching, the flower, long hoarded by a woman named Mother Gothel, who has kept herself young by singing a song to it, is miraculously located and boiled into medicine to cure the queen of her ailment. With the help of the flower, the queen makes a full recovery and soon gives birth to a healthy baby girl, named Rapunzel who, unlike her parents, has beautiful, golden hair. To celebrate her birth, a floating lantern with the emblem of the sun was released into the sky amongst the people of Corona. The peace did not last long, however. Determined to retrieve the flower that kept her young for hundreds of years, Mother Gothel broke into the castle late one night and sang the song to Rapunzel's hair. Discovering that Rapunzel's hairretained the flower's healing powers. Gothel attempted to cut a piece off, only to find that the hair lost its magic and became brown. Frustrated and desperate, Gothel kidnapped the princess and fled to her tower, hidden within an alcove deep in the forest. To protect Rapunzel's hair, Gothel raised Rapunzel as her own daughter and taught her to sing the flower's song. To further ensure her magic supply was plentiful, Gothel continuously brushed the hair to further its growth. Although Rapunzel wished to leave the tower, Gothel warned her of a dangerous world beyond the tower walls, full of selfish people that desired to steal her hair and abuse her power. Meanwhile, the kingdom searched far and wide for their missing princess, but to no avail. As a result, each year on Rapunzel's birthday, the King, Queen, and the entire kingdom release thousands of lanterns into the night sky, in hopes that one day, their lost princess will return. One night, while in the tower alone, Rapunzel would encounter a baby chameleon at her tower window, being followed by a venomous snake. The chameleon is bitten by the snake and dies from poisoning, though Rapunzel is able to both rid the tower of the snake and revive the deceased chameleon with the power of her hair. The chameleon reveals itself to be alone in the world, something Rapunzel relates to, as Gothel would leave her alone in the tower for lengthy periods of time frequently. Rapunzel names the chameleon "Pascal", and to remedy their mutual loneliness, invites him to live with her so they may remain by each other's side from that night forward.
Personality[]
Rapunzel is a spirited and determined young woman. Throughout her young life, she's dreamt of escaping her tower to experience the outside world. Due to the strict order of her sole parental figure, Gothel, however, she remained inside the tower. The use of manipulation and emotional abuse in her upbringing by Gothel has led Rapunzel to believe that the world is highly dangerous, and that remaining in the confines of her sheltered walls is in her best interest. Additional misfortunes born through Rapunzel's upbringing would include such traits as anxiety and low self-esteem. Gothel would often victimize herself whenever she and Rapunzel would hit a bump in their relationship, riddling the latter with guilt, which would, in turn, motivate her to obey Gothel's commands in hopes of making amends. This was all according to plan for Gothel, who relied on Rapunzel's emotional instability to forever maintain control over the princess. With Gothel possessing such a strong emotional hold - having forced Rapunzel to believe she was her only source of security and comfort in a dangerous and unforgiving world - the odds against Rapunzel were high.
Nevertheless, what separates Rapunzel from what could be classified as a "damsel-in-distress" is her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone and take on the unknown for the sake of experiencing her dreams. Despite being fearful and at times hesitant, she pushes herself forward to pursue her ambitions.
Additionally, she takes matters into her own hands several times throughout the film and cunningly manipulates situations to end in her favor, such as forcing the thief Flynn Rider to act as her guide to the kingdom of Corona after he broke into her tower. After learning the truth behind Mother Gothel and her motives, Rapunzel became fierce, immediately rejected Gothel, and strongly disapproved of any further abuse. With such will and devotion towards herself and what she values, Rapunzel proves to be a force of nature, in her own right.
As mentioned above, Rapunzel is spirited, and takes great enjoyment in virtually everything life has to offer. When trapped in her tower, she engaged in various activities such as art and music, creating a vibrant home filled with color and personality, and proving herself to be talented and expressive. When she finally escapes her tower, Rapunzel finds beauty in all she sees, from nature to a group of seemingly gruesome thugs. So much so that Rapunzel is often responsible for quite a few spontaneous, yet uplifting parties so jovial that practically every bystander would join in with zeal. This is seen during "I've Got a Dream" and during the Festival of Lights.
Rapunzel is very social in this regard and values her loved ones deeply. This is especially seen through her relationship with Eugene. Rapunzel was able to bypass the thief's roguish nature and managed to bring out his more noble and genuine side. With love and respect for one another, Rapunzel and Eugene formed a relationship built on trust, understanding, and devotion—a relationship that would better themselves individually and lead to the ultimate realization of what they truly want in life.
Physical Appearance[]
Rapunzel is an 18-year old (in the film) young woman with fair skin, rosy cheeks, large green eyes, brown eyelashes, brown eyebrows and light freckles around her nose. She is famously known for her long, silky, golden blonde hair which is around 70 feet in length, though her hair is naturally brown like her parents', as when it is cut, it turns so. At the end of the film, Eugene cuts her hair to save her from Gothel, turning it brown and chin length.
Rapunzel's dress is a traditional German dress called a "dirndl", with a longer skirt than that of a normal dirndl. Her dress has a purple theme with a pink accent. The dress consists of a lavender corset top laced with a pink ribbon. The skirt is purple. It is decorated with swirling and floral designs in pink, dark purple, and white. She wears a white petticoat underneath. The skirt's hemline is above her ankles, but well below her calves. Her sleeves at the top are short, puffed, and striped with pink and lavender; the rest are long and it is pale baby pink with white lace at the hems. She usually does not wear shoes and dislikes wearing them. At the Kingdom Dance, she wears her hair in a thick braid with smaller braids woven in and adorned with various flowers.
Rapunzel's homecoming dress has a white lacing on the neckline and the sleeves. It has a pink bodice that has swirly patterns on it and a corset lacing at the back. The skirt is purplish-pink with similar patterns that are found on her old dress.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Prehensile Hair: Rapunzel can use her extremely long hair to grasp and manipulate objects and people with precise accuracy. On many occasions, she has been shown using her hair as a rope to swing around, a lasso to grab/hold objects and people, or even as a whip in combat. Her hair also appears to be incredibly lightweight, as she is quite agile and is able to move around very easily despite its immense size.
- Healing Incantation (formerly): Channeling the power of the Sundrop Flower, Rapunzel was able to use her hair to heal both minor and fatal wounds, and reverse aging to a certain degree. The subject to be healed must have had physical contact with her hair in order for the incantation to work when sung, which made Rapunzel's hair emit a glowing yellow light as the incantation activated. Using the Sundrop's power, Rapunzel was able to slow Gothel's aging and restore her youth and beauty. Although her hair was later cut by Eugene, therefore losing its power, her tears turned out to have healing powers, as she was able to bring Eugene back to life after Gothel fatally stabbed him. It is unknown if Rapunzel's actual body had the Sundrop's regeneration abilities, but it may be that the Sundrop's power merged with her soul, as she seemed to be able to bring love, happiness and harmony wherever she went. It is also possible that Rapunzel actually released the drop of sunlight that created the Sundrop through her tears. As such, her healing tears may have been a one-off ability. However, it is still unclear how her healing powers worked when not channeled through her hair. Rapunzel appears to have lost this ability after her hair grew back during the events of Tangled: Before Ever After.
- Unbreakable Hair (formerly): Rapunzel's hair has become indestructible after growing back during the events of Tangled: Before Ever After. Her hair appears to have taken on the strength of the Black Rocks (which caused her hair to grow back after she touched them), as it is unusually resilient and impervious to any harm or damage, even from weapons. On some occasions, Rapunzel's hair is able to form an extremely durable, glowing shield around her and her allies, protecting them from harm or damage. On some occasions, her hair was shown to glow yellow when she was near the Black Rocks, although this appears to have ceased upon Cassandra's attainment of the Moonstone Opal.
- Shock Wave Generation (formerly): Rapunzel was able to trigger massive shock waves when in physical contact with the Black Rocks. When she touched the rocks, her hair glowed bright yellow, and she was able to build walls of new rocks to burst from the ground and destroy her opponents/targets. Rapunzel has not been seen using this ability after Cassandra gained ownership of the Moonstone Opal, so it is assumed that she lost this ability. (although it was attempted in the episode Beyond the corona walls).
- Decay Incantation (formerly): By singing the Decay Incantation, Rapunzel's hair can suck the life out of everything near her, whether it be living beings or inanimate objects, causing them to rot and die. This power is almost the exact opposite of the Healing Incantation, but with one crucial difference: she is forced into a trance, and as such, relies on her friends to break her out of it and return her to normal. This incantation causes her hair and eyes to become black in a very sinister fashion. Her skin and clothes also appear to have withering and decaying abilities, as they burned Cassandra's right hand black and melted Varian's gloves off when they touched her.
- Moonstone Opal Detection (formerly): Rapunzel's hair was able to detect the presence of the Moonstone Opal, as it glowed bright yellow whenever the Moonstone was near. This ability appears to have disappeared following Cassandra's attainment of the Moonstone.
- Sun Incantation (formerly): Channeling the full power of the Sundrop, Rapunzel is able to enter a godlike state of power. Her eyes and hair glow bright yellow, and she can levitate in the air. Empowered by hope, she is able to generate and manipulate waves of pure solar energy, which she used to effortlessly destroy the Black Rocks that an enraged Cassandra propelled toward her. She also appears to be able to manipulate the Black Rocks themselves, as she was able to halt and destroy them telekinetically. Such is the extent of her power, that she was able to chip part of the Moonstone during her battle with Cassandra.
Abilities[]
- Adaptation: Rapunzel has shown a high level of adaptability, as she was able to adjust quickly to the outside world, despite being isolated in her tower for most of her life. For example, she appears to have been able to swim when she was trapped in an underwater cave with Eugene when it is assumed that she was never taught how to swim by Gothel.
- Artistry: Rapunzel is highly creative and has an aptitude for a number of different hobbies and crafts. Her most notable talent is art, as she is able to paint beautiful works such as portraits and landscapes.
- Strategic Ability: Though not regarded as a warrior the way Cassandra is, Rapunzel has repeatedly outsmarted and outmaneuvered others in the name of victory. Before claiming the Sun and Moonstones, Zhan Tiri described Rapunzel as a 'worthy foe'. And even after, Rapunzel was able to outmaneuver and defeat Zhan Tiri at the height of her power.
Role in the Series[]
Sofia the First[]
Rapunzel appears in the special "The Curse of Princess Ivy" as part of a Disney Junior movie event. She is the first non-traditional animated princess to appear on the show and has her 70 feet long, mystical golden blonde instead of her short natural brown hair, including her tiara, and lavender flat shoes on her feet. When Sofia and Amber are unable to stop Princess Ivy from taking over their kingdom, Rapunzel gives them a helping hand and a plan that will help them save the day. She tells Amber as they fly to Enchancia that Flynn Rider had to make up for his bad deeds during the song "Dare to Risk it All". Rapunzel then tells Amber that if she really loves Sofia as a sister, she will know what to do when the time comes and then magically disappears.
In "Forever Royal", when Sofia is battling Vor inside her amulet, Rapunzel appears to Sofia in spirit form along with all the other princesses who have been summoned to help Sofia in her times of need and they encourage her to be brave and strong for they all believe in her.
Trivia[]
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