Tangled

Plot

A magical flower, born from a single sunbeam, could heal any ailment. An old woman named Gothel used it for centuries to stay young. When the queen of Corona fell gravely ill while pregnant, the kingdom's soldiers took the flower to save her. The queen recovered and gave birth to Rapunzel, whose hair inherited the flower's power.

Gothel snuck into the castle that night, cut a lock of the baby's hair, but it turned brown and lost its magic. So Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel and raised her in a hidden tower, using the girl's hair to keep herself youthful. The king and queen, unaware of the abduction, released floating lanterns every year on Rapunzel's birthday, hoping they would guide her home. Rapunzel, knowing nothing of her royal origins, grew up believing the tower was the only safe place.

She became obsessed with the mysterious lights that appeared each year on her birthday. On the night before she turned eighteen, she begged Gothel to let her leave and see them, but Gothel refused, insisting the world was too dangerous. Meanwhile, a thief named Flynn Rider stole the lost princess's tiara from the palace, double-crossed his partners, the Stabbington brothers, and fled from a determined horse named Maximus. He stumbled into Rapunzel's tower, where she knocked him unconscious and hid him.

When Gothel again refused to let her go, Rapunzel devised a plan. She sent Gothel on a three-day errand for new paint. Then, after hiding Flynn's satchel with the tiara, she made a deal: she would return the tiara if he took her to see the lanterns.

Production

Disney's founder first tried to bring the Brothers Grimm tale of Rapunzel to the big screen in the 1930s and 1940s, but those early attempts stalled because the original story felt too limited in scope. Five years later, Keane pitched it to CEO Michael Eisner, who gave the green light but insisted on computer animation. Keane was uneasy with that choice, believing traditional hand-drawn animation offered more fluidity and organic movement. Keane described it as a Shrek-like take on the fairy tale.

According to Ed Catmull, Eisner even suggested setting the story in modern-day San Francisco. The original plot followed two San Francisco teenagers, Claire and Vince, who get transported into the fairy-tale world and take over the bodies of Rapunzel and her prince Beau, while the real Rapunzel and Beau are turned into a squirrel and a dog. Looking back, Keane admitted that while that version was fun and witty with talented writers, he felt the story had a more sincere and genuine core to explore.

So the team set it aside and returned to the original fairy tale's roots. One of their first moves was to revive the project and encourage Keane to continue.

Reception

Tangled earned $11.9 million on its opening Wednesday, breaking the record for the largest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening, a record previously held by Disney·Pixar's Toy Story 2. In its first weekend of release, it earned $48.8 million (the highest opening for Walt Disney Animation Studios, surpassing The Lion King ($40.9 million), and later surpassed by both Wreck-It Ralph ($49 million) and Frozen ($67.4 million)), placing second for the period behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which earned $49.1 million. Tangled had the sixth-highest opening weekend for a film that did not debut at #1. Over the traditional Wednesday–Sunday Thanksgiving holiday period, it tallied $68.7 million, again finishing in second place.

Other media

The story arc takes place during an alternate account of the events of the movie. In the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, Rapunzel, Flynn, Maximus, Mother Gothel, and Pascal are playable characters, while Rapunzel's Tower and Snuggly Duckling appear as attractions. The storyline of the characters in the game follows almost the same plot as in the film. Mother Gothel, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, and Maximus are also featured in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

The plot revolves around the wedding of Rapunzel and Eugene. Pascal and Maximus lose the wedding rings and chase after them, causing collateral damage along the way. In Descendants: School of Secrets, Rapunzel and Eugene have an unnamed daughter (portrayed by Teresa Decher) that appear as a recurring character. In the novel The Isle of the Lost, Mother Gothel appear as one of the villains imprisoned in the titular isle, working as a teacher in Dragon Hall, and has a daughter named Ginny.

In Descendants: Wicked World, appears Rapunzel's daughter, Ruby, although only her hair is seen. In the novel Escape from the Isle of the Lost, Eugene appears as the representative of Corona in the National Association of Far Far Away.