Rapunzel

Rapunzel is the main female protagonist along with Flynn Rider in Disney's 2010 hit film Tangled. Her voice is provided by Mandy Moore.

Biography
Born on April 26, Rapunzel is not a typical Disney Princess; she carries her signature blonde hair, which is said to be 70 feet in length, and it has a magical ability that can both heal completely and reverse aging when she sings a special song. Kidnapped by Mother Gothel when Rapunzel was still an infant, Rapunzel had been raised and locked away in a tower up until her 18th birthday. However, she does view Mother Gothel as her maternal mother despite being kidnapped. Rapunzel spends her time painting, cooking, candle-making, reading, brushing her hair, playing with Pascal, observing the outside world from within the tower, singing, and interacting with Mother Gothel. Being immersely fascinated by the floating lanterns that took place on her birthday every year, Rapunzel begins to develop a sense of curiosity and seeks to fulfill the dream of seeing those "lights in the sky" one day. However, she does not overcome Mother Gothel's strict guardianship and thus has been staying in the tower, longing for the day when her life "begins".

Personality
Rapunzel is a spirited, smart, kind and playful girl in her teens, though a bit naive. However, she is not afraid to stand up for herself or others when the situation calls for the bravery. Having spent all of her life isolated in a tower with little else to do, she is proficiently educated in literature, and talented in almost all areas such as music and baking and even more advanced subjects like astronomy as illustrated by her completely charted astronomical patterns; her greatest passion is art as indicated by the pervasive amount of painting on the walls inside the tower. While she longs to see the world beyond her window, she is very obedient to Mother Gothel. Despite having ambivalent feelings after leaving her tower in excitement to finally see the world, she confronts and rebels against Mother Gothel's wish of her returning to the tower after a short journey with Flynn Rider. She is quite daring; leaping from tall cliffs and swinging great lengths with her hair. She is completely immune to Flynn's so-called charms and has little tolerance for his antics, which usually results in her utilizing the pan against Flynn. She is also very charismatic; able to influence a group of pub thugs to share their dreams and convince Maximus, the palace steed of the Captain, to postpone his pursuit of Flynn until she fulfills her dream on her birthday (which is heavily emphasized).

She is very determined to accomplish her dream of seeing the floating lights, such as strong-arming Flynn to go along with her plan and passing any other obstacle along the way. Although initially feared that the dream of seeing those lights may not meet her expectation and that there would be no other means to pursue in life after that dream has been fulfilled, Rapunzel is able to overcome those fears by having Flynn's support and belief that a new dream will emerge in place of the fulfilled dream.

Powers and Abilities
Supposedly channeling the energy from the sun, Rapunzel's hair could reverse damages done to humans including a complete regeneration of damaged tissues and organs as well as aging reversal to a certain degree. The subject must physically be in contact with the hair in order for the magic to work when the special song presents; her hair also emits a glowing light when the magic activates.

The song goes by:
 * Flower gleam and glow,
 * Let your power shine.
 * Make the clock reverse,
 * Bring back what once was mine.
 * Heal what has been hurt,
 * Change the fate's design,
 * Save what has been lost.
 * Bring back what once was mine.
 * What once was mine.

Rapunzel's hair also possesses a limited prehensile ability: grappling and grabbing objects that easily outweigh herself without straining or hurting in any way. She revealed that her hair would turn brown should it be cut, and such act also warrants imminent loss of magic.

Rapunzel also has superhuman strength to a lesser degree; swinging from a cliff to another and suspending herself in the air using leverage of her hair. Additionally, her hair appeared almost weightless whenever she carried it; needless to say, a normal person cannot, by any means, perform any of the stunts by Rapunzel with this much hair. Considering the extraordinary amount of hair, she had shown a great deal of agility and dexterity with her hair, such as climbing high altitudes, jumping off such without much effort, and running just as fast as Flynn, who was a professional theif and does not possess the same amount of hair as Rapunzel did. Like Ariel, Rapunzel has shown high adaptability; she took roughly two seconds to adjust to the environment of the world. Additionally, she was once trapped in an underwater cave and seemingly was able to swim, which is humanly impossible because she was never taught to. It is observed that her power could still be channeled through her tears even after her hair has seemingly completely lost the magic. The only assumption is that the actual source of energy is in her heart, and such will only activate and supply when love is involved.

Tangled
When Rapunzel's mother, who is a Queen, falls ill, her subjects concocts a special tea from a magical plant grown from a drop of sunlight. The tea restores the queen's health and gives the unborn Rapunzel magical healing powers, which resides in her hair. However, an evil and jealous woman named Mother Gothel kidnaps Rapunzel soon after birth, as she has had wanted the plant's magical abilities for herself ever since her first discovery of the plant centuries ago. Mother Gothel locks Rapunzel in a tower away from the outside world, and tells Rapunzel that the world is full of horrible things and horrible people. Rapunzel is also never informed of her status as a princess nor has she ever been told of her real history.

Ever year, Rapunzel witnesses a festival of lights in Corona, unaware that it is both in remembrance of her kidnapping when she was a baby and a beacon for her to find a way home; she dreams of one day going to the kingdom to see the festival. On Rapunzel's eighteenth birthday, she gathers the courage to ask Mother Gothel to go see the festival. Mother Gothel bluntly refuses, and orders Rapunzel not to ask to leave the tower again. A while later, Flynn Rider, a handsome thief, decides to use Rapunzel's tower as a hiding place after stealing the crown jewels and being chased by the royal guards of Corona. Rapunzel knocks Flynn unconscious and hides him in a closet. Noticing the crown inside the satchel, she curiously learns of what the object is and is momentarily captivated by wearing the crown. Mother Gothel returns, and angrily snarls at Rapunzel when she attempts to demonstrate just how confident and ready she can be for the outside world. Left with no other viable option, she wearily asks for more white paints as her birthday present, which would take Mother Gothel three days to retrieve. Immediately, Rapunzel begins forcibly recruiting Flynn into helping her complete the quest in exchange for the satchel that she has hidden deep in the tower.



Rapunzel and Flynn leave the tower, and after several mishaps, arrive at the festival. Rapunzel learns that Flynn's real name is Eugene Fitzherbert and she starts addressing him as Eugene. At one point, Rapunzel reveals her backstory to Eugene. According to Mother Gothel, people wanted Rapunzel because of her magic hair, and so she was locked in the tower for her own safety. And if her hair is ever cut, it would lose its power. Meanwhile, Mother Gothel learns that Rapunzel has left, and she confronts Rapunzel the night before she and Eugene arrive at the festival. When Rapunzel refuses to go back home, Mother Gothel enlists the Stabbington brothers to help her get Rapunzel back. The brothers capture Eugene and turn him in to the guards along with the crown, and then attempts to kidnap Rapunzel as her hair fetches far more monetary value than the crown does. Mother Gothel intervenes and rescues Rapunzel, and offers to take Rapunzel back even though she has seemingly betrayed Gothel's trust. Saddened by Eugene's unexpected leaving as forewarned by Mother Gothel, Rapunzel decides that Eugene does not like her and accepts Mother Gothel's open arms. After returning to the tower, she realizes that the royal symbol of the kingdom is the same as the symbols she paints repetitively; this awakens Rapunzel's early memories, and she realizes that she is the long lost princess of Corona. She then confronts Mother Gothel and attempts to leave, but Mother Gothel overpowers and attempts to kidnap her once again.

After busting out of the prison, Eugene arrives, and attempts to meet Rapunzel. However, he is fatally wounded by Mother Gothel. Rapunzel begs to use her magic hair to heal him and tells Mother Gothel that she will go with her in exchange. Mother Gothel agrees reluctantly, but Eugene doesn't want this to happen. Believing that Rapunzel deserves her own freedom, he makes the ultimate sacrifice and cuts Rapunzel's hair off neck down, which ensures of his impending death. Because the magic disappears. Mother Gothel ages rapidly and falls out of tower while delirious. Eugene and Rapunzel reveal their love for each other and Eugene dies. Rapunzel then inadvertently heals him with one of her tears and the two kiss.

Rapunzel then returns to Corona to reunite with her rightful parents: the King and the Queen. Ending narration reveals that Eugene proposes to Rapunzel after several years, and the two are happily married. Currently, they are living happily ever after.

Disney Parks


Rapunzel is a face character in various Disney parks around the world. Retaining long blonde hair as opposed to the short brown cut at the end of the film, the official explanation for her Park appearance is remnants of the magic within her after healing Flynn gradually allowed her to grow some hair back.

Disneyland Resort
She, along with Flynn Ryder, are making appearances ahead of the movie's release at all Disney theme parks worldwide. At Disneyland, both Rapunzel and Flynn are in the Fantasyland section in their own little chalet, with a facade incorporating Rapunzel's Tower.

Walt Disney World Resort
At Disney World, they can be found in the former "Belle's Storytime" stage in the Magic Kingdom, and at Epcot in the Germany section. With the Fantasyland Expansion currently in progress, Rapunzel will eventually become part of the Princess Fantasy Faire meet and greet location, planned to replace Snow White's Scary Adventures

Trivia

 * Rapunzel was originally to have been voiced by Broadway actress and singer Kristen Chenoweth, but was later replaced by singer-songwriter Mandy Moore.
 * Rapunzel is the second Disney Princess to have her hair cut after Mulan in 1998. However, she is the first to have the colour of her hair completely changed.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to be animated in 3D.
 * For the first time, special software had to be used in order to animate Rapunzel's hair, the motion of which was modeled using 173 hair strands, since no one has animated that much hair before.
 * Up until the release of Tangled, the Disney Princess possessing the longest hair was none other than Jasmine.
 * Rapunzel is the first blonde Disney Princess since Aurora in 1959.
 * Although Rapunzel is based on the character from the classic fairy tale, she is altered quite a bit in order to develop a more adventurous and outgoing personality, and further diversify the romantic relationship between her and her rescuer.
 * Despite having her hair cut in the movie, Rapunzel's hair is kept long and blonde in promotional images and fan art.