Rapunzel

Rapunzel is the female protagonist of Tangled. She is voiced by Mandy Moore.

Biography
Rapunzel is not a typical Disney Princess; she carries her signature blonde hair, which is 70 feet long, which has a magical ability that can both heal 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.

Role in the film
When Rapunzel's mother, the Queen, falls ill, her subjects concoct a special tea from a magical plant grown from a drop of sunlight fallen to earth. The tea restores the queen's health and gives the unborn Rapunzel magical healing powers, which reside 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 raises the girl as her own. Rapunzel matures into a teenager with no one for company but Gothel and her chameleon friend, Pascal. Gothel continually 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.

Every year since her youth, Rapunzel witnesses a festival of lights in the nearby kingdom of 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 herself 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 when Gothel is out, 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. Rapunzel hopes to show Mother Gothel the captured Flynn in an attempt to prove that she can indeed handle herself in the outside world. Upon her return however, Gothel is even more aggravated at Rapunzel's second request to leave the tower and shouts at Rapunzel that she will never leave the tower. Left with no other viable option, she wearily asks for more paints as her birthday present, which would take Mother Gothel three days to retrieve. Gothel leaves on the journey, promising to return in three days. 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, Flynn, and Pascal leave the tower, whereupon Flynn tries several tricks to get rid of Rapunzel and get his satchel back. One of these tricks includes him taking Rapunzel to the local tavern, the Snuggly Duckling, where they encounter just the kind of ruffians and thugs that Gothel warned Rapunzel about. Rapunzel manages to gain their friendship by explaining to them her dream of seeing the floating lanterns and leads them in singing "I've Got a Dream", but not before they send for the palace guards, hoping to gain a reward for the capture of Flynn. This entire scene is witnessed by Gothel, who became worried about Rapunzel when she saw a stray palace horse and saw that she had left the tower. Flynn and Rapunzel escape the tavern through a secret passageway which leads them to a wooden dam. Unfortunately, the passage is discovered by the guards and the Stabbington Brothers, a pair of criminals on a quest for vengeance against Flynn for abandoning them on a previous job. Flynn and Rapunzel combat the guards and thugs and escape into a small cave when the dam collapses. Finding themselves sealed in the cave with water rising around them, they can find no escape. Flynn cuts his hand in a frantic attempt to make an exit. Rapunzel believes they are doomed and tearfully apologizes to Flynn. To cheer her, Flynn reveals his true name to be Eugene Fitzherbert, feeling someone may as well know. Remembering her magical glowing hair, Rapunzel illuminates the cavern with her power, allowing them to claw their way out through a small hole in the bottom of the pool. That night at the campfire, Rapunzel heals Flynn's hand with her hair. The dumbstruck thief just manages to keep his cool and Rapunzel explains everything to him, including her lifelong imprisonment by Gothel to protect her magic hair and that if the hair is ever cut, it turns brown and loses its power. Flynn tells his childhood story of growing up as an orphan and reading a book called "The Tales of Flynnagan Rider", a daring adventurer with every benefit to life. Flynn chose to adopt the name and lifestyle, feeling anything would be a better option than a helpless orphan. Rapunzel tells him that she likes Eugene Fitzherbert much better than his adopted name. When Eugene leaves to collect more firewood, Gothel appears and tells Rapunzel to return home with her. Rapunzel refuses, believing that Eugene is warming up to her. Gothel presents Rapunzel with his satchel and challenges her to return it to him, warning her that Eugene will simply abandon her as he only wants the satchel back. Gothel disappears, leaving the two of them to fall asleep by the campfire. Gothel is also accompanied by the Stabbington Brothers, with whom she has struck a deal to get Rapunzel back. In the morning, Rapunzel awakens to find that they have been discovered by Maximus, a palace horse with a personal mission to bring Eugene to justice. Rapunzel calms and befriends Maximus, requesting that he refrain from arresting Eugene for the next 24 hours so that they can see the lanterns. Maximus and Eugene make a reluctant truce and journey into the kingdom with Rapunzel. Eugene and Rapunzel enjoy each other's company greatly as they spend the day touring the kingdom and indulging in everything it has to offer. At this point they begin to realize their growing feelings for one another. At dusk, Eugene and Rapunzel row out into the lake to watch the lanterns rise into the sky.



When Eugene presents her with a pair of their own lanterns, Rapunzel shows him his satchel, saying she was scared to give it to him before. Eugene refuses the satchel and assures her that everything is alright. As Eugene watches Rapunzel viewing the lanterns he falls in love and takes her by the hand, which she happily reciprocates, and they finish singing "I See the Light" together. They are just about to kiss, when Eugene sees the Stabbington Borthers on shore and brings the boat ashore to give them the satchel, feeling they are not safe with them around. The brothers knock Eugene unconscious and trick Rapunzel into thinking he has abandoned her by setting him asail across the lake towards the kingdom. They scheme to kidnap her and use her powers to earn them money but Gothel appears and rescues her. Believing that she has been deserted by the man she thought loved her, a heartbroken Rapunzel goes with Gother back to the tower.

The guards arrest Eugene and sentence him to be hanged for his crimes. Back at the tower, Rapunzel discovers that the emblem of the kingdom of Corona has been unwittingly sketched into all of the wall paintings she has done over the years in her room. She confronts Gothel, who says that she only wanted to protect Rapunzel and that Eugene is scheduled to be hung. Rapunzel becomes angry and says that she will never let Gothel use her hair again, but is detained by Gothel before she can leave.

As he is being lead off to the gallows, Eugene is rescued by the Snuggly Duckly patrons, called on by Maximus. Eugene rides Maximus back to the tower to save Rapunzel. Upon arriving, he finds Rapunzel shackled and gagged and is fatally stabbed in the chest by Gothel before he can do anything. Rapunzel declares that she will never stop resisting Gothel for the rest of her life, but will go with her peacefully if only she is allowed to heal Eugene. Gothel agrees and chains Eugene down to prevent him from following them. Eugene begs Rapunzel not to do it, but Rapunzel can't let Eugene die. Eugene, however, chooses death over seeing Rapunzel trapped again and slices her hair off before she can heal him. Gothel's age begins to catch up with her rapidly and flying into a fit of hysteria, she is tripped by Pascal and falls out the tower window. Her body crumbles to dust before it hits the ground.

Rapunzel desperately cradles the dying Eugene, singing the healing incantation, but to no effect. Eugene weakly tells Rapunzel she was his new dream. Rapunzel says that he was hers as well and Eugene dies in her arms. Rapunzel softly finishes singing the incantation and begins to cry over his body. Her tears, however, contain the last bit of sunshine power in Rapunzel's body and Eugene is revived. They jubilantly embrace and then kiss.

Rapunzel then returns to Corona to reunite with her rightful parents: the King and the Queen. The 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. And whereas she is barefoot in the film, she is seen wearing purple flat shoes in the Disney parks.

Disneyland Resort
She, along with Flynn Rider, made 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. Rapunzel also appears in "Mickey's Soundsational Parade" with Snow White, Cinderella, Princess Aurora and Belle on The Princess Float. Rapunzel has been added to World of Color during the So Close sequence.

Walt Disney World Resort
At Disney World, she 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. Flynn left in July as a permament character, however he will make appearances for the park's Halloween, Christmas and possibly Vanentine's Day events.

Hong Kong Disneyland
At Hong Kong Disneyland, she can be found in the Fantasyland's Storybook Shoppe.

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. However, she is the first to have her hair cut by someone other than herself, and the first to have the colour of her hair changed completely.
 * Rapunzel is similar to Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the sense that neither can leave their home under the strict orders of their "parents".
 * Rapunzel is the only princess to have green eyes.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to be computer animated. Special software was used specifically to animate Rapunzel's hair because no one ever animated that much hair before.
 * 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 complicate the romantic relationship between her and her love-interest.
 * Despite having her hair cut and turn brown in the movie, Rapunzel's hair is kept long and blonde in promotional images.
 * Rapunzel is the second Disney Princess to have her love-interest die and brought back to life.
 * After her hair gets cut, Rapunzel became the Disney Princess with the second shortest hair, behind Snow White.
 * The color purple is often said to be the color of royalty. During the film, Rapunzel only wears purple, which can be a reference to Rapunzel's true royal identity.
 * Rapunzel resembles her mother, The Queen, similar to how Princess Aurora resembles her mother, Queen Leah.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to have freckles.
 * Rapunzel is the second Disney Princess to be initially unaware of her identity as a princess. The first was Princess Aurora.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to have magic powers, the source of them initially being hair. However, when her hair is cut, her healing powers remained in her tears.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess whose mother is shown pregnant.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to have a female villain in her story since Ariel in 1989.
 * Rapunzel will be "officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court" during a promotional event at Kensington Palace in London on October 2, 2011.
 * She is the only Disney Princess that was shown doing household chores during her wishful song.
 * Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to ever change hair color.

Gallery
Rapunzel