Queen Arianna

Queen Arianna is a supporting character in Disney's 2010 animated film, Tangled. She is Rapunzel's birth mother, and wife of King Frederic.

Background
"Rapunzel, before I met your father, I was so much like you. I had no idea what I was supposed to do in this world. So I went out and found my own way."

- Arianna to Rapunzel

Arianna is the Queen of the kingdom Corona. In Tangled: Before Ever After, Arianna tells Rapunzel that, at a young age, she was very much like her daughter in that she felt lost in the world and longed to find her calling. During this time, she lived her life as an adventurer, exploring remote continents, besting violent storms and helping local villagers restore their worn homes. At some point, she would meet Frederic, marry him, and assume the role of queen. According to Flynn Rider's narration in the original Tangled, Arianna is a beloved monarch who rules the kingdom with grace and wisdom.

Personality
In Tangled, Arianna is shown to love her daughter and her husband dearly: when Rapunzel is born, she smiles adoringly, cuddling and picking her up. She then silently comforts her husband on the day of the lantern festival, gently touching his face when he cries. These scenes show that she is caring, supportive, and kindly. She is also shown to be very accepting, immediately welcoming Eugene into the royal family upon realizing he was partially responsible for her daughter's return.

Arianna's personality is slightly expanded in Tangled: Before Ever After, where her loving and supportive nature is emphasized by her way of raising Rapunzel — especially compared to her husband. Unlike the paranoid Frederic who fears for Rapunzel's safety nearly every waking moment, Arianna simply relishes in having a complete family once more. She also sympathizes with Rapunzel's longing to learn more about the world, and herself, and encourages her to do just that. Gentle and soft-spoken, Arianna quickly established herself as someone Rapunzel can confide in during times of uncertainty.

In regards to Rapunzel and Frederic's somewhat strained relationship, Arianna advice Frederic to lower his defenses and trust that their daughter will prevail as a wise ruler when her time comes. She openly believes the idea that teenagers are a rather complex age-group that requires patience and understanding from the parent, to properly develop; this would explain why her methods of raising Rapunzel are considerably less controversial, compared to her husband, despite the fact that they both love their daughter, immensely.

It is shown later on that she and Rapunzel have developed a deep mother-daughter bond. In "Fitzherbert P.I., Arianna gave motherly wisdom about how Rapunzel should best portray herself in her royal portrait, explaining that people aren't defined by what they can do, but by who they are and the people they love; in response, Rapunzel painted the portrait, herself, which depicted the princess with her mother.

Physical appearance
Arianna bears a striking resemblance to her daughter; near identical, bright green eyes, with similar facial features. She, along with Frederic, also share Rapunzel's brown hair (after it was cut). Arianna's hair almost reaches her waist. It is parted in the same way as Rapunzel's is, and the upper layer is tied back neatly in a sort of updo.

Tangled
Arianna is more involved in the movie, even though she does not have a speaking role like her spouse, Frederic. She contracted an unknown illness while heavily pregnant with Rapunzel, and she was going to die, along with her child, from the illness. The guards, however, found the magical golden flower that, through a traditional medicinal method such as extracting a plant's essence by boiling it in water, fully healed her, which also successfully helped with the birth of Rapunzel. Not long afterward, Mother Gothel snuck into the castle to kidnap Rapunzel, who held the powers she believed were rightfully hers.

As a loving mother, Arianna along with the King was devastated to have her baby taken away. Eighteen years later, she and the King continued to hold the lantern festival to call their daughter home and were just as emotionally shaken as the day she disappeared. Arianna did not return to the scene until a guard came to report Rapunzel's return. Although she was not able to immediately recognize and embrace Rapunzel as her long-lost daughter upon first sight, Arianna's maternal instinct and striking resemblance to Rapunzel brought the family together immediately. As she, her husband and Rapunzel sank to the ground in a powerful embrace, Arianna silently extended her hand to Eugene in speechless gratitude. As he took it, she pulled him in to join them. She was last seen smiling and hugging Rapunzel and Frederic towards the end of the movie.

Tangled Ever After
Arianna has a brief appearance in Tangled Ever After. In Maximus' dream sequence after he loses the rings, Arianna exclaims from the audience that the rings were her grandmother's. She also appears at the end, alongside Frederic, giving Maximus and Pascal a surprised look that they were both dirty and messy, and also smiling happily as her daughter is married.

Tangled: The Series
Arianna makes multiple appearances in the TV series, though she usually plays fairly minor roles. When focused upon, however, it is shown that Arianna is just as elated as her husband to have Rapunzel in her life again, but not in a manner that has made her overprotective. Instead, she supports her daughter in all endeavors, and looks to make up for the eighteen years worth of lost time by spending time with Rapunzel whenever she can. She trusts that her daughter can make her own choices and believes in her ability to accomplish her goals.

In "The Way of the Willow", it is revealed that Arianna has a younger sister named Wilhelmina (nicknamed "Willow"), who visits Corona in honor of her sister's birthday—despite having missed the previous six. Unfortunately, Willow's visit had cut into Arianna and Rapunzel's planned date to watch a meteor shower, which Arianna looked forward to as a chance to have some long-awaited quality time with her daughter. Tidbits on Arianna's past were also hinted at throughout the episode, such as the fact that — during her childhood — she had a somewhat crippling eagerness to impress those around her, which would result in her taking any dare that Willow threw her way; Arianna was notably embarrassed by this when Willow brought it up.

In the season one finale, Arianna tried to reason with her husband about him locking Rapunzel up in her bedroom tower was too extreme. When she couldn't change his mind she visited her daughter and reminded her that her father was doing this because he cared.

Later she is kidnapped by Varian, to use as bait to lure Rapunzel to Old Corona, to cooperate in an attempt to free his father from the amber. Though visibly scared, she still attempted to get through to Varian and help him, urging him to not do this. Later when Varian caused the rocks near her to start growing amber, she remained calm and freed herself before the amber could encase her. A short time later she witnessed her daughter use the connection she had with the rocks to stop Varian once and for all.

Once Upon a Time
Frederic and Arianna make a brief appearance at the end of the episode "The Tower", where they are seen reuniting with Rapunzel after years of separation.

Trivia

 * Arianna was originally going to be voiced by Ashley Judd in Tangled: Before Ever After, but this was changed later on.
 * Queen Arianna's given name was from executive producer, Chris Sonnenburg's, daughter, Arianna.