Flynn Rider (real name Eugene Fitzherbert) is the male protagonist in Disney's 2010 hit Tangled. He is voiced by Zachary Levi.
Biography
A dashing swashbuckler and gifted horseman, Flynn Rider has a talent for getting himself out of any situation just by simply flashing his famous smile. Flynn is a thief, seeking a life of money and freedom, far far away. He is close to having everything he ever wanted, despite being on the run from almost every person in the valley.
During the film, Flynn reveals that his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. However, he changed his name to Flynn, after his favorite swashbuckler Flynnagin Rider, because he was embarrassed by his name. He became a thief as a result of his poor unbringing.
Role in the film
Flynn serves as the opening narrator for the story, where he gives a brief recount of the circumstances surrounding Rapunzel's birth to the King and Queen of a kingdom, and Rapunzel's subsequent kidnapping by Mother Gothel. Many years later, Flynn is on the run from the law after stealing the crown jewels of the lost princess and deserting his former partners The Stabbington Brothers. Flynn is chased by the Captain of the Guard's horse, Maximus, whom he had unsuccessfully tried to commandeer. Flynn stumbles upon Rapunzel's tower and climbs it to escape the horse, only to be knocked out by Rapunzel. When Flynn awakens, he finds himself tied to a chair with Rapunzel's hair. He is struck by her beauty, but when he fails to woo his way out of the predicament, Flynn is eventually forced to agree to consent to Rapunzel's request to take her to see the yearly Festival of Lights in the Kingdom, in exchange the return of his satchel and the crown inside.
The pair set out toward the Kingdom. Flynn tries to take advantage of Rapunzel's obvious ambivalence about leaving the tower by suggesting, with the pretense of good-natured compromise, that they give up on the entire endeavor. When Rapunzel sees through his ploy, he tries another method to dissuade her by taking her to the Snuggly Duckling, where she will be sure to encounter the "ruffians" and "thugs" she most fears. Flynn's plans are foiled again, however, when he is recognized and the thugs fight over who will receive the reward for his capture. Rapunzel manages to distract the thugs by inspiring the "I've Got a Dream" song, during which Flynn reveals his dream to own an island, where he can relax alone with his money. However, after the song, the palace guards arrive.
Flynn and Rapunzel are able to escape through a tunnel and share a brief conversation in which he refuses to give her any of his "backstory" but asks a little bit about hers. The conversation is cut short when they discover that the guards have pursued them into the passage. The pair flee, but are cornered atop a cliff in a canyon made from a dammed river, hotly pursued by Flynn's two enemies: the guards and the Stabbington brothers. Flynn is able to fight off the guards by using Rapunzel's frying pan, but is bested in a sword duel with Maximus the horse. Rapunzel uses her hair to help him escape the cliff and the horse, but when Maximus damages the dam in order to reach them, the two are trapped in a cave, which begins filling rapidly with water. Panicking, Flynn tries desperately to find an escape under the water, injuring his hand in the process. However, unable to see anything in the darkness, he admits defeat and the two huddle together in the rising water, believing that they are about to die. As Rapunzel weeps, he tries to cheer her a little by revealing his real name, Eugene Fitzherbert. Rapunzel manages to save them both by causing her hair to glow, which lights up the cave, allowing them see an escape, and Eugene digs their way out.
When the two emerge onto the banks of a river in the forest, Eugene is clearly unsettled and even alarmed by Rapunzel's glowing hair. Later that night, when the two are sitting beside their campfire, Rapunzel uses her hair to heal Eugene's injured hand. Eugene is evidently frightened by the magic, to the point of near-hysteria. However, he able to regain his cool enough to learn Rapunzel's history, and the nature of her magical gift, which is lost if the hair is cut. Eugene is compassionate towards Rapunzel and her ambivalent feelings about the tower and her mother. He at last reveals some of his "backstory" by confessing that he is an orphan, and as a poor child he was inspired by a the main character of a book, who was a rich, free-spirited, "swashbuckling rogue" named Flynnagin Rider, which prompted his life of crime in order to become rich and adventurous too. Slightly embarrassed, he asks Rapunzel not to tell anyone because he could ruin his reputation, and "a fake reputation is all a man has."
Eugene is nearly captured again by Maximus, but Rapunzel--with the help of Pascal--is able to befriend the horse, makes the two forge a reluctant alliance for the next twenty-four hours, during which Maximus will not get Eugene arrested. Now accompanied by Maximus, the group arrive at the Kingdom for the festival. Eugene accompanies Rapunzel as she delightedly explores the Kingdom; he buys her a flag, cupcakes and food, and even dances with her as the two enjoy one another's company, and a romance clearly begins to blossom. That night, Eugene takes Rapunzel out on the water in a rowboat to see the lights. While they wait for the lights, Rapunzel expresses her apprehension about finally living her dream, and Eugene reassures her and encourages her to find a new dream afterward. During the lantern festival, Rapunzel returns his satchel, but he pushes it aside and the couple release their own two lanterns. Eugene and Rapunzel finally realize their love for one another, and nearly kiss.
A moment before kissing Rapunzel, Eugene is distracted by the sight of The Stabbington Brothers on the shore, and appears to come to a conclusion about his satchel. He brings the boat to shore, and assures Rapunzel that he will return momentarily. He attempts to make peace with the Stabbington Brothers by giving them the satchel and the crown inside and tries to leave. However, they reveal that they know about Rapunzel and her hair, and express their desire to use her for money. His knocked unconscious and tied to a boat, which is set to sail toward the Kingdom. When she sees his silhouette steering the boat away from her, Rapunzel is tricked into believing Eugene abandoned her, and returns with her mother to the tower.
Later, Eugene's boat crashes into the guard tower near the jail, jolting him back to consciousness, but as he realizes that Rapunzel is in trouble and calls out for her, he is captured by the guards. The next day, as he is taken to be hanged, when he notices The Stabbington Brothers in their own cell. They reveal that it was Mother Gothel who told them about Rapunzel and her hair. The Pub Thugs and Maximus help Eugene escape prison, and he and Maximus rushes to save Rapunzel. He becomes worried when Rapunzel does not answer his calls, but her hair soon comes down to let him climb up. However, when he climbs jubilantly through the tower window, finds Rapunzel chained and gagged, and Eugene is mortally stabbed by Mother Gothel. Mother Gothel attempts to flea with the captive Rapunzel, leaving him there to die. Rapunzel resists her and refuses to go willingly, but then promises to submit completely to Mother Gothel if Mother Gothel will only let her heal Eugene. Mother Gothel agrees and chains the wounded Eugene instead. Rapunzel rushes to his side, but Eugene pleads with her not go through with it, preferring to die rather than Rapunzel be a prisoner. When his attempts to dissuade her fail, he cuts Rapunzel's hair, which causes it to lose its power and turn brown. Mother Gothel rapidly ages and dies without Rapunzel's hair. Rapunzel tries desperately to save the dying Eugene by to singing the healing incantation. Eugene stops her and, with his last breaths, tells Rapunzel that she was his new dream, and she tells him that he had been hers. Eugene smiles and dies. As Rapunzel sobs and cradles his body, she hopelessly finishes the healing incantation, and inadvertently heals him with one of her tears. The two kiss at last.
Eugene accompanied Rapunzel during her return to the Kingdom, as she had discovered that she was its lost princess, and was present during her reunion with her parents. He appears to have been graciously accepted by the King and Queen. During his closing narration, Eugene implies that Rapunzel eventually ruled the Kingdom. The two are shown together, both wearing nicer clothing and clearly still in love. He then claims that he accepted Rapunzel's proposal of marriage after several years, only to be corrected by Rapunzel, and he amends by saying that he asked her, and that the two are currently living happily ever after.
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