Why Disney’s ‘Tangled’ Isn’t Just For Kids
If you scoff at kids’ movies, you’re missing out on essential life lessons.
Kids’ movies are not just for kids.
They’re Trojan Horses for adults who have forgotten the foundational truths of life. They’re stories of friendship, love, empathy, persistence, courage, doing the right thing, finding ourselves and finding joy along the way.
The best example of this is Disney’s Tangled, their 2010 movie with a twist on the classic Grimm Brothers story Rapunzel.
Tangled captures all of the positive storylines of a great children’s movie, but what makes it pop is how real the villain is.
Like many fairy tales, the villain in Rapunzel and Tangled is a witch named Gothel. Gothel is an ancient witch who covets something we can relate to: youth and beauty. And her tactics for maintaining her youth are insidious and very, very real.
The Story of Rapunzel
In the classic tale, Rapunzel is the daughter of a normal couple who is forced to give up their daughter to Gothel, their literal witch of a neighbor, after she caught the husband stealing flowers from her garden. He was stealing to save his wife who had become obsessed with rampion, a wildflower (also known as rapunzel) that the witch had in abundance. Gothel and Rapunzel live in a tower in the woods with no door and only the only way in or out is Rapunzel’s legendary lengthy hair.
In Tangled, Rapunzel is still locked in a tower with Gothel and still has to let down her hair, but there’s a whole other story going on.
Rapunzel is a princess kidnapped by — not given to — Gothel when she was a baby. Rapunzel’s mother was dying, and so the king sent his men off to find a cure. They found a lone magic flower that Gothel hid and had been using to stay young for centuries. Gothel watches in horror as the men bring the flower back to the queen. The queen is then served a soup made with the flower that saves her and her baby’s life. Not only does it save Rapunzel’s life, but her hair is imbued with the healing power of the magic flower.
One night, a cloaked and ancient-looking Gothel breaks into the castle. She cuts off a lock of Rapunzel’s hair, thinking that’s all she needs to stay young. Plot twist: once Rapunzel’s hair is cut, its power is lost. Gothel, desperate, kidnaps Rapunzel, devastating the king and queen who search endlessly for their young daughter to no avail.
Growing Up Under Her Thumb
Despite everything that Gothel is, Rapunzel grows into a warm-hearted and curious girl with one desire: to see the world beyond her tower. After a desperate plea on the eve of her 18th birthday to go outside — a very reasonable plea, Gothel claims the outside world is selfish, dark, and cruel and warns Rapunzel to never speak of leaving the tower again.
However, Rapunzel’s wish is stronger than she realizes. When a handsome thief named Flynn Rider stumbles upon her tower in his attempt to flee the authorities, Rapunzel, in a daring move, strikes a deal with him: If he takes her to the kingdom where she’s been seeing the lanterns fly every year on her birthday, she will return his stolen satchel to him. Flynn agrees.
And this, my dear readers, is where our charming Rapunzel’s growth begins.
She lies to her mother about her deepest desire and asks for forgiveness for being foolish. Instead of wanting to go outside, she tells her mother she wants a certain type of paint that will require a three-day journey for Gothel. Unsuspecting, Gothel sets off to get Rapunzel her paint.
Free from Gothel, Rapunzel and Flynn (whom Rapunzel hid in her closet) leave the tower. Only, Rapunzel is so frightened that when she descends (via her hair, of course), she dangles above the ground for a moment. And then, when she touches the ground, she is so elated with what the grass feels like that she breaks into song.
The scenes that follow show a conflicted girl: She’s doing what she wants! But she’s going to hurt her mother. She doesn’t care! But her mother will be heartbroken. It’s the best ever! But she’s a horrible daughter. She’s never going back! But she’s a despicable human being.
Pain, agony, elation, and delight are all on display.
Who of us hasn’t been there? Who among us hasn’t had a rebellion streak in them that we waffle on because our actions aren’t what our parents or caregivers want for us?
Sure, we don’t have magic hair or a pet chameleon or befriend a wanted criminal (at least I hope you don’t). But we all have had adventures, grand or small. We all have dreams, realized and unrealized.
We can all relate to Rapunzel.
Growing Up Rapunzel
Rapunzel grows up as soon as she stands up for herself. She experiences elation and despair. She uses her gifts not only to save herself and Flynn, but she also inspires others to follow their dreams. She finds out what the world is like on her terms, not under the influence of her abusive mother. She’s out in the world and loving it.
Like us, Rapunzel goes on her own journey of self-discovery. And also, like us, it’s not a straight line.
Because we don’t solely identify with this character like a child would, we can see the outcome here, which makes it so much more compelling as an adult! We know Gothel is going to come after Rapunzel. We just don’t know when or how.
The most realistic villain yet
Disney’s villains have evolved over time. Think about Snow White. The evil queen isn’t that compelling of a villain. She’s scary, but she doesn’t like Snow White because she’s pretty. That’s not a reason to kill someone.
Or how about Jafar from Aladdin? Most of us aren’t sultans who have a grand vizier who is a power-hungry sorcerer. Nor do we have a daughter with a pet tiger who falls in love with a street urchin.
But many of us have experienced a manipulative and influential adult. We’ve witnessed people who are incapable of love and compassion. We’ve been guilt-tripped. We’ve experienced emotional whiplash and unpredictable people. We’ve been told not to want something that we deeply, deeply yearn for.
Like Rapunzel, we’ve been a victim at one point or another.
Gothel is one of the most realistic villains in cinema because of how human and inhumane she is. She’s cunning and conniving. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants. And she knows what she wants — and it’s something we can relate to!
Gothel’s afraid of getting older. More specifically, she’s afraid of showing her age.
How many people do you know who have that fear?
We take it as a huge compliment when people think we’re younger than we are. And Gothel had a simple way to appear young. But it was taken from her. So what does she do? She takes it back. The magic flower that saved the queen’s life was the same flower that Gothel kept hidden for herself all those years. And she doesn’t seek revenge. She’s after what she wants, and if she has to kidnap the child, so be it.
And the way Gothel raises Rapunzel — she trains her to be obedient and subservient. She brings her up in fear — though, despite that, Rapunzel is innately sunny and curious.
She almost successfully convinces Rapunzel that the rest of the world is selfish, scary, and mean.
The irony is the projection. If anything, Rapunzel’s world — her rightful kingdom — is positive, sunny, and loving. All the things Gothel is not, and all the things Rapunzel is.
What have we learned?
Tangled reminds us of how much power one person has over us when we’re young. The impact of our caregivers cannot be overstated. This doesn’t mean we can’t break free from those early patterns, but it is much harder than simply saying, “I’m done with what I never chose for myself now.” It takes a lot of time and conscious effort on our part to overcome.
These adult themes pop up in every kids’ movie.
Toy Story isn’t just a movie about toys who talk. It’s a movie about friendship, change and belonging.
My favorite Pixar movie, The Incredibles, isn’t just about a family of superheroes. It’s about family dynamics, the detrimental nature of ego, and moral dilemmas.
Or take everyone’s favorite, Pixar’s Up. Of all the movies, this one might be the most overtly adult-movie-disguised-in-animation. But from a kid’s point of view, Up is about a boy seeking a merit badge for Scouts and accidentally going on an adventure with an old man and a funny dog. As an adult, it’s about living with loss, welcoming change, and being openhearted.
All of this sounds pretty grown-up to me.