Full Movie Plot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangled
The movie Tangled, released by Disney in 2010, is a variation of the story of Rapunzel, from the Brothers Grimm. In the film, Rapunzel is kept locked in a tower by Gothel (whom she thinks is her mother) because of her hair's magical healing powers. Gothel follows the typical Disney princess villain pattern – she is an older woman who’s jealous of the princess and tries to take something from her, in this case, Rapunzel’s fountain of youth. This, however, is where the stereotypical Disney princess story goes out the window. Neither Rapunzel nor “Flynn Ryder” is a conventional Disney character, so this story was anything but ordinary.
Rapunzel first breaks the Disney mold by displaying a keen business sense and an ability to think for herself. When Flynn Rider enters the tower and gives Rapunzel “the smolder”, she doesn’t swoon; rather, she’s confused by his vanity and self-assurance. At this point, she offers him a trade – she’ll give him his crown back if he takes her to see the floating lights she’s been wanting to see – and stands firm against his bargaining tactics. This is a rare occurrence in early Disney films – I don’t remember that last one I saw in which the princess didn’t swoon at the first sight of her prince and then become putty in his hands. Recently, however, Disney seems to have altered its female characters. In addition to the increase in ethnic diversity since the 1990’s, Disney has drastically decreased the average complacency of its princesses. With stronger female characters (like Mulan, Tiana, or Rapunzel) emerging, Disney proves it’s making a change. It seems pretty obvious to me that this amendment is a vast improvement, and that little girls will be getting better messages from the princesses they so adore.
Flynn Rider proves to be even less of a traditional Disney character than Rapunzel; as a thief and a trickster, he’s hardly Prince Charming. At the beginning of the movie he attempts to maintain the façade of a standard Disney prince, trying to smooth-talk the girl or win her over with his puppy dog eyes and expensive male haircut. But, as the movie goes on we learn more about him – that his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert, that he’s secretly insecure, that he’s a thief because of his poor upbringing – and he turns out to be unlike any Disney character before him. Throughout their journey, Rapunzel reveals the true Eugene and through this bond, falls in love with him. I was glad to see a male character finally have to show a little personality and put in some work before the girl falls in love with him.
Although the end result of the story is the same – the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after – the path there was definitely not conventional. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and have to say that it was refreshing to see two unique characters shaking up the stereotypical Disney storyline and creating a unique and innovative movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment