- “I am the lost princess, aren't I?”
- ―Rapunzel to Mother Gothel
Queen Rapunzel of Corona is the main protagonist of the Tangled franchise. She is the current Queen of Corona and married to former thief Flynn Rider. She had long blonde hair until it was cut, and then she had brown hair. She is voiced by Mandy Moore and she is the tenth official Disney Princess in the line-up. She was the first Disney Princess to be from a CGI Film.
Biography[]
Eighteen years before the events of Tangled, Rapunzel's parents, King Frederic and Queen Arianna of Corona, were anticipating their firstborn. Unfortunately, very late in her pregnancy, the queen fell ill with what would surely result in her death, as well as her child's. Fearing the death of his love, the King dispatched multitudes of soldiers and villagers alongside the populace to search for a rumored magic flower, created by a single drop of sunlight, with the potential to heal illnesses.
After much searching, the flower, long hoarded by a woman named Mother Gothel, who has kept herself young by singing a song to it, is miraculously located and boiled into medicine to cure the queen of her ailment. With the help of the flower, the queen makes a full recovery and soon gives birth to a healthy baby girl, named Rapunzel who, unlike her parents, has beautiful, golden hair. To celebrate her birth, a floating lantern with the emblem of the sun was released into the sky amongst the people of Corona. The peace did not last long, however. Determined to retrieve the flower that kept her young for hundreds of years, Mother Gothel broke into the castle late one night and sang the song to Rapunzel's hair. Discovering that Rapunzel's hair retained the flower's healing powers. Gothel attempted to cut a piece off, only to find that the hair lost its magic and became brown. Frustrated and desperate, Gothel kidnapped the princess and fled to her tower, hidden within an alcove deep in the forest. To protect Rapunzel's hair, Gothel raised Rapunzel as her own daughter and taught her to sing the flower's song. To further ensure her magic supply was plentiful, Gothel continuously brushed the hair to further its growth. Although Rapunzel wished to leave the tower, Gothel warned her of a dangerous world beyond the tower walls, full of selfish people that desired to steal her hair and abuse her power.
Meanwhile, the kingdom searched far and wide for their missing princess, but to no avail. As a result, each year on Rapunzel's birthday, the King, Queen, and the entire kingdom release thousands of lanterns into the night sky, in hopes that one day, their lost princess will return.
One night, while in the tower alone, Rapunzel would encounter a baby chameleon at her tower window, being followed by a venomous snake. The chameleon is bitten by the snake and dies from poisoning, though Rapunzel is able to both rid the tower of the snake and revive the deceased chameleon with the power of her hair. The chameleon reveals itself to be alone in the world, something Rapunzel relates to, as Gothel would leave her alone in the tower for lengthy periods of time frequently. Rapunzel names the chameleon "Pascal", and to remedy their mutual loneliness, invites him to live with her so they may remain by each other's side from that night forward.
Personality[]
Rapunzel is a spirited and determined young woman. Throughout her young life, she's dreamt of escaping her tower to experience the outside world. Due to the strict order of her sole parental figure Gothel, however she remained inside the tower. The use of manipulation and emotional abuse in her upbringing by Gothel has led Rapunzel to believe that the world is highly dangerous, and that remaining in the confines of her sheltered walls is in her best interest. Additional misfortunes born through Rapunzel's upbringing would include such traits as anxiety and low self-esteem. Gothel would often victimize herself whenever she and Rapunzel would hit a bump in their relationship, riddling the latter with guilt, which would, in turn, motivate her to obey Gothel's commands in hopes of making amends. This was all according to plan for Gothel, who relied on Rapunzel's emotional instability to forever maintain control over the princess. With Gothel possessing such a strong emotional hold - having forced Rapunzel to believe she was her only source of security and comfort in a dangerous and unforgiving world - the odds against Rapunzel were high.
Nevertheless, what separates Rapunzel from what could be classified as a "damsel-in-distress" is her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone and take on the unknown for the sake of experiencing her dreams. Despite being fearful and at times hesitant, she pushes herself forward to pursue her ambitions.
Additionally, she takes matters into her own hands several times throughout the film and cunningly manipulates situations to end in her favor, such as forcing the thief Flynn Rider to act as her guide to the kingdom of Corona after he broke into her tower. After learning the truth behind Mother Gothel and her motives, Rapunzel became fierce, immediately rejected Gothel, and strongly disapproved of any further abuse. With such will and devotion towards herself and what she values, Rapunzel proves to be a force of nature, in her own right.
As mentioned above, Rapunzel is spirited, and takes great enjoyment in virtually everything life has to offer. When trapped in her tower, she engaged in various activities such as art and music, creating a vibrant home filled with color and personality, and proving herself to be talented and expressive. When she finally escapes her tower, Rapunzel finds beauty in all she sees, from nature to a group of seemingly gruesome thugs. So much so that Rapunzel is often responsible for quite a few spontaneous, yet uplifting parties so jovial that practically every bystander would join in with zeal. This is seen during "I've Got a Dream" and during the Festival of Lights.
Rapunzel is very social in this regard and values her loved ones deeply. This is especially seen through her relationship with Eugene. Rapunzel was able to bypass the thief's roguish nature and managed to bring out his more noble and genuine side. With love and respect for one another, Rapunzel and Eugene formed a relationship built on trust, understanding, and devotion—a relationship that would better themselves individually and lead to the ultimate realization of what they truly want in life.
Songs[]
Solos[]
Duets[]
(with Eugene)
(with Eugene)
(with Cassandra)
(with Cassandra)
Groups[]
- Life After Happily Ever After (with Eugene and Frederic)
- I've Got This (with Cassandra and the cast)
- Listen Up (with the Snuggly Duckling Thugs and Ruthless Ruth)
- Ready as I'll Ever Be (with Varian, Frederic, Eugene, and Cassandra)
- Next Stop, Anywhere (with Eugene and Cassandra)
- With You by My Side (with Eugene and Cassandra)
- Through It All (with Cast)
- Life After Happily Ever After (Finale) (with Eugene, and her parents)
(with Eugene, Frederic, and Cassandra)
(with Eugene and Cassandra)
(with Eugene and Cassandra)
Trivia[]
- Rapunzel was considered the second princess to marry a commoner (Flynn Rider) until the television series revealed that Eugene was actually a prince.
- Rapunzel is Disney's first CGI princess in the Disney Princess line-up.
- Rapunzel is the first official Disney Princess to be a Queen.
- Similar to Quasimodo, neither protagonists are allowed to leave their homes under the strict orders of their supposed parental figures (Claude Frollo and Mother Gothel) who were the main antagonists of the film before finally standing up to their guardians. They are both artists and eventually become friends with outlaws (Esmeralda and Flynn Rider)
- Despite her dislike of shoes, Rapunzel is seen wearing them in several promotional images.
