Disney Rapunzel Wearing Purple Dress

It is the year 2010. At 6 years old, you walk into the theater with your family to watch a newly released Disney movie. Little did you know you were seeing the best cinematography Disney has ever produced. Whether focusing on the plot, the romance, the characters, or the film score, the 2010 movie Tangled, starring Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy is the best film Disney has ever released. 

Forewarning, I include many spoilers. For those of you who have not blessed yourself with watching this movie, Tangled was Disney’s animation of the classic tale Rapunzel. The premise of the movie revolves around Rapunzel, a young girl with magic hair, who was stolen by Mother Gothel and locked away in a tower. She experiences yearnings for knowing the outside world as she had never set foot outside of her tower. When a young man, Flynn Rider, seeks refuge from the kingdom guard in her tower, she becomes curious and asks him to show her what she has been missing all of these years. It seems as if these assigned voice actors were born for these roles as each of their voices not only matches the personalities of each character but also brings each to another level by giving them the ability to sing like gods.

It is from extensive research that I have found that this movie has one of Disney’s best film scores. Now, I cannot say that it is THE best on account of other movies such as Frozen, Hercules, The Lion King, etc. But, I can say that this score has a very diverse set of songs that can be enjoyed in any setting imaginable, especially for writing blog posts. As I sit here listening and typing, I am finding that almost every lyrical song is just as good, if not better than I remember it being. First, we start with the absolute banger of When Will My Life Begin. May I just say, what a way to introduce a character while hooking the audience on this story? This song not only builds Rapunzel’s character by previewing her desire of exploring the world, but it also allows the audience to relate to the movie, which in turn creates more attentive watchers and listeners. As the story progresses, we are blessed with yet another Disney classic Mother Knows Best, previewing Donna Murphy’s (Mother Gothel) vocal range which eludes her powerful character. It also teases her true self, one without love and with much greed. Greed to be young that is. Throughout the entirety of the song, she is creating false images about the outside world in an attempt to establish fear within Rapunzel and keep her locked in the tower. This in addition to lines like “go ahead and leave me, I deserve it” and “let me die alone here, by my guest” causes Rapunzel to feel guilty which prevents her from even thinking about leaving. The power that this woman has over not only Rapunzel but also other strong characters like Flynn Rider and the Stabbington brothers is unmatched compared to other Disney villains.

The last song I am going to talk about is of course the iconic I See the Light, a duet between Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Yes, I know that this song is eerily similar to A Whole New World from Disney’s 1992 film Aladdin. But, for me and many others, this song just “hits differently”. This is due to a combination of the scenery, the time at which it was released, and the song itself. The buildup to this song, this slow-burn romance between Flynn Rider and Rapunzel, could not have been better fulfilled by the scene that was set. The boat on the water with the glow of the lanterns reflecting on the surface along with the lanterns themselves, which were Rapunzel’s childhood dream, truly set the scene for romance. Then we are hit with the harmony that is their togetherness but in song form. The way Flynn does not begin singing until later in the song (after this insane buildup, may I add), makes his part and their duet even better. 

Some other honorable mentions that I wish I had the time to talk about are I’ve Got a Dream, Healing Incantation, Kingdom Dance (of course), and don’t forget Something That I Want.

I could write an entire blog post solely on the film score, but I would like to divert the attention back to the characters, specifically Mother Gothel and Flynn Rider. Going back to this idea of Gothel as the superior Disney villain: yes many consider it easy to manipulate innocent girls. But Rapunzel’s manipulation was not Mother Gothel’s biggest success. She was able to use the Stabbington brothers like tools to force Rapunzel back into her tower by creating the illusion that Flynn used her to get the princess’s crown. I would say that the Stabbington brothers were of average intelligence, nothing too lacking or strongsided, although they had something that Rapunzel did not, world experience. Even with this extensive world experience, Mother Gothel was still able to get the brothers to support her efforts at restricting Rapunzel, and in the end, she was successful in tricking them and getting what she wanted without upholding her end of the deal (which was the crown). Gothel’s sheer manipulative power over those around her is the sole reason she is the most dangerous Disney villain. 

Before I finish up here, I would like to quickly show something my good friend Cait sent me off of Tik Tok. I am going to provide the images below. They don’t need many contexts. 

I apologize for the poor image quality. If you cannot read it, the text says “Flynn Rider’s appearance for Tangled (2010) was designed during a ‘Hot Guy Meeting’ where women from the studio picked out their favorite physical attributes from pictures of men”.

That concludes my statement on why Tangled is Disney’s best movie. Leave me a comment to the right if you think otherwise, I would love to hear what other movies you think are better. In the meantime, whenever you get the chance, take the time to immerse yourself in the amazing story that is this movie. I promise it will make your life a lot better.