Rapunzel is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th animated feature film Tangled, its

sequel Tangled Ever After, and its television spin-off Tangled: The Series. Voiced by American actress and singer Mandy
Moore, Rapunzel is a young princess kept unaware of her royal heritage by a vain old woman named Mother Gothel, who
raises her in a secluded tower in order to exploit her hair's healing abilities to remain young and beautiful forever.

Created and animated by supervising animator Glen Keane, Rapunzel is loosely based on the title character of the fairy tale
of the same name published by the Brothers Grimm. The character was adapted into a less passive heroine for the film. The
writers incorporated the quirky personalities of actresses Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and Amy Poehler into the
character.

Critical reception of Rapunzel has been generally positive, with critics complimenting her spirited, lively personality and
independence. The tenth Disney Princess, Rapunzel was officially inducted into the line-up on October 2, 2011, becoming
the franchise's first computer-animated member. Her physical appearance and personality have drawn much comparison
between her and preceding Disney Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989), by whom she was inspired.

Contents [hide]

1 Development

1.1 Conception and writing

1.2 Voice

1.3 Personality and design

1.3.1 Hair

2 Appearances

2.1 Film and Television

2.1.1 Tangled (2010)

2.1.2 Tangled Ever After (2012)

2.1.3 Frozen (2013)

2.1.4 Sofia the First: The Curse of Princess Ivy (2014)

2.1.5 Tangled: Before Ever After (2017)

2.1.6 Tangled: The Series (2017)

2.2 Merchandise

2.3 Theme parks

3 Reception

3.1 Critical response

3.2 Accolades and recognition

4 References

5 External links

Development[edit]

Conception and writing[edit]

Longtime Disney animator Glen Keane first decided to adapt the fairy tale "Rapunzel" by the Brothers Grimm into an
animated feature film in 1996.[1][2] Keane became interested in the idea of directing an animated film based on
"Rapunzel" because he was especially intrigued by the concept of a "person that was born with this gift inside of her and it
had to come out", which he felt was similar to his experience working as an animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios.[3]
Keane eventually resigned from his position as director after suffering a heart attack in 2008,[4][5] and Nathan Greno and
Byron Howard were hired to replace him. However, Keane remained closely involved with the project nonetheless, serving
as both the film's executive producer and Rapunzel's supervising animator.[6]

"The development of a character for me is a very personal journey. For me the joy of creating a character that I believe is
real is at the heart of creating a memorable character. I use people I know as inspiration. Its a very intimate personal
process and I will do hundreds, sometimes thousands, of drawings in finding that design. There is a great aha moment
when I finally recognize the character on my paper as someone I know."

Keane, on the process of creating Rapunzel.[7]

Walt Disney first attempted to adapt "Rapunzel" into an animated film soon after the studio released Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs in 1937, but the project was ultimately abandoned when the story turned out to be "a really hard nut to
crack". According to Keane, this was mainly due to the fact that the majority of the fairy tale takes place within a tower. To
overcome this, Tangled's writers were forced to develop a way of "bringing Rapunzel out of the tower".[1] Originally, the
film was conceived under the title Rapunzel Unbraided,[8] which Keane described as "a Shrek-like version of the film"[9]
that revolved around an entirely different concept. Keane said of the original plot, "It was a fun, wonderful, witty version
and we had a couple of great writers. But in my heart of hearts I believed there was something much more sincere and
genuine to get out of the story, so we set it aside and went back to the roots of the original fairy tale."[5]

An interview with actress Kristin Chenoweth, who was originally cast as Rapunzel, reveals that at some point Rapunzel was
intended to be a squirrel.[10] As directors, Greno and Howard felt it essential that Rapunzel resemble a less "passive"
heroine than the way she is depicted in the original fairy tale. "We knew we were making this movie for a contemporary
audience and we wanted Rapunzel to be a real role model in a way. We wanted all this girl power and to really drive this
story, so she doesn't wait around for anything ... she's a smart girl, she has these hopes and dreams and she's going to get
what she wants out of life."[11] Tangled's production was surrounded by rumors that it would be Disney's last princess
film.[12]

Voice[edit]

Actresses Kristin Chenoweth (left) and Reese Witherspoon (center) were originally cast as Rapunzel before singer Mandy
Moore (right).

In 2004, actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth was originally cast as the voice of Rapunzel while the film was still titled
Rapunzel Unbraided under Keane's direction.[10] Chenoweth, who had already begun recording dialogue for the role, said
of her character at the time, "I am Rapunzel, but Rapunzel is a squirrel ... and I'm going to let down my tail."[10] At one
point, Disney had cast actress Reese Witherspoon as Rapunzel. Additionally, Witherspoon was also intended to serve as an
executive producer on the film, but eventually exited the project due to experiencing creative differences with the other
filmmakers, citing, "Witherspoon has lots of (unworkable) suggestions about her character in the movie, and that the
resulting disagreements are what ultimately led to her departure."[13] Following Witherspoon's resignation, Rapunzel
remained uncast for quite some time, further jeopardizing the film's already troubled production,[13] a period during
which the character's voice was temporarily provided by "friends around the studio" in lieu of legitimate actresses.[14]

The filmmakers opted not to hire A-list celebrities to voice the film's main characters.[15][16] Afterwards, the directors
continued to audition hundreds of young actresses in the hopes of finding Rapunzel's voice,[14] among them Broadway
performer Idina Menzel,[17] but none sounded quite right until they finally discovered singer and actress Mandy
Moore.[18] Describing the opportunity to voice a Disney character as "the ultimate fantasy", Moore was a long-time fan of
Disney films.[12] Initially, knowledge that the role was being heavily sought after at the time deterred her from auditioning
in favor of avoiding disappointment.[19][20] Once she made up her mind to audition, Moore "chased after" the role,
auditioning for it twice. Because the film is a musical requiring its cast to provide both their characters' speaking and
singing voices, all candidates were asked to perform one song of their choice in the style of a singer-songwriter;[21] Moore,
a professional singer herself, auditioned with Joni Mitchell's "Help Me".[22] Child actress Delaney Rose Stein was eventually
cast as a young version Rapunzel.[23] According to co-director Byron Howard, Moore "has this great soul to her voice" as
well as "this down-to-earth, girl-next-door quality that makes her everything you could hope for in a Disney heroine."[24]

Upon joining the cast of Tangled, Moore was initially unaware that the film was slated to be Walt Disney Animation Studios'
50th animated feature film. Since that time, she has received her ignorance with gratitude, explaining, "I feel lucky because
I would've probably felt a bit more pressure had I known going into the recording process."[20] Moore hardly worked with
co-stars Zachary Levi and Donna Murphy, who provided the voices of Flynn Rider and Mother Gothel, respectively, never
meeting Murphy and having only met Levi once to record their characters' duet "I See the Light".[12] Moore was surprised
to learn that she would be isolated from her co-stars against initial expectations that "we're all going to be chummy,
hanging out at the studio laughing and going out to dinner together".[12] Moore had little idea of what her character
looked like because, in terms of visual aid, she was only provided with rough, incomplete sketches and storyboards, while
"everything else had to be explained" by Howard and Greno.[12] The majority of the images were created by Moore herself
in her own mind.[12]

Moore described the recording process as challenging because she was provided with little visual aid, explaining, "All I had
to work off were a few sketches ... but it was also fun because it allows you to go into the depths of your imagination." She
also revealed that creating Rapunzel's voice was simply a process of "let[ting] go".[25] Moore was often required to re-
record a single line a total of four times before the directors finally heard a version with which they were satisfied. After
watching the completed film for the first time, Moore was disappointed with her own performance because she felt that
her voice sounded "shrill".[26] According to composer Alan Menken, Moore's musical background made her "a delight to
work with".[12] Moore found the practice of performing in character challenging in comparison to recording her own
original music, explaining, "I can't just be like Mandy and sing something the way that I want to necessarily, because you
know, you sort of have to stick to certain guidelines."[12] She found recording "When Will My Life Begin" particularly
difficult due to the speed at which she had to say certain words, and cites both Menken and discovering Rapunzel herself as
a character with guiding her through the process.[12]

Personality and design[edit]

"With Rapunzel I did an enormous amount of drawings and I wanted to keep a sense of asymmetry in her. I read a book
about feminine beauty and it said the key to beauty is strangeness in a woman's face. There needs to be something slightly
off, some element; it might be her nose, her lip, her tooth, or one eye higher than the other, but something. Even in
Rapunzel's teeth, the way she talks, there's something a little bit wonky in the placement of her teeth, and things like that
were designed so that she was more real, true and appealing."

Keane, on designing Rapunzel and the concept of "feminine beauty".[2]

Executive producer John Lasseter explained that "The challenge is that you want to make Rapunzel feel like a smart, clever,
educated, healthy, fun human being" despite the fact that the character has not ventured outside of her tower in 18
years.[27] To avoid creating a "princessy and aloof" heroine, the writers decided to base Rapunzel's personality on
actresses Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, and Amy Poehler, which ultimately resulted in the character having a
variety of "quirky qualities" that were used to "shake up expectations of what a princess should be."[28] According to The
New York Times, Rapunzel's personality made her a significant departure from traditional Disney heroines.[27] Mandy
Moore believes that Rapunzel is an atypical Disney princess because she is an independent character who "can take care of
herself", in addition to being largely oblivious to the fact that she is a princess.[29]

Supervising animator Glen Keane designed Rapunzel under the tutelage of veteran animator Ollie Johnston, one of Disney's
Nine Old Men.[4] Johnston advised Keane to attempt to capture what Rapunzel is thinking as opposed to simply animating
what the character is doing after reviewing one of his early pencil tests.[4] Keane compared receiving this advice to
receiving a "slap that I never forgot, so when I was drawing over people's work, I really tried to get into the head of the
thinking of the character".[30] Co-director Byron Howard was inspired by the appearance of Ariel from Disney's The Little
Mermaid (1989), a character who was also animated by Keane. Howard elaborated that "Ariel was the first character that I
ever thought there was a soul behind her eyes ... We hoped to do that with Rapunzel to find some sort of soul and depth
that people could relate to".[31] Meanwhile, Keane observed that Ariel and Rapunzel also share "irrepressible" spirits while
encountering barriers that prevent them from pursuing their dreams.[31] Keane was inspired by a book about the idea of
feminine beauty; the book cited "strangeness" as "the key to beauty ... in a woman's face." Taking this into consideration,
Keane maintained a sense of asymmetry while drawing Rapunzel, incorporating into her face several subtle imperfections,
specifically her bucked teeth.[2][32][33] The character was also drawn with freckles,[32] making her the first Disney
princess to have this feature.[4] Keane designed Rapunzel with large eyes in order to convey her "irrepressible quality", a
trait her also discovered in Mandy Moore's voice.[34] The animators created nine different versions of Rapunzel before
finally settling on a design with which they were satisfied.[28] Although Moore has observed some physical similairites
between the character and herself, she maintains that Rapunzel's appearance was developed long before she became
involved with the project, dismissing any similarities as "coincidental".[19]

Keane is known for basing his characters on members of his family; Rapunzel's passion for art and painting was inspired by
the interests of his daughter, Claire.[35] Several of Claire's original drawings and paintings are used to decorate Rapunzel's
tower.[36] While Keane working on Tangled, Claire gave birth to his first grandchild, Matisse, whose appearance served as
the animator's inspiration for the infant Rapunzel.[37][38]

An early computer-generated concept of Rapunzel that demonstrates the "luscious golden hair" Keane desired for the
character.
Hair[edit]

"The hair ... proved to be one of the film's biggest challenges. Because Rapunzel's mane is her ticket (it heals wounds,
serves as transportation and makes the girl a prize to her captor), it had to look real on screen. To create it, the director
says, animators created a series of tubes that looked like spaghetti. 'It's about 1,000 tubes or 100,000 actual hairs. The
artists were able to get a general movement from those tubes.'"

The Sioux City Journal, interviewing Howard and Greno.[39]

Rapunzel was the first blonde-haired Disney animated heroine since Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (1959).[40] Animating
Rapunzel's hair using computer-generated imagery has been regarded as the most challenging aspect in the development
process of Tangled.[41] According to the Los Angeles Times, supervising animator Glen Keane has become well known for
animating some of Walt Disney Animation Studios' "greatest hair hits" since 1989, including Ariel from The Little Mermaid,
the Beast from Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Pocahontas from Pocahontas (1995).[42] Both Keane and Howard have
expressed similar opinions on Rapunzel's hair, with Keane describing it as "this constant reminder that she has this
gift",[43] and Howard describing it as its own character.[28] As directors, Howard and Greno provided the animators with
much live-action material and reference to use as inspiration for the appearance of Rapunzel's hair, such as attaching long
strands of string to a baseball cap that they would take turns wearing in the studio and moving around it. Additionally, they
recruited women who had not cut their hair in several years to serve as live models.[44]

Senior Software Engineer Dr. Kelly Ward,[45] a hair simulation major and graduate from the University of North Carolina,
was placed in charge of developing special software meant to assist the animators in animating 70 feet of hair.[46] Ward
revealed that, in real life, the character's hair would weigh roughly 60 pounds, "more weight than a real person would be
able to move around as effortlessly as we allow Rapunzel to do in the movie".[47] For simplicity sake, the animators
reduced the realistic total of 100,000 individual strands of hair found on a typical human head to a more manageable 100
for Rapunzel.[48] Acquiring the unique but realistic shade of golden blonde for Rapunzel's hair also proved challenging
animators.[