Tangled

I think everyone, girls especially, see little pieces of their lives in fairytales-- that's what makes them so appealing, that they could be you. 

My Disney princess I used to identify with was Ariel. 

She was young, naïve, and ready for a different world. She didn't really belong where she was and no one understood that she needed to be somewhere else.

My life has changed, like everyone's does eventually. 

I just took a Disney princess horoscope quiz to see what princess I am and I got the result of 

Alice: "Alice may be full of imagination, but that imagination comes from being observant, analytical, and a skeptic of what she sees."

I've never liked Alice in Wonderland. I think it is a bizarre story that should be used for studying, not for children.

I do, however, very much like Rapunzel and it is her story that I want to share thoughts about. 

Our main introduction to Rapunzel's character is during the song When Will My Life Begin as she goes through her daily routine. This girl is incredible. She has such a pure, unselfish personality and has become proficient in doing so many things: reading books, cleaning the tower, sewing, knitting, painting, candle making, ventriloquy, pottery, chess, ballet, paper-mache, baking, darts, puzzles, guitar........ and yet, it is repetitive and she's not going anywhere. She's stuck in the same tower doing the same things over and over and over again. They're good things and she's developing a lot of really great skills, but viewing the big picture, she's stuck. 

To use her exact words:

Stuck in the same place I've always been
And I'll keep wondrin'
And wonderin'
And wonderin'
And wonderin'
When will my life begin?

This girl is doing everything she is supposed to but she's reached a point where she can't go further in her life without someone else. This is where the smoldering Flynn Ryder comes into the picture. 

Rapunzel: "Who are you and how did you find me?"
Flynn Ryder: "I know not who you are or how I came to find you but can I just say.... hiiiii"

Their unlikely meeting is comical and entertaining but it starts a very new chapter in Rapunzel's life, both for herself personally and for the two of them together.

Flynn's a little boyish and carefree but they reveal pretty quickly into the movie that he has a genuinely good character beneath all of that. 

The next part I want to add to this story is a conversation between Rapunzel and her "mother." I think its one that most of us have heard a time or two (minus the blatant emotional abuse). I know I have. Rapunzel is falling in love but the fear is that Flynn is only in it for the crown. And in a lot of stories, he's in it for just that. A crown can a be a lot of different things. 

Rapunzel: [about Flynn] I think he likes me.
Mother Gothel: Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that's demented!/ This is why you never should have left!/Dear, this whole romance that you've invented / Just proves you're too naive to be here./Why would he like you? Come on now, really./Look at you-you think that he's impressed?/Don't be a dummy, come with mummy./Mother...
Rapunzel: [retorts] No!
Mother Gothel: No? Oh. I see how it is. Rapunzel knows best; Rapunzel's so mature now./Such a clever grown-up miss./Rapunzel knows best. Fine, if you're so sure now,/Go ahead and give him this, huh?
[hands Rapunzel the satchel with the crown inside]
Rapunzel: How did you...
Mother Gothel: *This* is why he's here! Don't let him deceive you!/Give it to him, watch, you'll see!/Trust me, my dear, that's how fast he'll leave you./I won't say I told you so!/No, Rapunzel knows best!/Well, if he's such a dreamboat,/Go and put him to the test!/If he's lying, don't come crying/Mother... knows best! 

Ah, the falter of trust point. Doesn't almost every relationship have it? It's that moment when you think you know the person, you've built so many bonds together, but there's still that "what if" question. Luckily for Rapunzel, the first guy she met turned out to be a good one. When she eventually gives him the crown he's not even interested in it anymore.

This leads us to my favorite cheesy part of the movie. They're sitting on the boat waiting for the lanterns to be lit when Rapunzel expresses her fear:

Rapunzel: I've been looking out of a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?
Flynn Rider: It will be.
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?
Flynn Rider: Well,that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.

I LOVE THAT. Whether our dream is watching the floating lanterns or finding a guy like Flynn, it's a scary thought that maybe when it finally happens it won't be everything you ever hoped for. I think that's what we all prepare ourselves to happen though so maybe the real fear is that it will be everything we ever dreamed of. Then we get to find a new dream. 

I love the lyrics to this song. I know the scene gets a little bit cheesy, especially when they start singing together, but I really love the message it contains. 

Finally, after all the years they've been blind to what life could offer and what was waiting for them, they're finally able to see the big picture. Why everything else had to happen to get to that point. It finally makes sense. 

Just watch the video and listen to the words.

I love that this wonderful girl finally got what she deserved in the end. In 48 hours she went from being stuck in the same place to finding her fairytale. It's beautiful and I really do believe that such stories exist. I believe that those girls stuck in towers will have a Flynn Ryder randomly appear through the window. 

I think Flynn ends the movie off perfectly with a single statement:

She was a princess worth waiting for