CSCA Submission Abigail Jobe

Running Head: How is the Disney Princess Identity Represented in Tangled? 1
How is the Disney Princess Identity Represented in Tangled?
Abigail Jobe
abigail.jobe.10@cnu.edu
Christopher Newport University
Dr. Michaela Meyer
mmeyer@cnu.edu
757-594-7495

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Introduction
Tangled was released in November of 2010 and was the tenth film in the Disney Princess film
franchise. The film did well at the box office, making $50 million in its opening weekend and grossing
nearly $300 million by the end of its run in theaters (IMDb). Tangled is a take on the fairy tale of the
princess Rapunzel, though with a decidedly modern approach. The film begins with a narration from
Flynn Rider, the film’s male protagonist. He gives the audience background information, as is typical for
a Disney princess film. The King and Queen are about to have a baby, but the Queen falls very ill. The
only way she can be healed is by a magic flower that grew from a drop of sun that fell to the earth. The
flower is currently being hidden by the evil Mother Gothel, who uses the magical flower to keep her
young forever. The palace guards eventually find the flower, and use it to heal the Queen, who gives birth
to a healthy baby girl—Rapunzel. Rapunzel is born with the magic of the sun in her hair, and Mother
Gothel comes to the palace a few days after she is born and kidnaps her to keep the magic for herself. She
raises Rapunzel in a tower, completely isolated, for her entire life. The film flashes forward to Rapunzel’s
eighteenth birthday—she is asking Mother Gothel to leave her tower for the first time to go to the
kingdom and see floating lights that appear every year on her birthday. Mother Gothel violently refuses,
and leaves Rapunzel alone in the tower. After a series of events, Flynn Rider arrives in the tower, and
Rapunzel negotiates with him to take her to the kingdom to see the lights. Flynn informs her that the
‘lights’ are actually “the lantern thing they do for the princess” and agrees to take her into the kingdom.
The two go on the journey, see lights, and become friends. Eventually Mother Gothel returns, forces
Flynn into the palace to be captured for his crimes as a thief and takes Rapunzel back to the tower. It is
there that Rapunzel comes to the realization that she is in fact the lost princess the kingdom was
celebrating with the lanterns. She confronts Mother Gothel, who refuses to accept it, and forces Rapunzel
into submission. Flynn has escaped the castle and returned to the tower to rescue Rapunzel, who he
knows is in a dire situation. Upon entering the tower, Mother Gothel stabs him and Flynn collapses to the
floor. Rapunzel begs to be released, and bargains that if she will be allowed to save him with her magic

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hair, she will stay locked in the tower with Mother Gothel forever, keeping her young. Mother Gothel
agrees, but Flynn refuses to let Rapunzel sacrifice her freedom to save him. At the last minute, he reaches
up with a shard of glass and cuts off Rapunzel’s trademark long blonde hair, rendering it useless to save
him and leaving her with a brunette pixie cut. Mother Gothel dies because she has no magical life left in
her, and Flynn dies because of his stab wound. Rapunzel cries, but it is revealed that her tears also have
the magic of the sun. Flynn’s wound is healed and he comes back to life and the two embrace one
another. Rapunzel is free to return to the kingdom, find her parents, and finally have a home and a family
where she belongs in her rightful place as princess.
Tangled is a significant text not only because of its recent box office success, but for its place in
the Disney kingdom. Disney is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world today and its cultural
impact can be seen and felt around the world. Children are raised on stories, and in today’s world stories
do not only come from books and oral traditions, but “popular film has become a central storyteller for
contemporary culture. It communicates myths and fairy tales, entertains, and educates the audience for
better or worse” (Ward, 2002, p. 1). Disney has cornered the market for generations of children’s films,
and their versions of fairy tales have entered the cultural ideology as the norm. Disney has been making
fairy tale movies since the beginning of their filmmaking, and since their incredible popularity, “original
storylines are forgotten or dismissed as not the real thing” (Ward, 2002, p.2). Because these films and the
surrounding media outlets that contain Disney stories are so prevalent, even “the number of hours
children spend receiving moral instruction in houses of worship is dwarfed by the amount of time spent
sitting in front of screens large and small, learning values from Disney movies and other programming”
(Pinksy, 2004, p.3). The idea that children are receiving their morals, values and ideologies from an
entertainment company may be unnerving, but it certainly has some validity. However, this doesn’t only
affect children. It is apparent that “one of the strengths of Disney’s marketing system is that it builds
consumers from the bottom up, retains them through generations, and encourages ever-greater
investment” (Brockus, 2004, p. 209). Disney attracts children with their films, encourages them to buy

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products that mirror characters and values from the films, and the happy memories are carried through to
adulthood. Adults are left still idealizing what it means to be saved by ‘Prince Charming,’ and instead of
purchasing a backpack with a favorite character to take to kindergarten, there are options of high-end
handbags to take to the office. The number of products to purchase can range from “Happy Meal toys to
original production celluloids, diamond jewelry, and Tiffany lamps featuring favorite characters”
(Brockus, 2004, p. 209) allowing adults to continue to revel in Disney magic, as far as their wallets will
stretch.
Tangled is not only representative of the Disney conglomerate as a whole, but of one of
its most important divisions—the Princess franchise. Princesses have long been a source of
fascination for young girls, and for centuries, “the princess narrative has been a staple throughout
the body of children’s literature” (Whelan, 2012, p. 21). However in the past one hundred years
through film and as a mass conglomerate, “the mantle of princesshood [has been] taken up by the
Walt Disney Company” (Whelan, 2012, p. 22). While this began with just films with the 1937
release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Disney has since become
one of the most prolific authors of the princess today…produc[ing] her in animation,
theme parks, on the stage, and in merchandise. Combined with Disney’s popular and
global profile, this makes the Disney princess in effect the ‘princess of all princesses’
and, although she was born into the paternal world of Walt Disney, she is, especially in
latter decades, putting her own stamp on the kingdom. (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 34)
It is true that when most anyone hears the word ‘princess’ in today’s world, it is a Disney
character that they think of. It is not that the ideal princess can just be imagined and presented in
films any longer; she is an ideal that can be purchased. The Disney Princess marketing franchise

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was created in 2001 with “the ultimate goal of encouraging children to personally identify with
the characters so that they will purchase the associated products [and] the franchise now includes
over 25,000 products” (England, Descartes, & Collier-Meek, 2011, p. 555). It is important to ask
who these characters are that children are being pushed to identify with, and what they represent,
especially when children can purchase everything from bed sheets to backpacks with their
likenesses.
Scholars argue that Disney films and specifically Disney princess films are an important
part of American culture and popular media and are worth critically reading. Disney princess
films encompass all Disney full length animated features with a leading heroine: Snow White and
the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas,
Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Brave. The existing
research looking at Disney films almost exclusively deals with the films up to Mulan, though
some go as far as The Princess and the Frog. A princess does not necessarily have to be of royal
blood, though many are. Princesses do at some point become attached to a royal line one way or
another, generally through a romance. For all princesses, “a heterosexual romance is inevitable”
(England, et. al., 2011, p. 565). While every princess eventually finds her prince charming, she
often (though not always) has male friends or sidekicks by her side during the journey. Through
her journey and even if she reveals growth, a princess will always display “dutifulness, self
sacrifice, and desire for and subservience to males” (Whelan, 2012, p. 26). A princess,
particularly newer princesses, are forever “caught in an aggressively patriarchal society” (Do
Rozario, 2004, p. 35) and are often working to get out of it. Above all else, princesses share
common character traits. Princesses are beautiful, kind, compassionate, loyal, hardworking, have
integrity, and are the epitome of femininity. In a recent marketing video for the Disney Princess

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franchise, (Disney youtube video, 2012) the company displays that although times have changed,
what it means to be a princess has not. As a princess, young girls claim to “be both brave and
scared,” “believe in loyalty and trust,” “try to be kind,” “try to be generous,” and believe that
“standing up for myself is important, standing up for others is more important, and standing with
others is most important.” They also find that “compassion makes me strong,” “kindness is
power” and that “family is the tightest bond of all.” These character traits, straight from Disney’s
marketing team, are found in the princess films and their corresponding heroines. The princesses
all embody these ideals in a way reflective of their own generation, which will be more deeply
explored further into the study.
The purpose of my study is to investigate how the film Tangled represents the Disney
princess identity through the character Rapunzel by using a textual analysis through a feminist
criticism perspective. The study found that Rapunzel continues to represent the Disney princess
identity as it is already entrenched in the audience’s mind and the film does not do much to shift
current norms or ideologies. Rapunzel performs her princess role as a millennial, representing
the generation she was created by and being marketed to. She finds her identity wholly in being a
princess, not in other attributes she may gain throughout the story. Lastly, the overarching value
the film promotes is family above all else.
Literature Review
There has been much work done on Disney media and Disney princesses specifically
(e.g. Do Rozario, 2004; England et. al, 2011; Whelan, 2012). Disney princesses come from a
tradition of emulating the heroines from Grimm’s fairy tales, who “are not only passive and
pretty, but also unusually patient, obedient, industrious, and quiet. A woman who failed to be any

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of these could not become a heroine” (Stone, 1975, p. 44). These Disney princesses and heroines
are markedly different than those from fairy tales of European origin, where the women could be
strong and powerful as well as being a beautiful princess. When looking at the old tales that
Disney films are based on, it can be seen that it was not to be assumed that the female leads
would be weaker simply based on the times, but that those are the models that Disney chose
specifically. Disney took the route of following Grimm’s example of a heroine, and made the
princess prototype one that had to be saved by a prince who could do no wrong. The formula for
Disney princesses has showed only minor shifts over the past century and still remains fairly
stable to the original leading ladies of the first films from the production company (Gillam &
Wooden, 2008). There is a distinct break, both chronologically and in character, between the first
princesses, or Walt’s princesses, and the newer princesses, or Team Disney princesses (Do
Roazario, 2004; England, et. al., 2011). Though it appears as though the newer princesses
represent contemporary values, often they represent the same traditional gender roles, simply
thinly veiled under a different storyline (Dundes, 2001).
It is important to ask whether or not these character traits and identity of a princess are
damaging for the modern feminist. Scholars often also look back to the Disney company’s
beginnings and at the man Walt Disney himself to see how he viewed women and wanted to
portray them in films to see if that will give any indication as to how princesses should be
viewed today. While his views alone cannot give a full picture of what is conveyed in the films,
they do give a hint as to where the roots were for the franchise. Davis (2005) writes:
There can be no doubt that there was a definite air of paternalism to be found at the
Disney Studio, and it is equally true that Walt Disney saw women as being very different

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from men, but in a way which balanced men’s natures, not in a way which implied that
women were inferior or subordinate…Walt believed in the over-riding view of women in
the 1940s and 1950s as a group who could be characterised by such traits as
emotionalism, domesticity, maternal concerns, an over-all emphasis on beauty and
romance (as opposed to more practical concerns). It was also widely considered at this
time that women had a generally softer, quieter, more delicate approach to viewing the
world. Walt did not, however, see these traits as being evidence of women’s emotional or
intellectual inferiority. Rather, he perceived them as serving the important function of
balancing the needs, views, goals, and characteristics of men and masculinity. (223)
If this was Walt Disney’s view of women, it most certainly appears to have translated to
his view of a princess. These feminine traits are traits that are expressed in princess characters
throughout Disney films, particularly in early Disney films where Walt was still working in the
studio to produce them. Coming from this definition of womanhood and by extension,
‘princesshood,’ the princess identity is not automatically negative, but it is limiting. Even the
more spirited of the Disney princesses, who exemplify strength, grace, and other honorable
qualities still are at their heart emotional, beautiful, lovely, and wilt as soon as a man comes into
play (Whelan, 2012, p. 27-28). Young girls who aspire to dress up like princesses and be them
from the earliest of ages are left to understand that their identity is supposed to be visible at first
glance and readily available to the first prince that comes to sweep them off their feet.
There has also been major work done on the representation of family and relationships in
Disney films (e.g. Tanner, Haddock, Zimmerman & Lund, 2003). Often in Disney films the
mother figure is either absent or the evil figure in the story. Single parents in films are extremely

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common, but there have yet to be any same sex parents in a Disney film (Tanner, et. al., 2003).
Although Disney has been producing films for nearly a century, it is clear that the messages they
are sending have not changed much over time. Tangled is a princess film in a new era that began
after ‘Team Disney,’ and it is necessary to look at what previous scholars have found in Disney
films and see if this new era of princesses is breaking any new ground.
A quantitative study done on Disney films by England, et. al., (2005) looked at gender
role portrayal from both sides in the films. The study used “a coded content analysis approach”
where “the prince and princess characters were coded separately [and] the character was
assigned one code every time they (a) were mentioned as possessing a certain characteristic or
(b) exhibited the characteristic in their behavior” (England, et.al., 2011, p. 558). Masculine
characteristics included being physically strong, assertive, engaging in intellectual activity,
brave, and independent. Feminine characteristics included being physically weak, affectionate,
nurturing, fearful, or tending to physical appearance. The study found that over time, females
displayed more masculine traits and men displayed more feminine traits, making both characters
more androgynous through the progression of films, though men were more so. For example, in
the first film, Snow White, the prince was marked by 12 masculine behaviors and 10 feminine
behaviors. The princess was marked by 13 masculine behaviors and 137 feminine behaviors.
Forwarding to the middle films, in Beauty and the Beast, the prince displayed 54 masculine
behaviors and 31 feminine behaviors while the princess displayed 77 masculine behaviors and 87
feminine behaviors—a much more balanced picture. Women still had many more feminine
characteristics than masculine characteristics almost without exception. Along with that, the
development of masculine characteristics was not necessarily chronological. One of the most
submissive princesses was Mulan, who was one of the latest princesses in the franchise. The

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study found that “gendered stereotypes and behaviors are still very prevalent in the Disney
Princess line, though their depiction has become more complex over the years, reflecting
changing gender roles and expectations in American society” (England, et.al, 2011, p. 563).
A concept that is consistently explored is how the Disney princess has changed over time,
specifically looking at the contrast between the princesses that were created when Walt Disney
was still in the Disney production studios and the newer “Team Disney” princesses that were
created during the Disney revival of the 1980s and 1990s. The newer princesses were “just a
little bit bad” and “the princess herself absorbed some of the exuberance of the femme fatale,
while the prince began to be drawn with more personality” (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 44). This new
direction that the princesses have taken means that “in the Disney kingdom the title is
increasingly democratic, with the princess no longer embodying a regal idea as she did in her
prime under Walt Disney” (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 46). While this may be true, it can also be
argued that the princess is simply “nostalgic” for the princesses of old and embodies their ideals
as well (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 46). While the newer princesses are certainly the contemporaries
of the producers who created them in the 1980s or 1990s and do represent a shift in American
idealism, they are still very much Disney princesses—a princess who does not rule over a man,
but with him, and one who will always find her true love. This evolution of princesses does not
so much reflect the changing values of society or of the Disney company, but rather just the way
that each generation of producers presents it. Although some differences can be seen between
first and second wave princesses, and clearly between each individual princess, the overarching
identity of the princess is the same, each simply mirroring her own time. In the first princess
film, “Snow White is a 1920s/30s starlet with a flapper’s haircut, rosebud mouth, and high-
pitched warble. She matures in the Depression and is happy to pitch in with the working class

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dwarves in times of high unemployment and poverty until she is found again by her prince” (Do
Rozario, 2004, p. 38). This is not because Snow White is the most oppressed and submissive
princess, but because she is working in hard times like everyone else viewing the original film.
Sleeping Beauty, from 1959, is “a prototype Baby Boomer. She wanders barefoot in woods and
is uninterested in the affairs of kings, devastated when she learns she is a princess and will not be
able to make her date with the boy she met in the woods” (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 38). Sleeping
Beauty also looks strikingly similar to Barbie, who was originally released in 1959 as well. Her
body structure and facial features clearly give a picture of the feminine ideal of the time. The
trend continued into the Disney revival of the 1980s and 1990s, when The Little Mermaid was
released in 1989. The film “didn’t break the mold so much as reshape it for a generation weaned
on rapid-fire, MTV-style editing and Nick at Nite nostalgia” (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 49). Ariel
was a prime depiction of a Generation X princess. This was even more exemplified when Ariel’s
journey mirrored that of 80s teen icon Baby from Dirty Dancing. Both were teen girls adored by
their father, though feeling overshadowed by older sisters and both young girls enter a forbidden
territory to find an equally forbidden prince dancing there. The main characters even had similar
costuming, drawing attention to their chest and torso (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 49-50). The parallels
in the movies continue, but it is apparent that these themes resonated with the audience of the
time and with the movie producers in the studio creating the films. Despite these generational
differences, each of the heroines is still beautiful, compassionate, kind, self sacrificial, and finds
true love—she is still a princess. Looking forward, how does this generational significance
influence Rapunzel’s character? Tangled was created for a millennial generation. This generation
is marked by being “brought up as a special group, receiving enormous care and attention from
their parents, making them very self confident, empowered, and optimistic to undertake personal

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projects…[and] were trained at school to participate in groups and teams” (Balda & Mora, 2012,
p. 14). Balda and Mora have also found “that Millennials demonstrate higher levels of self-
esteem and confidence in their abilities and therefore are less prone to depression” (p. 15).
Tangled works, much like previous films, to reconcile these generational characteristics with the
princess identity that is ingrained in the audience’s mind.
Method
The study was completed by utilizing a textual analysis approach. Textual analysis is an
attempt “to try and obtain a sense of the ways in which, in particular cultures at particular times,
people make sense of the world around them…[By doing this] we also understand our own
cultures better because we can start to see the limitations and advantages of our own sense
making practices” (McKee, 2003, p. 1). A textual analysis requires the focus on a text— of
something which “we produce an interpretation of meaning” (McKee, 2003, p. 4). Once the text
is chosen, the analysis of the text develops. The analysis stems from how the researcher judges
the different ways of making sense of the world. A realist response expresses “my culture has got
it right. It simply describes reality. Other cultures are wrong.” A structuralist response expresses
“all these cultures seem to be making sense of the world differently; but really, underneath, they
have common structures. They’re not all that different; people across the world are basically the
same.” Lastly, a post structuralist response expresses “all these cultures do indeed make sense of
the world differently: and it is impossible to say that one is right and the others are wrong. In a
sense, people from different cultures experience reality differently” (McKee, 2003, p. 9).
This study applied a textual analysis through a feminist criticism perspective. Feminist
criticism is “rooted in the same commitment to the elimination of oppression that characterizes

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feminism, but its focus is on the rhetorical forms and processes through which oppression is
maintained and transformed” and looks toward how “the rhetorical construction of gender is
used as a means for oppression and how that process can be challenged and resisted” (Foss,
1995, p. 168). To study a text through this lens, “the feminist critic approaches an
artifact…through a four step process: (1) formulating a research question and selecting an
artifact; (2) selecting a unit of analysis; (3) analyzing the artifact; and (4) writing the critical
essay” (Foss, 1995, p. 169).
The method for this study used both theoretical approaches. First, the research question
was developed: How does the film Tangled represent the Disney princess identity through the
character Rapunzel? The unit of analysis was the film itself—no other extra features or wider
media was to be included in the study. To analyze the artifact, a textual analysis was used. The
film was viewed multiple times, three times with detailed viewing notes. The plot was recorded,
as well as character development of the female protagonist, Rapunzel, and the male protagonist,
Flynn Rider. Specific themes that were looked for were a millennial identity and recurring
princess characteristics. The analysis of the film was understood to be through a post structuralist
lens. Though this is one interpretation of the film, it is not the only viable one to be found.
Analysis
A Millennial Princess:
Rapunzel nicely represents an ideal Disney princess throughout the film. The first
introduction to her character is as a baby, born to the king and queen. When she is safe at home
with her parents, “everything was perfect” because she had nothing to do but be the royal
daughter. The next scene flashes forward to Rapunzel as a young woman and introduces her
performing feminine, domestic activities as part of her everyday routine. Rapunzel sings “7 AM,

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the usual morning line up/start on the chores, and sweep ‘til the floor’s all clean/polish and wax
do laundry and mop and shine up/sweep again and by then/it’s like 7:15” (Tangled, 2010). She
goes on to mention other activities such as playing guitar, knitting, cooking, baking, doing ballet,
reading, and chess. While some of these are intellectual pursuits, most of them are feminine
norms that a princess is “supposed” to perform well.
When Flynn arrives in the tower for the first time, Rapunzel’s character as a princess
begins to develop more fully. When he enters the tower, Rapunzel immediately knocks him out
with a frying pan, and then proceeds to shriek and run away. This is a masculine action
immediately followed by the feminine, fearful one. When he is lying on the ground and
Rapunzel goes to investigate, she becomes immediately less fearful when she realizes that not
only does he not have fangs, he is also attractive. As is typical for a princess, she is swept away
by her ‘prince’ rapidly. As she tries to hide him in her closet, her physical weakness becomes the
focal point of humor for the audience. Once she is ‘alone’ again in her tower, she talks to herself
in her mirror.
Rapunzel: Okay, okay okay. I’ve got a person in my closet. I’ve got a person, in my
closet. I’ve got a person, in my closet! Haha! Too weak to handle myself out there, huh
Mother? Well, tell that to my frying pan. (Swings frying pan around and hits herself in
the head with it)
Rapunzel is not completely calm and rational, but she is confident and optimistic that she
has taken control of the situation. The language that she uses and the space she is using it in
mirrors countless Millennial girls who practice singing or acting in their own mirrors at home.
She is not full of grace, because she was not raised as a princess. Rapunzel is somewhat
awkward (and relatable) as she rambles on with familiar language and is clumsy, even when she

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is alone. Once Flynn awakes, the modern language use is made even more apparent. Flynn’s first
words poke fun at older fairy tales. He says, “I know not who you are, nor how I came to find
you, but may I just say…hi. How ya’ doin’? The name’s Flynn Rider. How’s your day goin’?
There is an immediate juxtaposition between his introduction and when he enters into
talking ‘normally.’ Rapunzel and the audience understand the latter part to be something
understandable. As their conversation continues, Rapunzel comes to the conclusion that Flynn
must be her way to the lights that she desperately wants to see.
Rapunzel: Okay, Flynn Rider, I’m prepared to offer you a deal.
Flynn: Deal?
Rapunzel: Look this way. Do you know what these are?
Flynn: You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?
Rapunzel: Lanterns…I knew they weren’t stars. Well, tomorrow evening, they will light
the night sky with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return
me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal.
Rapunzel exemplifies Millennial attributes here. She is quickly ready to work with others
on a collaborative level, and equally optimistic that the results will be in her favor. Once she
leaves the tower, the first screen shot of her outside is of her feet in the grass—slightly pigeon
toed and unsure. Again, Rapunzel is not the princess full of grace and poise, but the clumsy
Millennial who is learning as she goes. She sings a reprise, excited that “for, like, the first time
ever, I’m completely free” and ends in the forest with a chorus of birds welling up behind her.
The visual scene of a princess singing with woodland creatures is as much of a Disney
characteristic as anything, but paired with the colloquial “like, ever” that Rapunzel uses
frequently, the audience never feels out of place or out of time. When Rapunzel and Flynn are

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involved in a confrontation against the palace guards during their adventure to the kingdom, she
does not leave Flynn alone to save her during a skirmish, but partners with him to outsmart and
outrun the kingdom guards. Princesses have been said to move “with the grace of a
sportswoman” (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 46) and Rapunzel is the new gymnast, using her hair as a
rope to swing through bridges and arches and water to slide across the valley as if with a
skateboard. She is not just athletic, but her sports are new and extreme to fit in with her
generational peers.
Her millennial identity is even represented visually by the end of the film. With the film’s
resolution, Flynn cuts off her trademark long blonde hair, leaving her with a brunette pixie cut.
Rapunzel now doesn’t fit the prototypical princess picture with long flowing hair, but can be
more relatable to a modern audience who believes that a woman can still be feminine with short
hair. She still goes on to be a princess and “rule her kingdom with the grace and wisdom of her
parents before her” representing the feminine ideal even with short, chopped hair.
A Princess Identity—and Nothing Else
As the film progresses, the audience sees that Rapunzel is princess whose identity is
completely found in others. As a child, she learned her worth from Mother Gothel as completely
found in her hair and her ability to heal and bring youth to her mother. She yearned from a very
young age to see the glowing lights that she witnessed every year on her birthday—she felt
connected to them and placed her identity in them. Even though it was in something intangible, it
was still in something outside of herself. There was little to no identity construction for herself
that the audience sees as Rapunzel grows up—she was not allowed any.

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When Rapunzel is seen more fully as a character, she begins to act on her own volition
and exemplifies a princess in most things that she does. From the first scene where she meets
Flynn Rider, she is constantly conferencing with her male sidekick Pascal. Even when the only
option for a second opinion is a chameleon, she still cannot make decisions independently. When
Flynn and Rapunzel’s journey takes them to The Snuggly Duckling, a tavern full of “ruffians and
thugs,” Rapunzel protects Flynn and still shows compassion to strangers and brings them all
together in a song.
Rapunzel: Put him down! Ok, I don’t know where I am and I need him to take me to see
the lanterns because I’ve been dreaming about them my entire life. Find your humanity!
Haven’t any of you ever had a dream?
Hook-hand Thug: I, had a dream once. (song begins)
She speaks up in the most acceptable feminine ways—when she is standing up for and
with others, and when she is leading others in song—both princess expectations. Upon leaving
the tavern, she kisses the Hook-hand Thug on the cheek, says “Thanks for everything,” and
continues on her way. Although she may be clumsy, her manners and compassion are never
forgotten as a princess.
Rapunzel’s identity construction can most clearly be seen when compared to that of
Flynn Rider’s. Rapunzel grew up with a harsh and manipulative adoptive mother and Flynn grew
up in an orphanage—the audience knows nothing of his actual parents. In the campfire scene, the
audience gets to see the two characters interact and reveal to each other more about their past.

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Rapunzel reveals that she had never left her tower before this journey, and Flynn reveals more
about his childhood and where his identity has come from.
Flynn Rider: Ahh… yeah, well. I'll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene
Fitzherbert. It's a little bit of a... it's a little bit of a downer. [Rapunzel scoots closer to
Flynn, anxious to listen] There was this book. A book I use to read every night to all the
younger kids. The Tales of Flynigan Rider! Swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not
bad with the ladies either. Not that he'd ever brag, of course.
Rapunzel: Hmm.Was he a thief too?
Flynn Rider: Uh... well, no. Actually, he had enough money to do anything he wanted to
do; he could go anywhere that he wanted to go. And- and for a kid, with nothing, I don't
know. It just seemed like the better option. You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It
could ruin my whole reputation.
Rapunzel: Ah! We wouldn't want that.
Flynn Rider: Well, a fake reputation is all a man has.
Flynn had a similar background to Rapunzel—no parents, no known lineage, nothing to
construct an understanding of identity from. They handled the situations in almost polar opposite
manners though, and Rapunzel’s direction is what embodies her princesshood. Flynn took a story
from a book and constructed his own identity from it. He did not need anyone else’s help to
complete what he was going to become. He became the ‘swashbuckling rogue,’ thieving and
traveling as his occupation to accomplish goals. The biggest goal Rapunzel has ever had is to see
the lanterns, and her identity was consumed by what Mother Gothel told her it was. In the song
“Mother Knows Best,” Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel point blank that she is “sloppy,

19
underdressed, immature, clumsy…gullible, naïve, positively grubby, ditzy and a bit well, hmm,
vague, plus I believe, gettin’ kinda chubby.” As a princess and a millennial princess at that,
Rapunzel does not truly believe these labels, but they are still her identity when the story begins
because they are all she has ever known. As Rapunzel steps out of the tower for the first time,
she is exploring the world and herself for the first time in her life. A new identity must be
constructed, and it is how she does it that will determine how she will run with rest of the Disney
princesses. The whole time Rapunzel travels with Flynn towards the kingdom, she is
preoccupied with seeing the lights on her birthday. Conversing with her guide and getting to
know him are a byproduct of the excursion, not a goal. If true love is an inevitable result of a
princess story, it is not this princess’s goal. When she finally reaches the evening when she will
see the lanterns, she realizes that this is also where she has placed her identity for her whole life.
Rapunzel: I’ve been looking out a window for eighteen years dreaming about what it
might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it’s not everything I dreamed it
would be?
Flynn: It will be.
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?
Flynn: Well that’s the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.
Even when she and Flynn are sharing a quiet moment together on the water, the moment
a lantern appears in sight, she immediately runs as close as she can to it, essentially abandoning
him. She may have to find a new dream eventually, but her identity is still consumed in this one
night.

20
As the story continues and Rapunzel ends up back in the clutches of Mother Gothel’s
arms, she is left again to find her identity. She is sitting alone in her tower when she comes to the
realization that the audience already knows—she is the princess the kingdom is celebrating.
Rapunzel: I'm the lost princess.
Mother Gothel: Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling.
Rapunzel: I am the lost princess! Aren't I? Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call
you that?
Mother Gothel: Oh Rapunzel, did you even hear yourself? Why would ask such a
ridiculous question?
Rapunzel: It was you! It was all you!
Mother Gothel: Everything I did was to protect you. Rapunzel.
Rapunzel: I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my
powers...
Mother Gothel: Rapunzel!
Rapunzel: When I should have been hiding... from you!
Mother Gothel: Where will you go? He won't be there for you.
Rapunzel: What did you do to him?
Mother Gothel: That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes.
Rapunzel: No.
Mother Gothel: Now, now. It's alright. Listen to me. All of this is as it should be.
Rapunzel: No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me! And I
will never let you use my hair again!

21
For the first time, Rapunzel finds her identity in being strong and rebelling actively against the
villain in the film—not just by running away. But even doing this is still only a verbal action.
She speaks out against Mother Gothel, but in the next scene is shown bound and gagged, clearly
under Mother Gothel’s coercion. She is a princess with the right heart, a fighting spirit, but still a
physically weak body that can be easily overcome.
Mother Gothel: Now look what you’ve done, Rapunzel. Oh don’t worry dear. Our secret
will die with him. And as for us, we are going where no one will ever find you again.
Rapunzel really. Enough already! Stop fighting me!
Rapunzel: No! I won’t stop, for every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight. I will
never stop trying to get away from you. But, if you let me save him, I will go with you.
Flynn: No, no Rapunzel.
Rapunzel: I’ll never run, I’ll never try to escape. Just let me heal him and you and I will
be together, forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just
like you want. Just let me heal him.
Rapunzel is willing to sacrifice her own freedom, happiness, and health for the benefit of
another—a staple characteristic of a princess. Rapunzel being self sacrificial marks her growth
into her identity as a princess and for the audience to understand her as being a ‘true’ princess as
well. She has never had the opportunity or the need to be self sacrificial before, because she has
never experienced interactions with anyone other than Mother Gothel who always used her for
exactly what she wanted. It is telling that at the first chance she had, Rapunzel was willing to
give up everything she had gained for another.
Up to this point, the audience has seen Rapunzel’s identity in relation to her mother,
developed through putting her whole life’s ambition into seeing the lanterns, and grown to be a

22
kind, self sacrificial princess at the very end. At this point, Rapunzel has found her ‘prince
charming,’ but she still cannot fully place her identity in him. In this way she is different than
other Disney princesses. The resolution of the movie comes when Rapunzel finally goes home to
her parents—the king and queen. When the lost princess finally returns home, the story can have
a happy ending. The scene has no dialogue, but is a moving picture of Rapunzel literally being
welcomed into open arms of loving parents who never stopped missing her. Her identity can only
truly be resolved in being the princess, the king’s daughter, once again.
Because of this resolution, it becomes apparent that Rapunzel’s identity, though not
wrapped up in a male counterpart and not dependent any longer on a villainous mother, is still
dependent on other people (i.e., her royal parents). This is true for Rapunzel throughout the film.
Her identity has never been constructed on her own terms, but rather is always dependent on
others in some way or another. In the beginning, she was a trapped magical tool for Mother
Gothel. By the end of the film she is a free and beautiful princess, but her identity only holds
value when she stands in relation to the king and being his daughter. Without becoming a
princess at the end of her journey to the outside world for the first time, Rapunzel did not gain an
identity at all. This is contrary to Flynn, who gained an identity for himself as the film developed
over time. Flynn never felt the need to go back and find out who his parents were or what his
lineage was. His identity was constructed by him alone.
Family is the Tightest Bond of All
Reflecting Rapunzel’s limited identity as only a princess, Tangled also revealed a
predominant ‘Disney value’ of more importance than true love. The concept of family was
displayed from the very start of the film in an off-putting way, with the villain being someone

23
that should always be trustworthy—a mother figure. Mother Gothel was not a large, domineering
villain, but a psychologically damaging one. When we first meet her, she is sarcastic and rude to
Rapunzel after Rapunzel lets her hair down and lifts Mother Gothel into the tower.
Mother Gothel: Ugh, Rapunzel, how you manage to do that every single day without
fail, it looks absolutely exhausting, darling.
Rapunzel: Oh, it’s nothing.
Mother Gothel: Then I don’t know why it takes so long! Hahaha, oh darling I’m just
teasing.
Rapunzel: All right. So. Mother, as you know, tomorrow is a very big da—
Mother Gothel: Rapunzel, look in that mirror. You know what I see? I see a strong,
confident, beautiful young lady. Oh look, you’re here too! Hahaha, I’m just teasing, stop
taking everything so seriously!
Rapunzel is shown with a villainous “family,” like several of the other Disney princesses.
Her mother is manipulative and cruel, looking to control Rapunzel from beginning to end of the
film. It is part of her journey to escape from this place and find a new home. However, Rapunzel
does not find solace from romantic pursuits, like previous princesses. Rapunzel, first and
foremost, was able to return home to her parents and find a home at the film’s conclusion.
Flynn’s narration of the epilogue explains:
Flynn: At last, Rapunzel was home and she finally had a real family. She was a princess
worth waiting for. Beloved by all, she led her kingdom with all the grace and wisdom that
her parents did before her. And as for me, well I started going by Eugene again, stopped
thieving, and basically turned it all around. But I know what the big question is: Did

24
Rapunzel and I ever get married? Well I’m pleased to tell you that after years and year of
asking and asking and asking, I finally said yes.
Rapunzel: Eugene….
Flynn: All right. I asked her.
Rapunzel: And we’re living happily ever after.
Flynn: Yes we are.
In this way, the overarching “Disney value” in Tangled is not true love as in so many
other films, but rather family as the predominant force of good. Rapunzel does marry Flynn at
the end of the film, but it is mentioned to the audience as almost an aside, a bonus for the
epilogue, and certainly doesn’t appear to be the main point for the final scene. At the end of the
movie, Rapunzel had returned home and was finally in her rightful place as princess once again.
Even though ‘true love’ is not the overarching value that is displayed in the movie, Rapunzel still
does not have space to be independent as a female lead. Her entire identity is wrapped up in the
princess role, fully dependent on other’s roles first and foremost. Remembering the earlier
emotional scene where she was reunited with her parents for the first time, there was only music
in the background, no dialogue. The melody of the song being played was from the first song
Rapunzel sang—“When Will My Life Begin.” It is clear that it is here, when she has a home and
a family where she belongs, that her life will begin. It was not possible to begin earlier, even if
she did gain independence or strength in her journey to the kingdom, because those attributes do
not add to her identity. Her family provides “the tightest bond of all,” even greater than her true
love and ‘prince charming.”
Conclusion

25
Rapunzel from Tangled continues to represent the Disney princess identity as it has been
seen for nearly one hundred years. She is feminine, domestic, believes “in loyalty and trust,” that
“kindness is power” and “family is the tightest bond of all,” (Disney youtube video, 2012), is
marked by “dutifulness [and] self sacrifice” (Whelan, 2012, p. 26) and ends up with her prince
charming (England et. al., 2011, p. 565). Rapunzel performs this identity as a Millennial, which
is a thinly veiled way of allowing her submissiveness and inability to stand alone go unnoticed.
Although she uses language the audience is familiar with and carries around a frying pan to hit
people with, Rapunzel still is unable to make decisions by herself or stand complete in her
identity without others. Although the “other” she fights for is not a prince, she is still entirely
dependent on others, in this case, her royal parents. This exemplifies the overarching value of
Tangled being family rather than true love.
Tangled continued the trend to show that over time, Disney princesses have remained
stable in their character and there is one princess identity. While each princess reflects the
identity differently depending on the generation she was produced in, her overarching
characteristics remain the same. It is true that princesses are not the strongest female role models
for children to see, however Tangled continues to prove that they are not the worst role models
either. A princess’ most distinctive qualities are her femininity, kindness, compassion, self
sacrificial nature, and loyalty. These are honorable qualities for any child to aspire to. While
being self sacrificial can be detrimental, both in Disney films and in real life, the practical
application of putting others ahead of oneself is a quality that more children (especially
Millennials) could benefit from learning. The Disney Princess has not changed over time because
she serves as a constant example of goodness in an ever changing world.

26
To further explore this topic, Tangled can be reviewed much more thoroughly. This study
was limited largely by time constraints. The film has many areas of interest to study, including
the character of Flynn Rider, the mother/daughter dynamic between Rapunzel and Mother
Gothel, and the use of music in the film. An audience analysis would also be beneficial to the
original findings, to see if the textual analysis results coincided with audience reactions from the
film. Since the release of Tangled, the eleventh film in the Disney Princess film franchise, Brave,
has been released. This would be the next text to further explore to better understand the princess
identity as is seen in Disney films. As long as Disney continues to produce princess films and the
countless products that come with them, they will continue to reflect the company and the culture
at large. It is important to look at what is being said about princesses, women, and the world
through these characters.

27
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Davis, A.M. (2005). The ‘dark prince’ and dream women: Walt Disney and mid-twentieth
century American feminism. Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television, 25(2),
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Dawn, E.E., Descartes, L., & Melissa, A.C. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the Disney
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398286/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
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