Rapunzel (Disney)

Rapunzel is the main protagonist of Disney's Tangled franchise. She is based on the famous fairy tale character of the same name.
She was once the long-lost Princess of Corona who was kidnapped by Mother Gothel after she harnessed the Sundrop Flower's healing powers since her birth. To prevent Rapunzel from being away from her, Gothel decides to keep the princess inside a tower while gaslighting her about the "dangers" of the outside world. However, such long-lasting act of hers has met its end after Flynn Rider (whose real name is Eugene Fitzherbert) arrived at the tower and met Rapunzel herself, liberating the princess from Gothel's years of abusive treatment towards herself.
She was voiced by the singer , who also voiced Nita in Brother Bear 2, Mara in Tron: Uprising, Tabitha Vixx in The Simpsons, and Aerith Gainsborough in Kingdom Hearts I and II, while voiced her as a child in the movie, then voiced her as a child in the TV series, then by in Kingdom Hearts III and Disney Comics in Motion.
Rapunzel is the tenth Disney Princess; she carries her signature blonde hair (even though she's actually a natural brunette), which is 70 feet long, which has a magical ability that can both heal and reverse aging when she recites a special incantation. She is the tenth Disney Princess in the official lineup. Rapunzel is the first Disney Princess to possess innate special power.
==Personality==
Rapunzel is a spirited, smart, clever, kind, goofy, playful, and a very adventurous girl in her late teens, though a bit naïve. However, she is not afraid to stand up for herself or others when the situation calls for bravery. Having spent all of her life isolated in a tower with little else to do, she is proficiently educated in literature, and talented in almost all areas such as music and baking and even more advanced subjects like astronomy, as illustrated by her completely charted astronomical patterns. Her greatest passion is art, as indicated by the pervasive amount of painting on the walls inside the tower. While she longs to see the world beyond her window, she is very obedient to Mother Gothel. 
Nevertheless, Rapunzel has some flaws as a person, that even end up making her capable of doing unintentional harm to others, like being irresponsible regarding the situation of others. For example, in "Queen for a Day", she chose to not visit Varian immediately after the storm to help him with his problem out of fear of him, ignoring his predicament for months. Also, her naivety has caused her to be insensitive towards other and their feelings at times, like in "Challenge of the Brave" when she failed to understand how important the tournament was for Cassandra and ended up overshadowing her, harming her self-esteem in the process. She can also act prideful and self-righteous in some circumstances, like in "Rapunzel and the Great Tree" when she had some serious arguments with Cassandra over the distrust of the latter in Adira, and Rapunzel blatantly considered Cassandra point of view wrong and hers right, forcing her to obey, and even ignoring her advice during the battle against Hector, preferring to use her own tactics rather than listen to her protector.
Due to 18 years of being kept in the tower, despite being delighted at discovering she was a princess with two loving parents, King Frederick and Queen Ariana, Rapunzel's sense of adventure had not yet been sated. King Frederick's trauma of her original kidnapping drove him to become overprotective and smothering of his daughter, thus Rapunzel develops frustration at feeling confined yet again, thus triggering a sense of cabin fever from the restrictions. Queen Ariana, having been a free spirit in her youth, understands Rapunzel, so subtly encourages her to find a way to fulfill the desire for exploration and adventure.
Despite lacking socialisation for the formative years of her life, Rapunzel is able to easily connect with other people, inspiring those who had latent goodness or dreams to redeem themselves and follow their aims. Even so, she can be overly enthusiastic, such as when first having Cassandra as a lady-in-waiting; perhaps sensing a kindred spirit, Rapunzel was persistent in trying to befriend, which agitated Cassandra before they finally passed the first awkward stage and becoming friends. Regardless of becoming close friends, Rapunzel's own optimistic personality would sometimes cause friction with Cassandra, as her own mindset was far more cynical; however, Rapunzel would also often fail to notice her friend's irritations until passing a boiling point.
Rapunzel could be incredibly forgiving, depending on the situation. She felt betrayed and upset that King Frederick had read her diary, then enforced stricter supervision over her and harsher curfew, thus he violated her privacy and inadvertently provoked her trauma from being trapped in the tower; however, once the King withdrew his excessive control and apologised, she accepted his well-intentions, and moved on from it. Rapunzel originally felt guilty for failing to assist Varian, but as he engaged in criminal acts, such as sending automatons to attack the castle and kidnapping her mother, she began considering him an enemy; after Varian overthrows Corona with allies from Saporia, this negative perception was reinforced. However, seeing Varian's remorse and commitment to further misdeeds out of intense insecurity and fear of Corona judging him as a villain, as well as her own guilt about previously failing to help Varian save his father, eventually convinced Rapunzel to reach out to him; Rapunzel's kindness and assurance that Corona would forgive him too helped Varian cease his wicked actions, becoming a reliable ally again.
The greatest and most repeated attempts at forgiveness and reconciliation was with Cassandra; after the latter learned that Mother Gothel was her biological mother, she developed an irrational jealousy over Rapunzel for being "chosen" over her. This jealousy attached itself to Cassandra's existing envy and insecurity about feeling second to Rapunzel in everything, as well as feeling disregarded and dismissed by everyone, including Rapunzel; therefore, Cassandra stole the Moonstone to embrace what she deemed to her destiny. While Cassandra repeatedly rejects Rapunzel's pleas for reconciliation, the princess refuses to give up on her friend and basically sister. Part of Rapunzel's compassion wasn't entirely based on faith, as she discovered Zhan Tiri was manipulating Cassandra for her own dark ambitions. Rapunzel almost succeeds in reconnecting with Cassandra, until Zhan Tiri sabotages every effort until leading to Cassandra trying to destroy Corona; despite this, Rapunzel still tries to reason with her, albeit finally fighting back against her attacks. Before Cassandra can claim the Sundrop, Zhan Tiri intercepts her, stealing it and the Moonstone from Cassandra. 
Cassandra is distraught at the realisation that she never had the destiny she imagined and had turned against everyone she cared about for nothing, however, Rapunzel not only still forgives her, she works to reassure her that she does have importance; free from Zhan Tiri, the sisters' friendship is restored. Together, Rapunzel and Cassandra defeat Zhan Tiri by tricking her into slamming her arms together, combining the Sundrop and Moonstone into the Star, with the resulting energy destroying her. Being close to the epicentre, Cassandra appears to have died, but Rapunzel's devotion to her friend drives her to risk her own safety to use the Star to revive her friend, and then healing the kingdom, too. Ultimately, Rapunzel's strength over Zhan Tiri wasn't magic or strength, but her compassion, as it redeemed Cassandra back to her side; together they managed to defeat the demon who stood alone.
==Quotes ==
==Trivia==
*Rapunzel is Disney's first CGI princess in the official Disney Princess line-up.
* Rapunzel's dress was originally going to be green, but it was later finalized to being purple.
*Rapunzel may have been the first Disney Princess to be voiced by a professional pop singer.
*Kristen Chenoweth was originally cast as Rapunzel, before Mandy Moore got the role.
*Her and Flynn Rider's duet, "I See the Light", is very similar to Cinderella and Prince Charming's duet, "So This is Love", from Disney's Cinderella, Aladdin and Jasmine's duet, "A Whole New World" from Disney's Aladdin, and Kayley and Garrett's duet, "Looking Through Your Eyes", from Quest for Camelot.
*She is the third Disney Princess to have both of her parents alive after Aurora and Mulan.
* She's the first Disney Princess to have an aunt.
*Interestingly, Rapunzel's hair-color change from blonde to brown, and vice versa, somehow reflected her standard voice actress Mandy Moore, who, in real life, is known for having her hair color going from blonde to brown, and maybe even vice versa (and has even managed to merge them at some point).
*Her blonde hair was originally an indication of the Sundrop, which when used with the Incantation of Healing, could heal any wound and restore youth; if cut, the hair loses the power, explaining the small tuft of brunette hair Rapunzel had from Gothel's attempt to steal it before abducting the princess. To save Rapunzel, Eugene cut her hair, thus nullifying the Sundrop's healing properties; however, it wasn't actually ended, rather went into hibernation. 
**When Rapunzel touches one of the black rocks that had grown around the Sundrop flower's location, it reawakens her power, but it had changed - her restored blonde hair could no longer respond to the Incantation of Healing, although was now indestructible. Rapunzel could, however, use the Incantation of Decay, which turns her eyes and hair black as long as the spell is active.
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