Rapunzel

**Rapunzel** is the protagonist of the 2010 film Tangled. She is the tenth official Disney Princess and the first to originate from a fully computer-animated film.

## Background

Eighteen years before the events of Tangled, Rapunzel's parents, King Frederic and Queen Arianna of Corona were anticipating their firstborn. Unfortunately, very late in her pregnancy, the queen fell ill with what would surely result in her death, as well as her child's. Fearing the death of his love, the King dispatched multitudes of soldiers and villagers alongside the populace to search for a rumoured magic flower, created by a single drop of sunlight, with the potential to heal illnesses.

After much searching, the flower, long hoarded by a woman named Mother Gothel, who has kept herself young by singing a song to it, is miraculously located and boiled into medicine to cure the queen of her illness. With the help of the flower, the queen makes a full recovery and soon gives birth to a healthy baby girl, named Rapunzel who, unlike her brunette parents, has beautiful, golden hair. To celebrate her birth, a floating lantern with the emblem of the sun (the Corona symbol) was released into the sky amongst the people of Corona. The peace did not last long, however. Determined to retrieve the flower that kept her young and alive for hundreds of years, Mother Gothel broke into the castle late one night and sang the song to Rapunzel's hair. Discovering that Rapunzel's hair retained the flower's healing powers. Gothel attempted to cut a piece off for herself, only to find that the lock lost its magic and became brown. Frustrated and desperate, Gothel kidnapped the princess and fled to her tower, hidden within an alcove deep in the forest. To protect Rapunzel's hair, Gothel raised Rapunzel as her own daughter and taught her to sing the flower's song. To further ensure her magic supply was plentiful, Gothel continuously brushed the hair to further its growth. Although Rapunzel wished to leave the tower, Gothel warned her of a dangerous world beyond the tower walls, full of selfish people that desired to steal her hair and abuse her power.

Meanwhile, the kingdom searched far and wide for their missing princess, but to no avail. As a result, each year on Rapunzel's birthday, the King, Queen, and the entire kingdom release thousands of lanterns into the night sky, in hopes that one day, their lost princess will return.

One night, while in the tower alone, Rapunzel would encounter a baby chameleon at her tower window, being followed by a venomous snake. The chameleon is bitten by the snake and dies from poisoning, though Rapunzel is able to both rid the tower of the snake and revive the deceased chameleon with the power of her hair. The chameleon reveals itself to be alone in the world, something Rapunzel relates to, as Gothel would leave her alone in the tower for lengthy periods of time frequently. Rapunzel names the chameleon "Pascal", and to remedy their mutual loneliness, invites him to live with her, so they may remain by each other's side from that night forward and becoming best friends.

### Development

Disney animator, Glen Keane became interested in directing an animated film based on Rapunzel, as he was intrigued by the concept of a "person that was born with this gift inside her and it had to come out", which is reminiscent to his experience working as an animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Keane eventually resigned as director after suffering a heart attack in 2008 and Nathan Greno and Byron Howard were hired to replace him. Kean however did remain involved as an executive producer of the film and as Rapunzel's Supervising animator.

Walt Disney originally wanted to do an animated film based on "Rapunzel" following the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 but it was abandoned due to story problems. According to Keane, this was due to the original fairy tale taking place within a tower. To overcome this, the writers were to develop a way of "bringing Rapunzel out of the tower". During the development of the film, when it was under the title as Rapunzel Unbraided, Keane described the film as a "Shrek-like version of the film" before ultimately deciding to return to the original roots of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

In addition, Broadway actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth, who was originally cast as Rapunzel under the working title of Rapunzel Unbraided reveals that at some point Rapunzel was intended to be a squirrel.

### Personality

Rapunzel is a spirited and determined young woman. Throughout her adolescence, she's dreamed of escaping her tower to experience the outside world. Due to the strict order of her sole parental figure, Gothel, however, she remained inside the tower. The use of manipulation and emotional abuse in her upbringing by Gothel has led Rapunzel to believe that the world is highly dangerous, and that remaining in the confines of her sheltered walls is in her best interest. Additional misfortunes born through Rapunzel's upbringing would include such traits as anxiety and low self-esteem. Gothel would often victimize herself whenever she and Rapunzel would hit a bump in their relationship, riddling the latter with guilt, which would, in turn, motivate her to obey Gothel's commands in hopes of making amends. This was all according to plan for Gothel, who relied on Rapunzel's emotional instability to forever maintain control over the princess. With Gothel possessing such a strong emotional hold - having forced Rapunzel to believe she was her only source of security and comfort in a dangerous and unforgiving world - the odds against Rapunzel were high.

Nevertheless, what separates Rapunzel from what could be classified as a "damsel-in-distress" is her willingness to step outside her comfort zone and take on the unknown for the sake of experiencing her dreams. Despite being fearful and at times hesitant, she pushes herself forward to pursue her ambitions.

Additionally, she takes matters into her own hands several times throughout the film and cunningly manipulates situations to end in her favour, such as forcing the thief Flynn Rider to act as her guide to the kingdom of Corona after he broke into her tower. After learning the truth behind Mother Gothel and her motives, Rapunzel became fierce, immediately rejected Gothel, and strongly disapproved of any further abuse. With such will and devotion towards herself and what she values, Rapunzel proves to be a force of nature, in her own right.

As mentioned above, Rapunzel is spirited and takes great enjoyment in virtually everything life has to offer. When trapped in her tower, she engaged in various activities such as art and music, creating a vibrant home filled with colour and personality, and proving herself to be talented and expressive. When she finally escapes her tower, Rapunzel finds beauty in all she sees, from nature to a group of seemingly gruesome thugs. So much so that Rapunzel is often responsible for quite a few spontaneous, yet uplifting parties so jovial that practically every bystander would join in with zeal. This is seen during "I've Got a Dream" and during the Festival of Lights.

Rapunzel is very social in this regard and values her loved ones deeply. This is especially seen through her relationship with Eugene. Rapunzel was able to bypass the thief's roguish nature and managed to bring out his more noble and genuine side. With love and respect for one another, Rapunzel and Eugene formed a relationship built on trust, understanding, and devotion—a relationship which would help them better themselves individually and lead to the ultimate realization of what they truly want in life.

### Physical Appearance

Rapunzel is a very beautiful 18-year-old (in the film) young woman with fair skin, rosy cheeks, large green eyes, brown eyelashes and eyebrows, and light freckles around her nose. She's 5'1", with a slender frame and slightly wide hips. She is famously known for her long golden blonde hair, which is roughly around 70 feet in length, though her hair is naturally brown like her parents', as when it is cut, it turns that colour. At the end of the film, Eugene cuts her hair with a shard of the broken mirror, to free her from Gothel, turning it brown and chin length.

Rapunzel's dress is a traditional German dress called a "dirndl", with a longer skirt than that of a normal dirndl. Her dress has a purple theme with a pink accent. The dress consists of a lavender corset top laced with a pink ribbon. The skirt is purple and decorated with swirling and floral designs in pink, dark purple, and white. She wears a white petticoat underneath. The skirt's hemline is above her ankles, but well below her calves. Her sleeves at the top are short, puffed, and striped with pink and lavender; the rest are long, and it is pale baby pink with white lace at the hems. She usually does not wear shoes and dislikes wearing them. At the Kingdom Dance, she wears her hair in a thick braid with smaller braids woven in and adorned with various flowers.

Rapunzel's homecoming dress has a white lacing on the neckline and the sleeves. It has a pink bodice with swirly patterns on it and a corset lacing at the back. The skirt is purplish-pink with similar patterns that are found on her main dress and she wears her tiara.

## Film Appearances

### Tangled

Rapunzel is first seen during Eugene's narration over the prologue, which tells the tale of how Rapunzel unknowingly lost her family and came into Gothel's possession. Almost eighteen years after her kidnapping, Rapunzel, now a young woman with 70 feet of hair, plays a quick game of hide-and-seek with her pet chameleon, Pascal. While Mother Gothel (whom she views as her mother) is away, Rapunzel does many tasks throughout the tower to occupy her time. Though she is happy with her life in the tower, Rapunzel longs to someday explore the outside world. Since childhood, she has become fascinated by an annual event that seems to happen only on her birthday. That night, every year, she witnesses thousands of beautiful floating lights in the sky, brighter than the stars, rise over the tops of the alcove and into view of the tower's largest window. Wanting to know the meaning behind this phenomenon, Rapunzel develops a dream to see these lights in person. The day before her eighteenth birthday, she decides with Pascal that she will finally ask Mother Gothel to see the lights.

Soon after, Mother Gothel finally arrives at the base of the tower and calls for Rapunzel to let down her long hair. Rapunzel complies and uses her hair and a lantern holder as a rope and pulley to bring Gothel to the window. Gothel then insensitively teases Rapunzel for her slowness and decreases her confidence in front of a mirror, before saying she loves her, as usual, and asking her to sing the incantation to her hair. Instinctively, Rapunzel pulls up a chair and sings the incantation hurriedly, causing Gothel to become younger almost instantly. With her eighteenth birthday arriving, Rapunzel has gained the courage to ask Mother Gothel if she can see the floating lanterns because she believes they are somehow connected to her and does so. Gothel spurns her request, however, informing Rapunzel through song that the world is much too dangerous for someone as naive and gullible as her and that she wants to keep Rapunzel safe. She proceeds to warn and frighten her of men with sharp teeth, ruffians, poison ivy, snakes, cannibals, and even the plague and harshly request that she never ask her to leave the tower again. Her previous courage shattered, Rapunzel solemnly promises not to ask to leave the tower again and helps Gothel depart from the tower.

Back at the tower, a young thief by the name of Flynn Rider has just completed a daring daylight robbery at Corona Castle, successfully stealing the crown of the lost princess, betraying his partners, and eluding the palace guards, as well as a fierce military horse named Maximus. Seeking refuge from his combatants, the bandit accidentally stumbles into the clearing where Rapunzel's tower resides. Deciding to hide within the tower, he proceeds to scale the wall of the tower with arrows and enters into what turns out to be Rapunzel's room. Seemingly alone, Flynn pulls the crown from his satchel to admire his successful stolen prize but is instantly knocked out cold by Rapunzel's frying pan. Scared, Rapunzel cowers behind a dress form, before stepping forward to investigate the intruder with Pascal. Pascal advises Rapunzel to be wary of the young man since Gothel has often told stories of men baring sharp teeth, and they both fear he is a monster from the outside. However, Rapunzel finds nothing outwardly menacing about Flynn.

Concluding that he is just another person, she decides to hide him in her wardrobe. Afterward, she finds his satchel containing the crown. Although she has never seen a crown before and doesn't know what one is, she tries to wear it in a few different ways and sets it on her head, before being interrupted by Gothel calling to her from outside. She swiftly hides the crown and satchel and brings Gothel up the tower once more. Rapunzel decides she will show her mother the young man she has captured, proving that she can take care of herself, and again hopes that she will be let out of the tower for her approaching 18th birthday. Unfortunately for Rapunzel, Gothel becomes enraged when she brings up the subject of leaving again and shouts that she will never leave the tower as long as she lives. Rapunzel is crushed by her words, as her dreams of exploring outside the tower and watching the lanterns are dashed to the ground. She keeps from telling her that she has a stranger locked away in her closet, and instead asks for paint made from special white seashells as a gift instead. Although Gothel is hesitant at first and bemoans the fact that the paint requires a three-day journey, she agrees to retrieve the paint to appease her and bids her disappointed "daughter" farewell.

Once out of sight, Rapunzel takes Flynn out of her closet and uses her hair to tie him up to a chair. Pascal wakes him up by sticking his tongue in his ear, and Flynn, not seeing Rapunzel at first, is frightened by his current predicament. When she steps into view, however, he realizes that she is just a beautiful young girl and starts hitting on her, much to her confusion. She immediately assumes he's there to kidnap her and steal her hair and interrogates him, but he has no knowledge what she's talking about. When she realizes he's telling the truth, Rapunzel decided that she has found her chance to see the lanterns. Knowing that he wants his satchel, she strikes him over the head, hides his satchel within the tower, and proposes a deal. The two of them will leave the tower together, and he will take her to see the floating lights the next night. He will then bring her back to the tower the following day before Gothel returns. In exchange for his efforts, she promises to give him back the crown and let him leave. Flynn reluctantly agrees, simply to retrieve his loot.

Outside the tower, Rapunzel nervously digs her toes into the grass for the first time and runs about the forest in bursts of elation and panic, like a child, while Flynn can only watch. While excited to be out in the world for the first time, Rapunzel feels equally ashamed for having defied her mother. She thinks she is a terrible daughter for disobeying her mother's directions and worries that her misbehaviour will break her mother's heart. Flynn attempts to discourage her from traveling away from the tower by guaranteeing that her rebellious actions will break her mother's heart and crush her soul. He suggested that she should simply give him the satchel back and return to the tower, but Rapunzel's desire to see the lanterns sees through his ploy. Despite her guilt and confusion, she assures Flynn that she is fine enough to continue the journey.

Hoping to dissuade her, Flynn takes her to the nearby Snuggly Duckling: a local tavern which is frequented by an assortment of ruffians and thugs like the ones Gothel warned of. Flynn's plan to scare Rapunzel into going back to the tower backfires when the thugs recognize him from wanted posters and attempt to hold him for a reward while one of their associates goes to tip off the guards. Rapunzel pleads with them to release him because she needs him to fulfil her dreams of seeing the lanterns and asks if they've ever had a dream. Their leader Hook Hand approaches as if he will strike her, but Rapunzel's innocence melts his heart, and he admits he has a dream to become a pianist. The entire pub soon begins to come alive as the other members confess their dreams alongside Rapunzel. When the guards arrive, the thugs stage a distraction to help Rapunzel and Flynn escape through a secret cellar tunnel and encourage Rapunzel to live her dream. As they traverse the cavern, Rapunzel curiously asks about Flynn's origins, but Flynn casually refuses to answer. While he acknowledges that she too has secrets she doesn't want to tell, he can't help but ask her why she hasn't gone to see the lanterns before. She hesitates, but just then, they realize they are being rapidly pursued by the palace guards.

Heading outside the tunnel, the Rapunzel and Flynn find themselves on a ledge overlooking a quarry created below a massive dam. Rapunzel is very surprised to find that besides the palace guards, the Stabbington twins are also giving chase, having escaped their chains, and the horse, Maximus, is also on their path. Appearing to be cornered, Rapunzel uses her hair to swing to an opposing edge and leaves Flynn her frying pan, enabling him to fend off the guards and sword fight with Maximus. As Maximus disarms Flynn and corners him, Rapunzel lassos him with her hair and pulls him to safety. Unable to reach him, the furious horse unhinges a large wooden beam from the dam in an attempt to reach them but renders the dam overlooking the quarry unstable.

It soon collapses and a wave of water surges into the quarry, quickly flooding it. The pair narrowly outruns the massive wave, but become trapped inside a small dead-end tunnel, as a massive pillar of stone collapses and blocks the entrance. Water rapidly begins to flood into the cave and, realizing their doom, they try to pull at the rocks to no avail, and Flynn only manages to cut his hand. They both try to look for an escape under the rapidly rising water, but there's no light in the cave, and they can barely see each other above it. As they think they're about to die, Rapunzel cries and apologizes to Flynn for dragging him into this, and Flynn admits that his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert, because he thought someone should know before he died. Rapunzel tries to make him feel better by admitting that she has magic hair that glows, only to realize that they can use her hair to search for escape in the dark water. She sings the magic song just as their air pocket disappears, and they end up underwater, where Rapunzel's hair illuminates the cave. In the lit water, Eugene discovers a break in the rocks where water flows out and manages to dislodge them, releasing them out the other side.

That night they set up a campfire in the woods and Rapunzel heals Eugene's hand with her hair. The dumbstruck thief just manages to keep his cool, and Rapunzel explains everything to him, including her lifelong imprisonment by Gothel to protect her magic hair, and that if the hair is ever cut, it will turn brown and lose its power. Flynn is empathetic toward her ambiguous feelings over returning to the tower. When questioned about his real name, Flynn tells his childhood story of growing up as an orphan and reading a book called "The Tales of Flynnigan Rider", the escapades of a daring adventurer with every benefit to an exciting life full of dangers, riches, and ladies. Flynn has chosen to adopt the name and lifestyle, even though the real Flynn Rider wasn't a thief, and feeling anything would be a better option than being a helpless orphan. Rapunzel tells him that she likes the name Eugene Fitzherbert much better than his adopted name, and the pair forms a close bond. When Eugene leaves to collect more firewood, Gothel appears and tells Rapunzel they are going home. Rapunzel refuses, believing that Eugene is beginning to like her. Gothel presents Rapunzel with Eugene's satchel and challenges her to return it to him, warning her that he will simply abandon her as he only wants the satchel back. Gothel then disappears, leaving Rapunzel feeling doubtful about her new romance.

The next morning, Rapunzel wakes to find that they have been discovered by Maximus, a high-ranking palace horse on a personal mission to bring Eugene to justice. Rapunzel calms and befriends the frenzied horse, and requests that he refrain from arresting Eugene for the next 24 hours so that they can see the lanterns. Maximus and Eugene make a reluctant truce and journey into the kingdom with Rapunzel and Pascal. Eugene and Rapunzel enjoy each other's company greatly as they spend the day touring the kingdom and indulging in everything it has to offer. Along with that, Rapunzel makes a wondrous impression on the villagers, bringing whimsy and excitement to their already enjoyable festival, winning their hearts instantly. She also learns of the Lost Princess, though she doesn't recognize it's her in the mural of the royal family, and before she has time to ponder further, she engages in more fun-filled activities with the villagers and Eugene. During the day, their romantic feelings for each other begin to grow stronger and slowly start to emerge. At dusk, Eugene and Rapunzel row out onto the lake to watch the lanterns rise into the sky.

As they wait for the lanterns to appear, Eugene notices that Rapunzel is not too happy; in fact, she's terrified. She confesses that after all the excitement that has built up inside her about seeing the floating lights, she is worried that they may not be everything that she expected. Eugene assures her they will be, and if they are, she gets to go find herself a new dream afterward. That night, Rapunzel is overjoyed to finally be living her dream as she enchantingly watches the lanterns float from the streets of the kingdom to the boats on the lake. When Eugene presents her with a pair of their own lanterns, Rapunzel shows him his satchel, saying she was scared to give it to him before. Eugene refuses the satchel and says he knows how she feels. As Rapunzel watches the lanterns, Eugene unexpectedly takes her hand, much to her delight, as they both finally and fully realize they have fallen in love with each other as they finish singing "I See the Light" together. They are just about to kiss, when Eugene pulls back apprehensively as he sees the Stabbington Brothers on the other side of the lake, unbeknownst to Rapunzel. He assures her everything is fine and quickly takes the boat ashore. He then takes the satchel and walks off into the fog, promising to return. Rapunzel becomes worried as Eugene leaves, and she ruminates on Gothel's warnings.

After a moment of waiting, she sees a figure returning to her through the fog. She sighs with relief that Eugene did not take the crown and leave her. But the figure actually turns out to be two tall and brutal thugs whom she recognizes as two of the men from the dam. They inform her that Eugene did actually leave her. At first, she doesn't believe them, but they show her a boat sailing across the lake towards the kingdom with Eugene's silhouette at the helm. Rapunzel has little time to grieve as the two men show interest in her magical hair.

They scheme to kidnap her and use her powers to earn them money, but Gothel appears and rescues her. Believing that she has been deserted by the man she thought loved her, a heartbroken Rapunzel goes with Gothel back to the tower. Back at the tower, as she mourns over losing Eugene, Rapunzel discovers that the emblem of the kingdom of Corona has been unwittingly sketched into all the pictures she has painted over the years in her room. A sudden wave of memories and emotions from lying in her royal crib to trying on her crown floods her mind, causing her to realize that she is the lost princess of Corona. Rapunzel then confronts Gothel, expressing her repulsion at everything Gothel has done and that she has been hiding with the person she should have been hiding from all along. Gothel says that she only wanted to protect Rapunzel and informs her that Eugene is scheduled to be hanged. Rapunzel becomes even angrier and states that she will never let Gothel use her hair again, but before she can leave, an enraged Gothel gags her and chains her to the wall.

A little while later, she hears Eugene calling to her from outside but can say or do nothing as Gothel throws Rapunzel's hair out the window for him to climb up. As Eugene gets to the top, Rapunzel attempts to warn him through her gag, but Eugene is fatally stabbed in the stomach by Gothel before he can do anything. Rapunzel's attempts to reach him are in vain as Gothel leaves Eugene clutching his side on the floor and prepares to make her escape with the captive Rapunzel and leave Eugene to die in the tower. Rapunzel, with a lot of struggling and fighting, manages to get the gag off and declares that she will never stop fighting Gothel as long as she lives, but makes a promise to submit to her if only she is allowed to heal Eugene. Gothel, knowing Rapunzel never broke her promises, agrees and chains Eugene down to prevent him from following them. Eugene begs Rapunzel to leave him and escape, but Rapunzel refuses, saying she won't let Eugene die and promises him that everything will be alright. Eugene, however, chooses to die rather than let Rapunzel be a prisoner again, so he cuts her hair before she can heal him. Rapunzel reacts in shock and watches in despair as the endless lengths of golden hair turn brown and lose their magic.

With her source of magic gone, Gothel begins to rapidly age, losing her youth and beauty in a matter of seconds. Seeing her true form revealed, Gothel falls into a fit of hysteria, shrouding her face with her hood as she does so, and failing to realize Pascal tugging on a length of Rapunzel's dead hair, which she immediately trips over, falling out of the tower's entrance and plummeting to the ground. By the time she hits the surface, all that's left of the witch is her cloak and piles of dust. After a brief moment of shock over the death of her false mother, Rapunzel rushes to the side of a dying Eugene, in hopes of saving him. Rapunzel desperately cradles the dying Eugene and sings the healing incantation, but Eugene interrupts her as he weakly tells her, with his dying breaths, that she was his new dream. Rapunzel, in reply, says that he was hers as well. Eugene then dies in her arms, leaving a heartbroken Rapunzel to hopelessly finish singing the incantation. She begins to cry over his body, letting a single teardrop fall onto his cheek, which is revealed to have the same power as the magic flower, as it glows as it sinks into Eugene's body and heals his chest wound, reviving him. An overjoyed Rapunzel jubilantly embraces him, and the two then share their first kiss, finally proclaiming their love.

Eugene accompanies Rapunzel back to the kingdom. Though the King and Queen fail to recognize her, at first, the Queen takes a closer look and takes note of the striking resemblance; realizing her daughter has finally returned. It isn't long before the King learns the truth as well, and the royal family is reunited for the first time in years. Eugene watches on, and knowing the former thief played a part in the safe return of their daughter, the Queen welcomes him into the reunion, as well. In celebration of Rapunzel's return, the kingdom rejoiced with a party lasting an entire week. In the closing narration, it is said that Rapunzel became a beloved ruler and governed her land with grace and wisdom. Meanwhile, Eugene is accepted into the royal family and pardoned for his crimes. According to the former thief, after "years of asking, and asking, and asking", he finally accepted Rapunzel's proposal to marry, only to be corrected by his bride. Eugene then amends that he asked her which Rapunzel supports by stating that they are living happily ever after.

### Tangled Ever After

Rapunzel and Eugene both appear in this short sequel to the first film. In the story, Rapunzel and Eugene are getting married, narrating the opening of the short as they claim it to be the happiest day of their lives, with the events of the ceremony nearly proceeding with perfection.

She first appears in her wedding attire and standing at the entrance of the wedding hall, attracting the attention of everyone in attendance. Her father, the King, then walks her down the centre aisle, so that she can join her groom at the altar. The priest starts his speech, but Maximus sneezes and accidentally loses their wedding rings. The two appear in a vision of Maximus and Pascal where everyone in attendance becomes upset at the loss of the rings, though, in reality, neither Rapunzel nor Eugene notice the dilemma, or their animal companions leaving the ceremony to retrieve the missing rings.

Rapunzel and Eugene are shown later after Maximus and Pascal manage to get the rings back, but the couple (and everyone else) are shocked at the grotesque-looking Maximus and Pascal, both covered with tar, who offer the rings. The two exchange their rings as the priest pronounce the couple husband and wife. Eugene and Rapunzel kiss and everyone in attendance rejoices.

### Tangled: Before Ever After

Rapunzel serves as the protagonist of the animated television movie. Taking place 6 months after the events of Tangled, and about 2 years before Tangled Ever After, Rapunzel returns to her kingdom to assume her rightful place in the royal family. Having been reunited with her parents, Rapunzel tries to adjust to life as a princess, receiving help from Pascal and her lady-in-waiting, Cassandra. She tries her best, and despite having a loving family and supportive circle of friends, Rapunzel feels overwhelmed with the amount of responsibility that comes with being a princess. She asks her father for a change of pace in this regard, but he denies, fearing Rapunzel's desire to explore the world will lead to her falling into harm's way, much like she did eighteen years prior, when she was kidnapped by Gothel. On top of this, and the fact that Rapunzel's bubbly way of carrying herself is looked down upon by the royal community, Eugene feels confident enough to propose to Rapunzel, and does so, much to the princess' shock and delight. However, despite her love for him, Rapunzel does not feel ready to marry, instead wanting to figure herself out and live the life she's been longing for. Overwhelmed and anxious, she rejects Eugene's proposal and leaves the scene in a huff.

In her bedroom, Rapunzel laments her feelings of guilt to Cassandra, who believes Rapunzel could use some downtime. She offers to take Rapunzel beyond Corona's security wall, a forbidden act and sneaks the princess out with the help of Maximus. During their outing, Cassandra takes Rapunzel to the former location of the healing flower that saved Rapunzel and her mother when the latter fell ill during her pregnancy. Mysterious thorn-like rocks have appeared in the area, and not only are they ominous, but also unbreakable. As Rapunzel examines the area further, she is struck by magic that causes her long, golden hair to grow back. After returning to the castle, Rapunzel and Cassandra try to rid themselves of the hair, but like the rocks, it is unbreakable. Eugene arrives and discovers the truth, offering assistance in hiding it from Queen Arianna and King Frederic. Cassandra gets the idea of hiding the hair in an oversized wig, which helps well enough despite the awkwardness.

Rapunzel then joins her parents for breakfast, and in during which, Frederic admits that his methods of protecting Rapunzel have been rather unfair, and notes that he is reconsidering his decisions, much to Rapunzel's excitement. Afterward, Arianna visits Rapunzel in the latter's bedroom, to bestow a coronation gift. She encourages Rapunzel to choose how to live her life, and eventually rule the kingdom, despite her father's stubbornness and what others may think. She gives Rapunzel a journal she once used in her younger years, with a note the reads: "Plus est en vous", meaning, "There is more in you".

Later on, Rapunzel's coronation ceremony begins, and in during which, the royal family is confronted by a pirate known as Lady Caine, who seeks vengeance on King Frederic for imprisoning her father. Frederic and the rest of the royal guests are kidnapped, but Rapunzel refuses to stand down and reveals her golden hair. She uses it as a weapon to defeat the pirates with Eugene and Cassandra's help, saving her father. That night, despite proving her worth, Frederic feels more insecure about Rapunzel's safety than ever before. With the very reason Rapunzel was taken in the first place having returned, Frederic feels he's forced to forbid Rapunzel from ever leaving the walls of Corona without his consent, driving his daughter to tears. With her father's new law, Rapunzel feels trapped once more, similar to her imprisonment within the tower. Eugene arrives and comforts her, uplifting her spirits and at the same time reconciles their relationship. After he leaves, Rapunzel reads the message in the journal given to her by Arianna and becomes inspired to pursue the adventures she's always desired (such as uncovering the mystery behind her hair's return), despite the obstacles she will have to face.

### Ralph Breaks the Internet

In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Rapunzel appears as a netizen in Oh My Disney. She works alongside the other Disney Princesses, meeting and greeting net users as a Cast member. While visiting the site, Vanellope von Schweetz is targeted by First Order Stormtroopers. She unwittingly glitches into the backstage quarters of the Disney Princesses, who are on break; Rapunzel is seen painting the walls of her vanity. Seeing Vanellope as a threat at first, the princesses charge at her wielding weapons; Rapunzel arms herself with her frying pan. Vanellope quickly explains that she's also a princess, coming from Sugar Rush. The princesses lower their guard and question what kind of princess Vanellope is, and Rapunzel excitedly questions if Vanellope has magic hair. She and Belle also asks if Vanellope has ever been kidnapped or enslaved. She denies each question. Finally, Rapunzel asks if people assume all of Vanellope's problems are solved by a "big, strong man", which Vanellope relates to. This leads Rapunzel and the others to ecstatically declare Vanellope a princess.

Afterward, as Cinderella takes interest in Vanellope's casual modern outfit, Rapunzel agrees with her on the sentiment of wanting the same kind of attire, calling it "the best outfit ever". This leads to Cinderella's mice sewing comfy modern outfits for each of the princesses. Rapunzel wears a lilac hoodie over a purple top with a graphic that reads "The Snuggly Duckling BARHOUSE", lavender leggings patterned with the Corona sun crest, and a pair of pink sneakers with purple laces. When Ariel tries to express her joy over wearing a human shirt, she briefly breaks into song before Vanellope's confusion cuts her off. The other princesses are unfazed, explaining that they've each had songs that help express themselves. When Vanellope notes that she's never had a musical number, Rapunzel (who is sitting in a lounge cushion of her hair while eating a donut) encourages her to find her song by thinking about what she desires most and singing about whatever that may be. This leads to Vanellope performing a ditty about getting a new steering wheel for her unplugged game.

During the climax of the film, Rapunzel returns alongside the other princesses. The ladies take notice of Wreck-It Ralph plummeting from the sky. Rapunzel exclaims, "A big, strong man is in need of rescuing!", prompting the princesses to quickly rally together to save the bad guy; Rapunzel supplies her magical hair. Once the bad guy is secured, the princesses introduce themselves to Ralph and befriend him.

## Television Appearances

### Tangled: The Series

#### Season 1

Starting off one week after the events of Tangled: Before Ever After, the animated series continues Rapunzel's life as a princess. Throughout the course of the series, Rapunzel steadily continues to grow as a person, as the relationships she shares with her family, friends and subjects provide her with new experiences that challenges her and her ideals. In addition to finding her place in the world, Rapunzel also deals with the issue of her hair's sudden and mysterious return. In "What the Hair?!", Rapunzel and Cassandra meet a young alchemist named Varian, and through him, discover that her hair has lost its healing powers, but has gained indestructibility. Unfortunately, Varian's workshop was destroyed before further information could be obtained. Sometime later in "Great Expotations", Rapunzel and Cassandra learn that Varian has discovered the mysterious black rocks near his village. Rapunzel then declares that Cassandra, Varian, and herself will work together to learn more about the rocks and the connection they have to her hair.

Unfortunately, as the rocks continue to expand throughout the kingdom, portions of Varian's village is destroyed, prompting him to seek Rapunzel's help in "Queen for a Day". At the same time, Rapunzel is taking over for her parents when they go away to celebrate their anniversary and has barely any knowledge. When Rapunzel is unable to provide assistance for Varian at the time due to a separate kingdom-wide disaster caused by the magic of the evil warlock Zhan Tiri (Corona is being destroyed by a deadly blizzard and her parents are missing), Varian swears vengeance against the princess; in the end, Rapunzel manages to destroy the blizzard with the legendary Demanitus Device, Pascal nearly sacrificing himself in the process, and is reunited with her parents, but has doubt over becoming queen which Eugene reassures her over. Her doubt continues in "Painter's Block", where she's so shaken from the blizzard that she cannot bring herself to think of an idea for the castle mural, so she takes up an art class to get her mojo back. However, her art teacher, Mrs. Sugarby, is actually Sugracha the Eternal, one of Zhan Tiri's followers who was released from the Demanitus Device when it activated, and mind controls Rapunzel into setting differences aside and freeing Zhan Tiri. Eugene and Cassandra manage to stop her and save Rapunzel, and she finally gets her confidence back.

In "The Quest for Varian", Rapunzel reassumes her mission to uncover the truth behind the black rocks, and discovers along the way that her father had not only been aware of their threat, but had made it his mission to keep Rapunzel and Corona's population from investigating them. Rapunzel repeatedly pursues her father for answers but receives none. Rapunzel meets Varian again in "The Alchemist Returns", and discovers his true shady intentions after discovering the empty Attitude-Reversing Potion flacon in his bag, which he found and reverse engineered into a truth serum. In addition, Varian discovers the Sundrop Flower is useless and cannot free his father, as its powers have been transferred to Rapunzel. After Varian kidnaps the queen as part of his revenge scheme in "Secret of the Sun Drop", however, King Frederic finally confesses the truth to Rapunzel so that they may set aside their differences and work together to save Arianna.

According to Frederic, legend foretold that, should the Sun Drop Flower be removed from its place of origin, a devastating darkness would be unleashed. In his desperation, Frederic took the flower to save a dying Arianna, allowing her to live and give birth to Rapunzel. However, the guilt of unleashing a darkness upon his kingdom stuck with Frederic. Understanding that Frederic's actions were out of love for his family, Rapunzel finally comes to trust her father again. Together, with the people of Corona by their side, the two are able to rescue Arianna, but Varian was unable to free Quirin with Rapunzel's hair as intended and is furious when he cannot be with his father while Rapunzel is reunited with both her parents and attempts to destroy them as payback. By making physical contact with the rocks, Rapunzel is able to unleash their full potential, and uses this power to defeat Varian. Realizing the consequences that his actions had caused, Frederic apologizes for his overprotectiveness and comes to terms with Rapunzel's right to independence. With the black rocks having reshaped to form a path meant to lead Rapunzel to an unknown destination beyond Corona's walls, the princess decides to follow their trail to uncover her destiny with Eugene, Cassandra, Pascal, Maximus, Lance, Hook Foot and Shorty in tow.

#### Season 2

Rapunzel, now donning new attire, sets off with her friends in a customized caravan, following the path left by the rocks. As Rapunzel's first time outside of Corona, the princess embraces her newfound freedom with zeal and finds enjoyment at nearly every stop. In "Beyond the Corona Walls", Eugene tries to propose to Rapunzel, again, but the princess is still unsure about marriage. This leaves Eugene downhearted and doubtful, while also creating an awkward atmosphere amongst the group. After a situation involving Stalyan, Eugene's ex-fiancée who wished to finish their union, Rapunzel comes to realise just how much she truly loves Eugene. The princess tries to propose, but Eugene stops her midway, instead of wanting Rapunzel to focus on her newfound freedom. Discreetly disappointed, Rapunzel half-heartedly accepts, but nevertheless is happy that she and Eugene are together again. In the same episode, Rapunzel meets a peculiar woman named Adira, who had been studying the rocks. According to Adira, the rocks had been searching for Rapunzel, explaining why they appeared in Corona. Having succeeded in finding her, the rocks have now formed a trail leading to the Dark Kingdom; only by journeying there will Rapunzel fulfil her destiny.

After months of travel and strange encounters, Adira reveals that the only way to the Dark Kingdom is to pass through the Great Tree, which was once the great stronghold of Zhan Tiri. Inside, the group finds some mysterious writings which they cannot translate. However, one scroll was translated, and it contained the Healing Incantation. They also learn about the Moonstone and find the reverse incantation, which turns Rapunzel's hair and eyes black and begins to suck the life out of everything around her, including her friends. Rapunzel later uses this power to defeat Hector, a villainous warrior attempting to prevent the group from entering the Dark Kingdom. Cassandra warns Rapunzel not to use the reverse incantation because of its deadly effects, but Rapunzel is unable to stop it once she starts. When Casandra attempts to do so, her arm is severely wounded, forcing her to later cover herself in a discarded knight's armour.

Rapunzel and Cassandra become distant from each other for a while, but they eventually talk it out and makeup. However, after their adventures in the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow, Cassandra distanced herself from Rapunzel again, but acted as if everything was fine. Eventually, the group finally reached the Dark Kingdom, where they are confronted by King Edmund, who revealed himself to be Eugene's father. The group learn more about the Moonstone Opal through Edmund and Adira. When they finally convinced the king to let them see the Moonstone, Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, and Cassandra entered the Moonstone's chamber. Rapunzel thanked Cassandra for everything and told Eugene that she loves him before reaching for the stone to fulfil her destiny. However, before she could even touch it, Cassandra grabs the stone and declares she is fulfilling her own destiny and becomes merged with it. Rapunzel watched in shock and horror as her former friend betrayed her and told her that she had warned her to be careful who she trusts.

#### Season 3

Soon, Rapunzel learned that Cassandra was Mother Gothel's biological daughter, however, Gothel abandoned Cassandra in favour of Rapunzel. This led to Cassandra holding a grudge against Rapunzel for the remainder of the journey, angered at always being second-best to her, and ultimately grabbing the Moonstone to prevent Rapunzel's destiny from coming into this fruition. Despite this shocking information, Rapunzel had tried to make list of this situation by claiming they are sisters in life, unfortunately, Cassandra refused. Rapunzel tried to reason with Cassandra, but her former friend ran away and cut down the bridge she made out of black rocks to leave the princess stranded at the Dark Kingdom. Even though Rapunzel was heartbroken by the betrayal, she acted surprisingly cheerful. Just then, Ulf arrived in a hot air balloon and, with Shorty translating for him, told Rapunzel and the others that Corona was in trouble. They took the hot air balloon back home. Rapunzel was very happy to be home, but soon realised that the Separatists of Saporia, with the help of Varian, erased her parents' memories and took over Corona. When they escaped capture from them, they hid in Xavier's blacksmith shop, where some of Corona's citizens were waiting for her. Xavier explained what happened while she was away and that the captain of the guards and some soldiers started a search party to find her. Rapunzel, still hurt by Cassandra's betrayal, decided to take back the kingdom on her own. But the plan failed when she got captured while she was in Cassandra's room and cried over her betrayal. She tried to talk Varian out of his plan of wiping everyone else's memories and soon learned that he only wanted to do so because he truly felt bad for his actions. When the Separatists decided to use Varian's chemicals to destroy Corona, Varian turned against them and helped Rapunzel defeat them. After saving Corona, she used the Reverse Incantation to free Quirin. She was happy to see the father and son reunited and that Varian became her friend again. Soon afterward, Rapunzel took over as acting queen of Corona until her parents have fully restored their memories. She also opened up about her feelings about Cassandra's betrayal to Eugene.

Thanks to her journey to the Dark Kingdom, Rapunzel had gained the wisdom and experience she needs to lead her people and help them get through the hard times, along which were werewolf attacks, arguments while repairing the kingdom, and returning stolen goods. Meanwhile, Rapunzel held on to a belief that Cassandra is still good deep down and would never give up on her, no matter what anyone said. When Corona got plagued by fear-induced red rocks, she saw a vision of Cassandra taking over the kingdom. But what really scared her was losing Cassandra as a friend. She and Varian worked together to encase the rocks' roots in amber and saved the kingdom. In the process though, when she touched one of the rocks, she could sense Cassandra and that she was just as scared as she was. This made Rapunzel more than sure that Cass could still be saved.

Then, after helping Pascal save his dragon friend and finding the lost Captain, she prepared a real birthday celebration for Eugene and was planning to propose to him. But when the party just got started, Cassandra arrived and demanded the Demanitus scroll. Rapunzel came to Varian in the Demanitus chamber to see that he had translated and memorized almost the entire scroll. But then Cassandra came and fought with her before taking the scroll and Varian, as he was the only person who knew the translation. Rapunzel and her friends discussed on what to do until they saw a new black tower appear, made from the black rocks by Cassandra when she learned the third incantation. They went to the tower and after some failed attempts to get inside, an entrance appeared, and they entered. Rapunzel and Eugene went up the tower and found Varian, who had discovered the fourth incantation but was having trouble reading it as it needed sunlight to be seen. She handed the engagement ring to Eugene and went to look for Cass while Eugene help Varian. She found her and tried to reason with her again, but Cass wouldn't listen. When Rapunzel refused to fight her, Cassandra brought Eugene and Varian inside and threatened Eugene's life. Varian showed the fourth incantation to Rapunzel, and she used it to stop Cassandra. But even though she was victorious, she knew it wasn't over yet.

Later, she and Eugene got a message from Calliope, telling her she was in danger, and raced to the spire to help her. It was there when she met the Enchanted Girl, who later revealed herself to be Zhan Tiri. She tried to stop them from taking the Mind Trap, but she couldn't bring herself to let Calliope get trapped in a magic lamp in the process. Then, when she heard about Gothel's ghost haunting her old cottage, she went there to investigate, only to find out that the ghost was a fake. But then Cassandra arrived and fought with her until they both got trapped in an underground mine. She convinced Cass to work with her to find a way out. While looking, they found a room with magic mirrors that showed projections of Gothel talking about herself. Rapunzel explained to Cass that the only good thing Gothel had ever done was bringing them together. But unbeknownst to them, Zhan Tiri slipped one of the mirrors into Rapunzel's bag and when Cassandra found it, it showed a scene of Gothel giving little Cass a music box in apparently a loving manner. This made Cassandra angry, thinking that Rapunzel knew about it and tried to hide it from her, and as Rapunzel tried to explain that she didn't, Cass left her to die in the mine. But fortunately, Pascal saved Rapunzel. Rapunzel promised him that she still would not give up on Cass.

She then supervises the preparations of defending Corona from Cassandra or any other threats. During which, she helped Eugene catch a man who was posing as Flynn Rider, Eugene's former alter ego, and arrested the Baron, who was seeking revenge for what happened to him in "Beyond Corona Walls". Then she learned that Eugene and Varian had created "Project Obsidian" to encase Cassandra in amber. She disapproved of it at first, but then agreed that they could only use it as the last resort. Later, her father announces that the Goodwill festival will be cancelled due to Cassandra's possible threats. But Rapunzel offered to see if anyone would still want to continue the festival and one person did speak up, Faith (who was actually Cassandra in disguise in an attempt to make up with Rapunzel after realizing the truth about Zhan Tiri). The festival proceeded and throughout the day, Rapunzel and "Faith" spend time together to make sure it goes well. But when the disguised Cassandra tried to talk to Rapunzel alone, Zhan Tiri pulled the cloak off her, exposing her. While everybody panicked and tried to take Cassandra down, Rapunzel told her that it's not too late to make things right. But as Cassandra consider her words, Zhan Tiri made Varian's Obsidian launched at her. Believing that Rapunzel sees her as a threat like everybody else, she breaks free and declared herself a bad guy. Then she knocked the princess out with a potion. When Rapunzel woke up, she learned that Cass had taken over Corona, just as she had feared.

In "Plus Est En Vous", Rapunzel looks back to where she first touched the Black Rocks. Queen Arianna comforts her, and they return to their new headquarters in the Snuggly Duckling to inspire the people of the Corona to fight back. Thanks to Varian, Rapunzel learned that Demanitus sealed Zhan Tiri away with a device whose blueprints were locked away in his tomb. On their way up, she gives Eugene the name G-bug which disgusts him. Rapunzel looks around to see the tomb was inhabited by monkeys and concludes that this was where Demanitus found Vigor. She and Eugene spots the journal which contained the plans, only for it to be snatched away by the monkeys. To make matters worse, Lance toys with the ray Demanitus used to switch his mind with Vigor's and uses it on everyone, Rapunzel included. Despite her orders for everyone to leave it alone, they fought over it for hours until everyone was restored to their normal bodies and given Varian the journal.

Varian admits that he can build the machine, it has to be near Zhan Tiri to seal her away. As a result, Rapunzel and friends storm the castle and made their way to the throne room. While Varian puts the machine together, Rapunzel searches for Cassandra but finds Zhan Tiri instead. She tries to force her to give her the Sundrop, but she refuses. Rapunzel retreats and finds herself in Cassandra's old room. Once more, she bursts into tears and continues her search.

When Rapunzel notices a burning candle blow out, she knows that Cassandra is nearby. She tries to reason with her, but Cassandra refuses to remind her about how Varian encased her in amber the last time they tried to sort things out. Rapunzel orders Cassandra to hand her the Moonstone, Cassandra in turn orders her to hand her the Sundrop; both refuse and begin to fight. Rapunzel breaks through Cassandra's black rocks, and they fight throughout the castle. She grabs Cassandra with her hair, and she reminds her that she was the one who educated her in combat.

Cassandra covers Rapunzel's hair in the black rocks and takes her to her room, so everyone can see Cassandra grab the Sundrop from her. Rapunzel asks what she will do after she gets the Sundrop and who or what will be left for her. Cassandra says that she doesn't need anyone and encases Rapunzel in the black rocks entirely. Rapunzel uses the Sundrop to break free, destroys her sword, and ties her up in her hair. The eclipse takes full effect and Rapunzel weakens, allowing Cassandra to overpower Rapunzel and telekinetically remove the Sundrop from her, causing Rapunzel's hair to turn brown again and lose its magical capabilities. Just then, Zhan Tiri jumps onto Cassandra and snatches the Moonstone from her, causing Cassandra to lose her powers as well. Zhan Tiri fuses both the Sundrop and the Moonstone into her wrists and transforms into her true form of a giant demon. She taunts and demoralizes Rapunzel and Cassandra, encages them both in Yellow Rocks, and sets off to destroy Corona.

While imprisoned, Cassandra breaks down in tears, feeling greatly and genuinely remorseful for her heinous actions against Rapunzel, and apologizes to the princess, admitting that she had let her rage cloud her mind and prevented her from seeing what she really needed. Rapunzel reminds Cassandra how they became friends in the first place, and the two women reconcile. While searching for a way to break out from their Yellow Rock prison, Rapunzel looks through her journal and comes across a message from her mother, "Plus Est En Vous", which she relays to Cassandra. These words instil a new confidence in Cassandra, who gives Rapunzel a broken piece of the Moonstone from their earlier fight, which grants enough energy to Rapunzel's hair to break them out of their prison. Rapunzel then goes to confront Zhan Tiri but is quickly outmatched. Just as Zhan Tiri is about to finish off Rapunzel, Cassandra knocks out the demon in the head with a frying pan, having come to assist Rapunzel again to atone for her past atrocities and redeem herself. Rapunzel and Cassandra try to merge the Sundrop and the Moonstone in the unconscious demon's wrists, but Zhan Tiri recovers and breaks herself free, prompting the two girls to come up with a new strategy. They use Rapunzel's hair to lasso Zhan Tiri's arms and pull them apart, increasing the potential energy in her arms. Cassandra then tosses a Yellow Rock shard over to Rapunzel, who uses it to cut her hair, as Eugene had done years ago. Rapunzel releases her severed hair to force Zhan Tiri to unwittingly slam the Sundrop and the Moonstone in her wrists. The collision of the two opals produces an explosion that obliterates the wicked demon into nothingness and also makes the Black Rocks disintegrate as the eclipse ends.

Just as Rapunzel is ready to celebrate her victory over Zhan Tiri, she finds Cassandra lying on the ground, seemingly having perished in the explosion. Not wanting to lose her fully-redeemed friend, Rapunzel grabs onto the merged Sundrop-Moonstone opal and chants the Healing Incantation one last time, which revives Cassandra and everyone else who has been weakened by the demon, before sending it back into the cosmos. With peace restored to Corona, Eugene, Rapunzel, and Cassandra share a group hug.

Later, Cassandra decides to leave Corona to find her own destiny. She and Rapunzel share a heartfelt hug as they bid each other farewell and acknowledge themselves as best friends once more. As the entire kingdom celebrates happily ever after following Cassandra's departure, Rapunzel finally embraces her royal destiny, becoming the queen she was destined to become.

Later that evening, Eugene and Rapunzel are out on their boat where they first fell in love. Eugene mentions a promise he made to Rapunzel in Tangled: Before Ever After, which Rapunzel remembers. Having kept his promise to be patient with Rapunzel for as long as she needed and believing that they are both truly ready after everything they went through, Eugene surprises Rapunzel with a new engagement ring and proposes to her one more time, to which Rapunzel ecstatically accepts. The newly engaged couple profess their love for one another and share a passionate kiss as the series ends.

### Sofia the First

Rapunzel appears in the special "The Curse of Princess Ivy" as part of a Disney Junior movie event. She is the first non-traditional animated princess to appear on the show and has her 70 feet long, mystical golden blonde hair instead of her short natural brown hair, including her crown, and lavender flat shoes on her feet.

When Sofia and Amber are unable to stop Princess Ivy from taking over their kingdom, Rapunzel gives them a helping hand and a plan that will help them save the day. When Amber fesses up to Rapunzel about having taken Sofia's amulet, tells Amber as they fly to Enchancia that Flynn Rider had to make up for his own bad deeds during the song "Dare to Risk it All". Rapunzel then tells Amber that if she really loves Sofia as a sister, she will know what to do when the time comes and then magically disappears.

In "Forever Royal", when Sofia is battling Vor inside her amulet Rapunzel appears to Sofia in spirit form along with all the other Disney Princesses who have been summoned to help Sofia in her times of need, and they encourage her to be brave and strong, as they all believe in her.

### Once Upon a Time

Two different, yet unrelated versions of Rapunzel appear in the ABC fantasy drama series.

Rapunzel appeared in the 14th episode of Season 3 titled "The Tower" and was played by Alexandra Metz.

Before the Dark Curse was cast, Rapunzel was born as the second child to her parents, the King and Queen of an unnamed kingdom, and lives an unworried life knowing that her elder brother, instead of herself, will ascend the throne in the future. Though her parents warn Rapunzel against swimming in the stream, she disobeys them, becoming entrapped in the river, and is later saved by her brother. Tragically, her brother dies as a result, leaving Rapunzel as the next heir to the royal seat. Many years later, Rapunzel, afraid she won't live up to her parents' names, as a rule, digs up and ingests a plant called night root, which is rumoured to rid the user of their fears, but it has no effect. Before leaving for home, she is chased up a tower by a cloaked witch, who refuses to allow her to ever leave. Unbeknownst to Rapunzel, the witch is a manifestation of herself as her own greatest fear, as a consequence of consuming the night root. After the curse was undone, Rapunzel notices from her tower window a man digging up night root. Since he is the first person she's seen in a long time, the princess calls to him for help. The man, Prince Charming, climbs up the tower using her long, braided hair as a scaling rope. After she tells him of her past, he promises to rescue her. When the cloaked witch climbs up the tower, she is finally unmasked as Rapunzel herself due to the effects of the night root. While Prince Charming pushes Rapunzel to fight this manifestation of her own fear, the witch throws him out of the tower. As he is clinging onto a vine, the witch begins ascending up using Rapunzel's hair. Advised by Prince Charming to fend off the fear or risk dying alone, she severs the length of her hair, causing the witch to fall and dissipate. Prince Charming helps Rapunzel out of the tower, bringing the princess to her parents, whom she happily reunites with.

A different interpretation of Rapunzel appears in the seventh season, as one of the primary antagonists. Here, she is also Lady Tremaine. She is portrayed primarily by Gabrielle Anwar, and Meegan Warner in her younger form.

While Rapunzel aids an ailing husband and her two starving daughters, she stumbles upon a garden. She takes radishes, in order to help feed her family, but is confronted by Gothel, who is impressed with the selflessness the young woman displays. Rapunzel makes a deal to do "anything", in order to save them, but she has unknowingly given her freedom to the witch and is trapped within a tower, isolated. Six years pass, and Rapunzel's hair has grown to an enormous length. She uses this, as a rope to safely escape the tower, to her freedom. She follows lanterns in the sky, which were lit by her children, to commemorate the anniversary of their mother's disappearance, until she stumbles upon their new manor, and is reunited with her daughters, Anastasia and Drizella. Rapunzel finally reunites with her husband following years apart but is heartbroken to learn that he believed her to be dead, remarried, and has gained a new stepdaughter, Ella. Rapunzel tries to adjust to her new way of life, now working as a maid, and tries to reconnect with her daughters. While Anastasia is ecstatic to have her mother return in her life, Drizella, is less thrilled, lacking a bond, due to having been so young when Rapunzel left. Gothel reappears to Rapunzel and offers her a poison to give Cecelia, Marcus' new wife, but Rapunzel refuses to do so. Sometime later, it is Drizella's birthday party, and Rapunzel is working. When she overhears Drizella call Cecelia "mother", she is left enraged and places the poison into Cecelia's drink. Time passes, and Cecelia leaves, due to the effects of the poison, while Rapunzel reconciles her relationship with her husband. The pair watch Anastasia, Drizella, and Ella, building a snowman and Ella walks towards a frozen lake, in order to retrieve a hat, which blew off, from a gust of the wind. Anastasia follows her, and the pair both fall through. Marcus dives in and brings back a body, but Rapunzel is angered and terrified to learn it is Ella and not her daughter. Anastasia is eventually recovered, but left on the brink of death, and Rapunzel takes her to Gothel, who preserves her final breath. Gothel plans to trap her in the tower, but Rapunzel manages to take Gothel's magical potion and traps the witch instead. Rapunzel then vows to reawaken her daughter. Over the following years, Rapunzel's anger for the rest of her family grows and she blames Ella for Anastasia's state. She grows a dark reputation, and eventually, becomes known as Lady Tremaine. She is unable to forgive her husband for saving Ella first and has him killed. Rapunzel also dubs Ella, "Cinderella", and has her placed into servitude as she once was.

## Other Appearances

In Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice, Grace Goodwin wears a Disney Princess shirt that has a picture of Rapunzel, along with Snow White, and Cinderella.

Rapunzel and Eugene make a short cameo appearance in Frozen. They are both seen entering the castle of Arendelle for Elsa's coronation and pass by Anna, while she is singing "For the First Time in Forever". Here, Rapunzel has short, brown hair, like in the ending of the original film and in the short sequel Tanged Ever After.

In a 2015 holiday advertisement for Target, a doll version of Rapunzel, alongside Belle, makes a brief cameo appearance as part of the cheering crowd when the kids successfully put the star in the light socket, turning on the lights of the gingerbread Christmas tree.

An emoticon version of Rapunzel appeared in the Tangled entry of the As Told by Emoji short series.

A horse version of Rapunzel appeared on the cover of Duke Weaselton's bootleg copy of Wrangled in the film Zootopia.

## Disney Parks

Rapunzel is a face character in various Disney parks around the world. Retaining long blonde hair as opposed to the short, brown cut at the end of the film, the official explanation for her park appearance is that the remnants of the magic within her after healing Flynn have gradually allowed her to grow some hair back (down to her ankles it seems).

### Disneyland Resort

In 2013, Rapunzel became part of the Fantasy Faire meet-and-greet at the former Carnation Gardens Plaza site, working in an interactive version of her story with Flynn and Smythe and Jones at the Royal Theater. Rapunzel also appears in Mickey's Soundsational Parade, with Snow White, Cinderella, Princess Aurora and Belle on the princess-themed float and is part of the Mickey and the Magical Map show at Fantasyland Theater.

She is also featured in World of Color during the "So Close" sequence, replacing Tarzan and in the 2017 version of Remember... Dreams Come True during the Critter Country, Fantasyland, Toontown sequence.

### Walt Disney World Resort

In Florida, she can be found in the Magic Kingdom at the Princess Fairytale Hall for meet-and-greets. In the same park, she makes daily appearances during Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire, as well as the Festival of Fantasy parade.

### Tokyo Disney Resort

Rapunzel makes appearances in the Happiness is Here parade and Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights. She also appears in a Tangled segment of Once Upon a Time at Tokyo Disneyland.

### Disneyland Paris

Rapunzel and Flynn also made a special appearance near the finale of Mickey's Magical Celebration, and were also seen in Disneyland Park's former nighttime show Disney Dreams!.

### Hong Kong Disneyland

Rapunzel debuted in January 2011, as part of the festivities celebrating the park's 5th anniversary. She also appears in the show Mickey and the Wondrous Book, performed in Storybook Theater. Here, she performs "When Will My Life Begin" with Ariel and joins Merida's performance of "Touch the Sky".

### Shanghai Disneyland

In Shanghai, Rapunzel can be found in several spots, including Mickey's Storybook Express parade, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, and on the Tangled mosaic display inside Enchanted Storybook Castle.

### Disney Cruise Line

Aboard the Disney Cruise Line ships, Rapunzel and Flynn have been added to the long-running show The Golden Mickeys and are featured on the Disney Fantasy cruise show Wishes. She also stars in a stage adaptation of Tangled. Disney have also planned to paint her onto the stern of the upcoming Disney Wish ship.

## Disney Princess

Upon the release of Tangled, Rapunzel instantly became one of the most popular Disney characters of all time, especially amongst fans of the Disney Princess franchise.

On October 2, 2011, an official coronation ceremony for Rapunzel's induction into the line-up was held in London at the Kensington Palace. Amongst the other guests included thousands of fans, the other (then nine) official members of the Disney Princess Royal Court, and Flynn Rider, who had the honour of crowning Rapunzel.

### Redesign

In contrast to some other Princesses, Rapunzel received very few changes for the "deluxe princess" redesign in 2012. Her dress simply had glittery floral designs added onto it. The dress is also a little longer, extending to floor-length and the colours seem to be brightened. Rapunzel's hair is long and blonde, reaching floor-length despite the fact that it was cut in the film. Rapunzel has also been given shoes for her redesign, something that differs greatly from the film, where she is consistently barefoot. Her design also remained almost the same after the 2021 'Ultimate Princess Celebration' redesign.

### Palace Pets

Rapunzel's Palace Pets are Blondie, Summer, Meadow, Daisy, Gleam, Sundrop, Truffles, and Cubbie.