Tangled in a Web of Lies

What do you get when you take a princess, an adorable lizard sidekick, a handsome rebel, a few catchy and cute songs, and the voice of Mandy Moore...? The answer is of course another Disney Classic! Tangled came to theaters in 2010, and with usual Disney perfection, was a huge success. Disney's Rapunzel was even inducted into the exclusive club of official Disney Princesses in 2011 at Buckingham Palace in England. Tangled certainly took the country and the world by storm. So, with that being said, it only seems fitting that I do what I have to learned what I do best---crush the dreams and fantasies of children everywhere.

If you think Rapunzel's fake mother in the movie was bad, wait until you hear about the Brothers Grimm version. 

In 1857, the Brothers Grimm famously adapted one of the most popular versions of the original tale. In their rendition, an evil witch kidnapped Rapunzel after her parents stole a vegetable out of the witch's garden. For many years, the gorgeous Rapunzel was held captive in a high tower deep in a dense forest. The only way she could escape the endless suffering of her solitary confinement was when she let down her immense length of thick blonde braided hair. Her visitor would then use the braided golden locks as a rope and climb the death defying heights of the tower walls to visit the imprisoned princess locked high in the tower. 

I know what you're thinking, you know the rest of the story. The prince rescues her, and they live happily ever after, right? Not quite, my friends. The actual Grimm version, is somewhat darker.

The prince stumbles upon Rapunzel’s tower, hollers out the famous line “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair”, and climbs up the long locks. At the time of their first encounter, Rapunzel is only, get this, twelve years old---a child! Talk about robbing the cradle… Then, oh let’s say about 9 months later, the witch discovers that she has not been the only visitor “momma” Rapunzel has received. She cuts off Rapunzel’s rope of hair and exiles her and her babies to the wilderness. And to think, the witch in the Disney version was only mad about Rapunzel running away for a few days. In the contest of who has the best teenage rebellion story, Grimm’s Rapunzel wins hands down. Now that’s a tangled twist.