Tangled TV Series

One of the news stories making the Internet Rounds today is that the Disney Channel is developing a Tangled animated series.

Now, Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies. Rapunzel is pretty high up on my list of favorite Disney characters -- #3, behind Elsa (#1) and Tink (#2). It was always one of my favorite fairy tales, but I love the Disney version -- due in no small part to Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. (Seriously. How ADORABLE are they??) I love the music, I love Rapunzel's spunkiness, and I love, love, love the lantern scene. After all, "I See The Light" was the song my husband and I danced to for our first dance at our wedding. 

So when I read that the Disney Channel was making a TV series, I'll admit I rolled my eyes and sighed a little. 

After all, I remember The Little Mermaid TV show (which was horrible) and the Aladdin one (which was even worse). So low budget. 

BUT. Then I read that not only have "Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi have signed on to reprise their roles" but also that "The duo responsible for the movie’s original score, composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater, also will serve as songwriters on the series." That in and of itself is a pretty big deal. 

But it gets better. Not only are we introducing a new character, "Cassandra" who is a "strong-willed handmaiden who also serves as Rapunzel’s confidant" but here's a brief summary of the plot:

“Her irrepressible spirit and natural curiosity about the world drives her to the realization that there is so much more she needs to learn before she can truly accept her royal destiny. She boldly puts her crown and impending marriage on hold to seek out epic adventures, much to the dismay of the King who, after missing out on Rapunzel’s youth, must accept that his daughter is now an independent young woman.”

For the Disney Princess franchise, this is kind of a big deal. The TV series will take place after the movie but before Flynn & Rapunzel's wedding (from the short "Tangled Ever After"). The implication is that, as the plot summary states, she "puts her crown and impending marriage on hold to seek out epic adventures." That is, we'll get a Disney princess who, despite some progressive moves (she wielded a frying pan!), was still firmly relegated to the traditional Disney princess sphere of love and marriage. When I put on my Critical Cap, one of the things that strikes me the most about Tangled is that Flynn Rider controls the story -- and at the end, he reassures the reader that despite the fact that Rapunzel is going to be a great queen, don't worry -- they got married and live happily ever after. An innocent, romantic ending perhaps, but there's also the potential to read that as the patriarchal voice shifting focus away from the female-as-ruler and placing her back in the safe, domestic role of wife. And then, the focus of the short is, of course, their wedding.

But this TV show proposal changes all that. Or, at least, expands the story and Rapunzel's character to be more consistent with the progressive character we initially see in the film. The fact that she's deferring her marriage to explore the world and discover herself is an amazingly progressive role for a Disney princess. (I know the summary blurb also mentions that she defers her crown but that really doesn't make much sense. After all, her parents are still alive, and thus the rightful rulers of the kingdom. She should, in theory, only be able to take the crown once they've passed -- and, as the plot summary mentions the King's disapproval, it seems to indicate that we'll keep our nuclear family intact -- again, another "different" move for the parent-killing Disney storytellers.)

I have such high hopes for this show -- which, maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but I think Rapunzel could have the potential to be another Elsa in terms of independent princesses.