Rapunzel

Since I began with the oldest Disney Princess, it is only suiting that I ended the week with the youngest and my favorite, Rapunzel.

Rapunzel is another Brothers Grimm fairy tale from Germany. There was once a couple who desperately wanted a child that lived next to an enchantress, Dame Gothel, who had a large garden . When the couple finally was with child, the wife suddenly had cravings for the plants in the garden and wanted them to the point where she was near death. The husband, who loved his wife, crept into the garden for three nights to bring her some of the plants. On the third night he was caught by the enchantress and demands that the couple give them the child upon birth and he agrees to do so. The enchantress raises Rapunzel until she is 14 and then locks her in a tower because she is so beautiful.

The enchantress visits Rapunzel by saying "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so I may climb the golden stair"and Rapunzel lets down her hair.

One day, a prince is riding by and hears Rapunzel singing. He searches for her, memorized by her voice until he sees how Dame Gothel enters the tower. The prince then enters the tower the same way Dame Gothel does and asks Rapunzel to marry him, she agrees.  The couple plans their escape where the prince will bring Rapunzel silk every night to weave into a ladder. The way the enchantress discovers the two has many different variations including that Rapunzel foolishly let's information slip about the prince and others where she says that her dress is getting tight around her stomach (pregnancy). The enchantress is furious and cuts off Rapunzel's hair.

When the Prince returns later that night, the enchantress fools him by letting down Rapunzel's hair and screams he will never see Rapunzel again, blinds him and throws him out of the tower. After months of wandering the desert, he hears Rapunzel singing. They are reunited at last and her tears heal his eyes and he discovers she has given birth to twins. They soon get married and live happily ever after.

The Disney version is obviously kid friendly with no blinding or teen pregnancies. Rapunzel is also a stronger character in Tangled  than she is in the original story. Go girl power!

Fun Facts:
Tangled (Disney's version or Rapunzel) is Walt Disney Pictures 50th full length animated feature.

Mandy Moore, who played Jamie in Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember is the voice of Rapunzel.

There is a short titled Tangled Ever After that is about the Royal Wedding of Princess Rapunzel and Flynn Rider that was featured during the 3D theatrical performance of Beauty and the Beast.