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.

Snow White

What a better way to start Princess Week than with the original Disney Princess herself: Snow White?

As with any of the original fairy tales (Especially the Grimm's Fairy Tales), Snow White's story has taken many alterations since it's original debut in 1812 with the Brothers Grimm in Germany. Although there are many alterations, the very basic plot remains the same.

Snow White is an extremely beautiful princess with a very jealous stepmother. The stepmother demands a huntsman to take her into the woods and kill Snow White after the queen's magic mirror tells her that Snow White is the fairest in all the land (so she can eat her lungs and liver for dinner, GROSS). The huntsman takes pity on her and let's her go.  Snow White then find seven dwarfs living together to help her.  When the queen discovers that Snow White is alive and well, she creates a poisoned apple that Snow White eats and falls into a coma. The dwarfs place in a glass coffin until Snow White's prince arrives (and takes her back to his kingdom where the ride jostles the apple out of her throat) and kisses her awake (in the Disney version). The queen then dies by being burned alive (not in the Disney version). They then live Happily Ever After.

Grimm's Fairy tale

Snow White has multiple movies made about her such as the popular Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs released in 1937 but also has a  play, special appearances, spin off's (Sydney White), is known worldwide, and even video games!

The most recent adaptations of Snow White include Once Upon a Time, an ABC original series that puts fairy tale characters into reality due to a curse cast by the evil queen (I HIGHLY recommend you watch this), Mirror, Mirror (this one has Julia Roberts), and Snow White and the Huntsman (this one has Kristen Stewart, I may avoid this as long as possible).

SUCH A GOOD SHOW

Kristen Stewart looking bored 

Looks Promising

Like most fairy tales, Snow White is very gruesome (the dying of the queen, wanting to eat the liver and lungs, etc.) but was transformed by Walt Disney for a children's film and also preserved the original fairy tale (to some degree).

Fun Facts:

The total cost of Snow White was 1.5 million dollars and Walt Disney had to mortgage his home in order to pay for the extra costs. The film then pulled it 8 million dollars at the box office.

Adriana Caselotti voiced Snow White for Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs  and was blacklisted by Disney so that the voice of Snow White could not be ruined by being hear too much. She had one voice over, uncredited in The Wizard of Oz with the line "Where for out thou, Romeo?' in the Tin Man's song (source).

Happily Ever After <3