Disney’s Tangled may be one of the more popular recent Disney movies,
but you may have realized early on that it’s theme says something about abuse through the
lense of a child and parent relationship. Not only that, its messages can be applied
to other kinds of relationships. While some may argue that a kids movie isn’t exactly the most
appropriate kind of media to talk about a subject as heavy as this, Tangled does a surprisingly
great job. It offers the audience a clear and nuanced look at the subject. It touches on things
like love and guilt; as well as how both of those things can make it hard for a person to leave...
Even if they’re able to. So not only is it a cute,
fun, family movie, it’s also a genuine and successful commentary of a touchy subject.
Love Gothel, Rapunzel’s super cool and totally not
crazy mother, may or may not really love Rapunzel, but that’s beside the point... The important thing
is that she makes her daughter believe she loves her. She sells herself well and so Rapunzel trusts
her- and why wouldn’t she? Trusting our parents or caregivers comes naturally- they brought us
into the world, so why wouldn’t they fight to make sure we’re happy in it. But Gothel doesn’t care.
She’s only interested in the healing abilities Rapunzel possesses because she can’t accept the
fact that with age comes wrinkles. So it’s a one sided relationship; and it’s dangerous and unfair.
While Rapunzel sees her mom as well, a mom, Gothel sees Rapunzel as an object for her to use. On the
few occasions she shows her daughter affection, her hands seem to be glued to Rapunzel’s hair;
because that’s the only bit of her she values. Rapunzel doesn't realize Gothel doesn't love her,
because she’s got no way of knowing that the loving gestures and bonds they share
aren’t reciprocal. When she sings while her mom brushes her hair, she doesn't know her mother
only cares about its magical qualities. She doesn't realize something wrong because that’s
her mother. And Gothel plays the part of protector very well. She doesn't present herself as a
monster. She’s funny, even if a little rude, and she’s open with telling Rapunzel she loves her.
She presents herself as someone Rapunzel can trust and she fills Rapunzel's head with lies. She tells
her there's men with pointy teeth and thugs and thieves waiting to get their hand on her hair,
so keeping her locked up seems reasonable- commendable even.
What Gothel wasn’t counting on was the fact that Rapunzel’s trusting nature wasn’t limited
to just her- as soon as she decided that Flynn wasn’t a monster out for her locks,
she immediately tasked him with taking her to see the floating lights she’d spent her life
dreaming of. Because she, to her knowledge, had never been betrayed,
she just assumed this stranger would be a fine guy to lead her far away from home
and back. While her trusting and naive nature may be sweet and endearing, it’s also unsafe
and can lead someone to a bad situation, or to trusting the wrong person; like Gothel.
The movie shows us the rocky terrain kids in the situations must traverse.
It’s a confusing landscape they're constantly being misled through by the person supposed
to be guiding them. Kids trust their parents even when they’ve been lied to... Rapunzel did
and that's why she didn't try leaving sooner. It’s also why she felt so guilty when she did.
Guilt After leaving the tower, Rapunzel went
through a flurry of emotions. First and foremost excitement, as soon as her feet touched the grass
she broke out into song- much to Flynn’s dismay. But that unbridled joy soon gave way to a crushing
sense of guilt. She wondered if she was a bad person for leaving. At this point in the movie,
Rapunzel still hadn’t seen much of the outside world. She was out of town, away from people. As
far as she knew, she betrayed her mother and put herself in danger. All for some fancy lights. That
sense of guilt followed her throughout the film. When she and her future husband got trapped in a
cavern, and nearly drowned in it, she blamed herself. She said she never should have left,
and that Gothel was right. She carried the guilt for that long, even after seeing her mother’s
lies- like how most the people she met were kind, even the scary ones. And not a single person had
tried to steal her hair. So even though she saw that Gothel was wrong, she still felt guilty.
Often times when people sever ties with their abusers, there’s a lot of guilt that goes on
inside. Unpleasant feelings about hurting those you love go along with leaving. Tangled shows us
that this guilt is a natural side effect of taking the first steps into a new life without abuse.
And it shows us how one might question whether or not they should have left.
Especially when the abuser has sown seeds of doubt into their victim like Gothel did to Rapunzel.
Doubt Abusers often use
doubt in real life to keep their victims close. Gothel made Rapunzel feel small against the world
that stood beneath the tower. But she made herself seem big. She made herself seem like a worldly
woman with all the answers and knowledge her daughter could ever need. Gothel could
handle herself and according to her, Rapunzel could not. This best illustrated by her song,
Mother knows best, that she sings several times. She even sings it when she lures Rapunzel back
to her after trapping Flynn. The golden-hared protagonist heard that small refrain and ran
back to her mother’s arms, feeling dumb for trying to leave. Guilt and doubt can
make it incredibly hard for the abused to cut ties with the abuser- especially in the
case of a child and a parent. And while many people are able to leave, many others are not-
and it’s a lot harder for a child to do that. A child might not even realize they’ve been wronged.
Point of View Rapunzel had spent
almost her whole life locked away. She didn't know what the world was like beyond her window.
Isolation was her normal. And abuse can be the normal for children in these situations.
Kids have no point of reference for what “normal” really is for the first few years of their lives
and so it can take time for them to realize they’re being mistreated. It’s hard to spot
abuse when it’s presented as just how life is. It can take many years to see the truth- it took
Rapunzel eighteen. But all that time, she held onto hope. And sometimes that’s all someone has.
Hope Pascal isn’t just a
chameleon. He’s also a philosopher and the creator of Pascal’s wager. Which basically states, that
it’s better to believe in something than nothing. Because if you do, you can spend your life happy-
even if you're wrong. Rapunzel believed in the lights- they gave her hope and a reason.
They saved her from apathy. Lucky for her, it wasn’t just the lights waiting out there. There
was grass to be felt, guards to be outrun, adventure and kingdoms and most importantly,
there was Flynn Rider. A New Dream
Flynn was the first link to her new life. He was her new dream. And they fell in love, which proved
to her that there was still love to be had outside of abuse. He showed her that she wasn’t alone.
And so she left for good. Flynn helped her understand that there were ties and bonds to
be had with people besides her mother. Tangled tells us that its important for victims to have
ties besides the abusers, because the feeling of being isolated would make it hard to to stay away.
But it also shows us that we can make new relationships with new people- and they can
be healthy relationships. Rapunzel saw that Mother Gothel wasn’t the only person in the world to love
her- and that she was honestly probably the last person in the world she would want to love her-
and she saw that love would come after freedom. Forging new relationships, making new dreams,
can help victims of abuse leave. Rapunzel did. Wrap Up
While it may just be a kids movie, Tangled is packed with a powerful lesson that can be
appreciated at any age. It was a movie that had something to say and made sure to say it well.
It shows its audience that abuse can be covert. It can come wrapped as care. And it’s not always
easy to spot- and often is seemingly impossible to leave. But Rapunzel did it, and we rooted for
her throughout the film. And by rooting for her, we root for others trapped in their own towers.
But what do you think? What did you take from Tangled’s messaging? Let us know. Make sure to
hit that notification bell and binge our Good to Evil playlist. Where we break down the morality
of the characters in your favorite cartoons and movies. But most importantly, stay wicked!