The True Tangled Sequel
Lately with Disney there’s been a lot of sequels and live action remakes. A movie that’s been put under the possibility spotlight is Tangled. A number of people have been vocal on wanting “Tangled 2” as well as focus recently on news of a possible live action adaptation. A lot of these people are unaware or overlook the fact that Tangled has a sequel with the animated series Tangled The Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure which began in 2017 and ran until a few weeks ago. It shows the events that take place between Tangled and Tangled Ever After and has the original voices of Rapunzel and Eugene with Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi.
I’m a huge Tangled fan and believe this series was an amazing and satisfying follow up. It expands on the lore, further develops established characters, introduces new characters who add to the story in unique ways, and has amazing songs by Alan Menken and beautiful animation by Mercury Filmworks. These are some of the many things that make it amazing. Here I hope to show why this show is so amazing, underrated, and the true Tangled Sequel.
The Beginning
The series begins with a TV movie, Tangled: Before Ever After. We get an intro reminiscent of Tangled with Eugene and Rapunzel giving us an introduction and a conclusion during the finale Plus Est En Vous. Later revealed by Chris Sonnenburg Rapunzel and Eugene are telling us (the audience) the story. Following the introduction we get one of the largest themes established, Rapunzel feeling trapped again. You all know how for the first 18 years of her life she was trapped inside a tower, well a life of royalty brings its own confinement’s.
We get this first through difference in perspective between Eugene and Rapunzel in the song Life After Happily Ever After. On one hand Eugene is happy with his new life due to the fact that he’s been all over the world constantly having to fend for himself so now having everything right at his fingertips and Rapunzel by his side is the best and all he needs. On the other hand Rapunzel now feels trapped by the duty and responsibility of being a princess. She shows resentment to the crown as a result which as I’ll touch on later comes full circle in the finale. This is a great set up of something very prominent in the show through the story and the character interactions especially Rapunzel and Eugene’s relationship.
Continuity and Callbacks
From the beginning the series sets up a number of things that come to have a lot of significance throughout the course of the show. With Tangled: Before Ever After not only is there story and character arc setup but we also get other moments which are later called back to an example of this being Eugene letting Stan the guard wear his neck piece even though its against regulation and this is again called back to in the finale Plus Est En Vous.
Even episodes some could consider “filler” continue to build on the story and character arcs, and the show continues callbacks. A few examples of this being a callback to events of One Angry Princess in the episode Queen for a Day and a callback to the events of In Like Flynn in the episode Islands Apart. Ultimately each episode holds something important wether its character development, more insight on experiences, expanding themes, continuing the story, or more.
The Power of Parents
If you’ve seen Tangled the king and queen are two characters you might want to know more about. This show does a wonderful job of that as it not only allows these characters to actually speak *gasp* and gives their names but in the kings case connections to the lore and their actions in events taking place throughout the show.
We see Queen Arianna bond with and guide Rapunzel. She shares that she was like Rapunzel but worked to “find her own way” and tells Rapunzel she’ll be able to. Most importantly, reminding her to stay true to herself.
“Plus Est En Vous. It means there’s more in you”
King Fredric deals with the aftermath of Rapunzel being taken and living without her for 18 years. This feeds into Rapunzel feeling trapped as he becomes very protective of her putting her under constant surveillance, even confining her to the walls of Corona. However, while he’s constantly plagued with fear, throughout the show he comes more and more to have faith in Rapunzel’s abilities as Rapunzel strives to prove herself. This is another common theme as many characters have to deal with that feeling and need to prove themselves.
Varian voiced by Jeremy Jordan is one of these characters, he’s very much an embodiment of what it can feel like as a child if you look up to your parents to where you’ll do anything to get their approval or make them proud. Varian works with alchemy and is constantly striving to achieve things from getting his village hot running water, to winning a science completion, to working to understand the rocks to save his village. However, despite his efforts he continues to receive either nothing or disapproval. Even when he doesn’t disapprove of Varian his dad still struggles to reveal things as he has connections to the lore and believes that Varian isn’t ready, further showing why Varian feels he needs to prove himself. He gets a lot of development which you should check out the show to see.
The Lore
A few times you’ve seen me mention lore, if you haven’t seen the show you may be curious what I mean. On top of that you might see Rapunzel with the blonde hair and say things like “Wasn’t her hair cut now that moment is meaningless” or “Disney is just using this to make us watch it” or something along that line of thinking. However there’s a lot more to Rapunzel’s hair returning that further develops the lore established in the movie.
In the movie we get the background of a drop of sunlight creating the Sundrop flower, this flower gave Rapunzel her hair in the film, in the end yes Eugene cuts it but we see through the tear that heals him that Rapunzel still has that sundrop power inside her. The show uses this and it really enriches the story. Lore is established through flashbacks, stories told by characters and events within the story of the show.
So, that drop of sun that created the flower was actually a counterpart to the moonstone. Both elementals fell and landed in different locations but they longed to be reunited. While the sundrops power was to heal the moonstones power is destruction. From the opals growing defenses grew the dark kingdom. This led to the creation of the Brotherhood, people who swore loyalty to the moonstone and keeping others away from it to shield them from its destructive powers.
Thousands of years prior to the events of Tangled Lord Demanitus and his followers were ultimately trying to discover the location of the sundrop and moonstone however his pupils betray him and re awaken Zhan Tiri a demon who wants the powers of the moonstone and sundrop for herself.
When the king used the flower to save his wife and Rapunzel this caused a “disturbance” that took the form of rocks which sprout up starting in the place where the sundrop flower was found.
“By removing the light I’d be awakening a darkness”
Because of the rocks connection to the removal of the sundrop when Rapunzel comes into contact with them this is ultimately restores her hair as that is her embodiment of the sundrop outside of its existence within her. These events take place during Tangled Before Ever After and therefore gives an effective immediate set up of the story as these rocks come to play a crucial role on where the characters go and what happens from this point forward. Rapunzel realizes how connected she is to them and not only that but that they are “pointing her in a direction” which leads her and her friends to follow them. The consistent mystery makes you want to keep watching to learn more.
Characters and Relationships
As I said this show does an amazing job of not only furhter developing the story and lore but also both expanding on the arcs of pre established characters and providing new characters who build on those arcs but also have interesting arcs of their own.
The Kingdom
As the king expresses a large part of her new responsibility comes with not only leading but caring for the kingdom. We don’t only get to see Rapunzel’s growth into coming into this position but we also get to see the community of the kingdom that she will rule and care for.
As a result we get multiple episodes within the town of Corona where Rapunzel interacts with her subjects. We even get episodes where we get to see the functions of the community and its relationships. An episode that really does this is the season 3 episode The Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne.
We even see instances throughout the show of Rapunzel and her parents helping the citizens with their problems and concerns.
When Rapunzel takes this on as the temporary queen in Queen For a Day she finds it more difficult and overwhelming than she was expecting which again brings her into the mind-space that she’s incapable of taking on this role.
However, despite this she continues to help her kingdom in any way she can and throughout the show we see her grow more and more into a leadership role as she in particular values working with the citizens to solve problems.
The Animals
Just like the community of the kingdom is important to Rapunzel’s journey, the animals are as well.
In Tangled we get Pascal and Max who are both helpful companions and in this show they continue to be even more so. We get more backstory Pascal in Pascals Story and Max continues to serve Corona while also getting development as well.
We also get many new animal characters such as Cass’s owl, Varian’s racoon Ruddigur, Fidella, and Hamuel who each play a part in the story. On top of each animals own path of development they develop together as well like in Day of the Animals.
Rapunzel’s Trauma
Similar to her father we see Rapunzel having to deal with the trauma that came with the events of the movie/first 18 years of her life. Throughout the show there’s many instances of her having nightmares or other trauma related to Gothel. We even see the characters return to the tower and the affect that just seeing it has on her as she immediately has a strong negative reaction. But just like with everything she faces in her journey we see her work through it as she strives to not let fear run her life, advice which she gives to Varian in Be Very Afraid.
On top of this we see Rapunzel have to deal with betrayal. Like her fear, while most of the time she tries to ignore it and keep up her positive bubbly attitude we still see multiple moments of her emotional vulnerability.
Oftentimes we can look to characters for inspiration, how to deal with things, or can see ourselves in them as we relate to them throughout our own experiences. Rapunzel’s journey can be helpful see as numerous people have to deal with their own trauma so they can relate to Rapunzel in that way. Many people have also talked about how Rapunzel's positive and caring attitude is always amazing to see, but also seeing her vulnerable moments at the same time shows us that while its wonderful to be optimistic an embrace positivity, its ok to be vulnerable and seek emotional comfort from others.
There’s More In You
As I talked about earlier Rapunzel’s journey in the show is one of self discovery both for herself and within this new role she’s taking on.
On top of dealing with her trauma she has to deal with having to prove herself to her overprotective father as I talked about earlier. This is something that can also be relatable.
By the end of the first season she’s able to prove herself and her father allows her to begin her journey to the dark kingdom and in Rapunzel’s eyes not only is she taking this path laid out by the rocks but she is finally gaining the faith of those around her and the freedom she’s so long desired.
“Gonna chase my destiny find the best in me!”
She begins her journey outside Corona with optimism and embraces her destiny as another form of freedom and embracing herself in what can be seen as her journey of self discovery. However, as her journey prolongs her sentiment changes as the fear and burden that comes with this ever growing path of destiny becomes a bigger part of the journey it in turn takes away that freedom. She again feels trapped this time by the burden of destiny and the unknown it holds.
This is shown in the episode Rapunzeltopia, when she’s trapped in a dream world created by one of Zhan Tiri’s worshipers Mathews when she looks beyond the Corona wall instead of seeing a beautiful landscape like she sees in Tangled: Before Ever After she instead sees a desolate wasteland.
Not only is Mathews manipulating her into staying put but this visualization can also be a representation of her own psyche as it’s largely built around her own mind. Instead of looking out and seeing a freeing landscape she instead sees a barren wasteland- while she originally saw journeying beyond the wall as finally being free now this weight of a destiny and the dangers that have come and will continue to change that view of what this freedom is.
However, similar to dealing with her trauma she does not let fear run her life as she accepts that she must face her destiny and not just take the easy path but the one that she knows is laid out for her no matter what obstacles she faces just like she strived to get others to believe in her she remembers to believe in herself.
Eugene’s Development
This show continues development with Eugene and his story.
After spending his life being a theif he continues to develop as a person and his change throughout the show. He strives to show how he has changed and wants to prove to himself and others that he is a better person, especially when people like Cassandra doubt him.
In the show we meet Lance in the episode The Return of Strongbow. Lance worked alongside Eugene with thieving prior to the events of Tangled. Lance comes to Corona to ask Eugene to help him with a thieving job. But Eugene says no at first pushing how he’s changed.
“I have changed. I’m a different person, a better person. But money had noting to do with it.”
Lance reassures him it’s a victimless crime so Eugene reluctantly goes along with it. In truth Lance is lying to him. In the end Rapunzel discovers the truth behind everything he and Lance were up to but she tries to find a work around in order to avoid getting Eugene in trouble, however Eugene again shows his development through his response.
“Cheating, lying, and deception that may have been how Flynn Rider would handle this but I’m Eugene Fitzherbert now and I have to do this the right way that means accept the consequences no matter what they are.” -Eugene
Eugene also strives to find his new place, wanting to be more than the princesses boyfriend. He works to find his place in Corona wanting to give back after the second chance this new life gave him, throughout the course of the show this ultimately comes to take many forms, from him working with the guards, to working with Lance to guide the characters of Angry and Catalina, to stepping up to do whatever he can for the kingdom.
Eugene and Rapunzel’s Relationship
We also get a lot of development with Eugene and Rapunzel’s relationship.
At the end of Tangled we get this narration,
“Did Rapunzel and I ever get married? Well I’m pleased to tell you that after years and years of asking and asking and asking I finally said yes”
“Eugene”
“Alright I asked her”
At the time of the film this could simply be played off as a joke or exaggeration but we see the meaning of this exchange actually come into play throughout the series as the couple experiences many proposals and relationship developments before Rapunzel says yes.
The first proposal rejection comes from how overwhelmed Rapunzel feels by her new life and its responsibilities as a princess. But instead of things just being swept under the rug we see them talk things out and Rapunzel is upfront about things when she asks Eugene to be patient with her and he promises he will and will continue to as we see in the future.
The second proposal rejection comes at the beginning of Season 2 in the first episode Beyond the Corona Walls. This time Rapunzel doesn’t necessarily reject Eugene however she struggles to form a response because of the confusion she feels. Later Rapunzel believes she’s ready through processing her confusion in the song If I Could Take This Moment Back as a result of the prior events that unfolded but Eugene comes to his own realization that Rapunzel is still not ready especially since she is finally out in the free world following this destiny so he continues to be patient.
In Season 3 Rapunzel attempts to propose to Eugene as a birthday surprise, but because the events that unfold in this episode she’s unable to fully do so.
However, this shows Eugene that she is ready which leads to her finally accepting his third proposal even having a callback to his promise of being patient with her and he tells her he will continue to if she needs it which goes to show how much he cares for her. But after everything they go through and the growth they experience Rapunzel happily accepts his proposal which will ultimately leads us into Tangled Ever After.
Other than their proposals there relationship undergoes continues development and they are constantly there for each other being amazingly supportive and caring. It's so amazing to get to see more of them interacting through this show.
Cassandra
Cassandra often referred to by Rapunzel as Cass is the biggest new character. She is voiced by Eden Espinosa and is the adopted daughter of the Corona Captain of the guards who is put in the position of being Rapunzel’s lady in waiting. After some reservations at the start Cass ultimately grows to become great friends with Rapunzel.
Eugene on the other hand…not so much. One of the most prominent shticks is their “rivalry” relationship as their snarky remarks and other interactions have a lot of humor. However throughout the show their relationship undergoes a lot of development and the two come to find a respect for each other despite still having some disagreements. At first we don’t get to much background on Cass but when Eugene and Cass share a more emotional moment in Cassandra. V Eugene that we get to learn more about her.
In the episode she expresses what it was like growing up as the daughter of the captain of the guars largely how challenging it was. Growing up she worked to meet and even strives to go beyond her fathers standards not only to recieve his approval but also in her quest for him to give her something more.
She wants to be like him wanting to become a guard herself however he continues to deny her. At this time in the series she also has no recollection of her original parents. Both the denial of her present and the unknown of her past constantly weighs down upon her and ultimately comes to play a large role in her actions later in the series.
Raps and Cass
Despite a rocky start as we get to see in a flashback episode Beginnings Rapunzel and Cassandra form a close bond and the immense amount of care they have for each other is constantly seen as they both come to be there for each other constantly. Cassandra even sacrifices opportunities to prioritize her friendship with Rapunzel which is just one example of numerous demonstrations of their bond.
However, that feeling of being overlooked unfortunately cones to test her and Rapunzel’s friendship as well. Throughout the course of the show we see Cassandra continuing to work herself but ultimately every time she continues to feel outshined by and overlook because of Rapunzel most notable in the episode Challenge of the Brave.
On top of feeling cast aside and overlooked she also struggles with Rapunzel not trusting her which continues to make her feel insignificant and incapable. A notable example is in the episode Under Raps when she expresses how she wishes Rapunzel could trust her and her ability to handle things on her own, ultimately the girls seemingly work things out.
“I’ll understand you keeping some things to yourself if you understand that when something’s bothering you I’m gonna wanna help. You’ve got my back so let me have yours.” -Rapunzel
However, despite each time they talk things out we continue to see Rapunzel and Cass’s relationship tested and strained. Rapunzel continues to struggle to trust Cass and Cass continues to hide her pent up feelings.
By the end of Season One Cass sees herself finally getting to take the position she’s worked for but joining Rapunzel on her journey pulls her away from it. Throughout the journey Cass finds herself again and again being overlooked and under appreciated. In the episode Freebird Cass expresses how she is upset with how she put her whole life on hold to aid Rapunzel on her journey of fulfilling this destiny which she feels she is taking seriously while Rapunzel isn’t. This leads Rapunzel to admit it’s because of the fear she has of it but Cass reassures her that whatever it is she doesn’t have to face it alone. Despite Cass doing this to help her feel better Rapunzel continues to push Cass aside.
On their journey they meet Adira who Cass immediately doesn’t trust however Rapunzel comes to despite Cass’s warnings and input and Rapunzel even comes to side with Adira instead of Cass in multiple situations especially during Rapunzel and The Great Tree which continues to makes Cass feel undervalued especially because of how much longer she’s known Raps, testing their friendship as a result.
It all comes to a head when Cass faces manipulation and discovers the truth of her past but to learn what happens you should check out the show!
The Music
Another return from the movie is the music for this show was done by Alan Menken. The music is amazing ranging from fun upbeat tunes to emotion broadway quality ballads.
The music does an amazing job with situational experience and storytelling. I mentioned Life After Happily Ever After earlier which is an example of this as it establishes the situation the characters are in with their differing perspectives with their new lives. Songs like Wind in My Hair and Set Yourself Free demonstrate Rapunzel’s need for freedom. They also really drive home the notion of beliving in yourself which is always powerful.
The music also does a fantastic job of expressing characters emotions and internal conflict. I mentioned the song If I Could Take This Moment Back earlier as it is a song that really expresses the struggles that Eugene and Rpunzel are facing in their relationship. It is a beautiful melody that through the lyrics really expresses their perspectives and how they regret not doing something different prior to Eugene’s second proposal.
Another amazing song that demonstrates internal emotional pain is Waiting In The Wings. In this song we really get to see Cass express just how much shes struggling with feeling overlooked and incapable because of how much she works she is still “waiting in the wings”. Eden Espinosa’s powerful emotion filled vocals really bring out the emotion with this song making the audience really feel Cass’s pain along with her which really makes every time she struggles in the future even more painful.
Without giving anything away this show also does a fantastic job with its “Villain songs” Ready As I’ll Ever Be, Let Me Make You Proud Reprise, Crossing The Line, and Nothing Left To Lose. Each of these songs show both the characters pain as well as their ambition as they finally feel they are achieving what they have longed to for so long. They are each amazing songs that provide amazing themes and character beats.
There are so many other amazing songs which you should check out. Ultimately the music comes full circle with the finale Plus Est En Vous having many musical callback to the songs Wind In My Hair, Let Me Make You Proud, Buddy Song, and Waiting in the wings as well as a reprise to Life After Happily Ever After.
The Animation
The animation done by Mercury Filmworks is beautiful and adds a wonderful life to the show. The style is beautiful and it’s use of colors well are also beautiful and well tie to the tone of the moment in the show.
The many style choices also add to making this show so special and individualized. Some include the use of mosaic to tell stories and the art style of Rapunzels journal which are both beautiful and also relate to the story and characters as it both ties to Corona with their use of mosaics and provides Rapunzel with a distinct art style.
I also love the animation in the episode The Return of Strongbow as it both provides unique visuals with this shadow in front of light look, matching what is happening with Eugene and Lance sneaking through an unlit house.
These are just a few of the many examples of the beautiful and innovative uses of animation that both provide wonderful visuals and really help enhance the story.
The End
As I talked about in the beginning Rapunzel shows resentment towards the crown as it represents the responsibility and “captivity”. However, throughout the show she experiences a journey of growth and finding her way which leads to it coming full circle as she’s accepting of the crown in the series finale.
Rapunzel finds her way, continuing to believe in herself and others. She and those around her experience so much growth that is amazing to see and seeing the story come to a close left I and many other in tears but despite being sad it’s over we are all thankful it happened.
The Impact
When Tangled first came out I immediately became so obsessed. I watched the movie practicality every Friday night with my best friend and my sister and I even put on a little musical production of it. So when I learned that Tangled was getting a show I was ecstatic. The show ultimately went above and beyond what I wanted and I am so grateful and so are so many others.
We get a continuation of the story the movie started but also powerful themes of believing in yourself and you can achieve anything- Plus Est En Vous “there’s more in you”. People can look up to characters like Rapunzel and find relatability with characters like Cassandra. This show has inspired so many from taking inspiration from the characters to inspiring people to create art or do podcasts and so much in between.
This thank you video made by Valen Plaladino is an example of just how much this show means to so many people. Fans from all over the world are so grateful for the existence of this show and it means so much to so many people. The fandom is expansive yet there are many people who we will see shocked to find that this show exists, largely sadly due to the lack of promotion from Disney. However us the fans we try to make up for this hence why you are seeing this article because even though the show is over now I and others will continue to vouch on behalf of it.
So before you go off about how Tangled needs a sequel remember this show exists and is an amazing and expansive follow up to the film. And yes I’d love getting more Tangled content but I don’t want it to deny or ignore this show. I urge you to check it out if you haven’t already, you can currently find the first two seasons on Disney+ and the third on DisneyNOW. Obviously there’s so much more I haven’t discussed but I don’t want to give to it away for those of you who haven’t watched the show, instead I want you all to check it out for yourselves.
Sources
All images property of Disney from Tangled The Series https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4902964/
Tangled The Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=D_NLbmsj8hc&feature=emb_logo
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rapunzel%27s_Tangled_Adventure_episodes#Season_3_(2019–20)
