Why Disney Renamed ‘Rapunzel’ to ‘Tangled’ and the Reason Behind It

Many people saw Tangled’s 2010 release as a return to Disney’s traditional storyline while simultaneously embracing a fresh approach to animation.  The movie made around $600 million globally, making it a huge success.  ‘Tangled’, a modernized version of the ‘Rapunzel’ fairy story, included pop singer Mandy Moore’s voice and new musical features.  But in contrast to conventional princess films, the plot included adventure and action in an effort to appeal to a wider audience than just women.

‘Rapunzel’ and ‘Rapunzel Unbraided’ were the original titles of the movie, but Disney finally decided on ‘Tangled’ to represent a more evenly distributed story between its two main characters.  The decision was made because of worries that the title of ‘The Princess and the Frog’ had made it difficult to draw in male viewers.  Disney executives thought that the movie’s title, ‘Rapunzel’, may cause a similar problem.  They intended to highlight the humour and action in addition to the romance in order to prevent the impression that it was just a princess film.

Image Courtesy: People

This change was further supported by the trailers, which placed more emphasis on Flynn Rider’s adventurous exploits than Rapunzel’s own quest.  Tangled was marketed as an action-packed adventure rather than a conventional princess movie; early promos even featured a rock song.  Despite some animators’ disapproval of the title change, the tactic was successful, and the movie became a critical and commercial success.

 Future Disney movies like ‘Frozen’ and ‘Brave’, which were gender-neutral and also had strong female leads but catered to a broader audience, were influenced by the success of ‘Tangled’.  Disney’s choice to rename the movie ‘Tangled’ ensured that it appealed to audiences of different backgrounds, demonstrating that everyone can enjoy fairy tales, even though ‘Rapunzel’ remained at the centre of the narrative.

–Farheen Ali