A Rapunzel Rant (and Unpopular Opinion)

Rapunzel, the iconic fairy tale heroine and one of the most popular Disney Princesses today, beloved by little girls for her brushable silk tresses and older fans for her quirky personality and humorous movie. But some things bother me about this oft-praised heroine.

Hair of gold, heart of gold, right?

It annoys me that people love her for the exact same reasons they hate Snow White (who is my favorite princess ever, next to Aurora, and really doesn't get the credit she deserves). And a lot of them are just hypocritical about them in general. Rapunzel’s mistakes --if you can call them that, because the movie sure thinks they're good-- are excusable; Snow’s are not, despite the fact that one involved a princess rebelling just so she could have her way, and the other was a princess being too kind for her own good. Rapunzel’s bubbly, perky, naive personality is adorable; Snow White’s is annoying. Rapunzel is so proactive despite staying in her tower for 18 years; while Snow White, who actually makes a lot of choices herself and dominates a household full of men, is somehow “passive”, and this is somehow a bad thing. Rapunzel needs rescuing a lot for things she gets herself into but is feminist; Snow White gets put under a spell and she’s a feminist’s worst nightmare. Rapunzel wants to see lanterns and this is an inspiring dream; Snow White simply wants love for once in her life and this is stupid and sexist. This isn’t Rapunzel’s fault at all how her fans treat her and her fellow princess, of course, but it annoys me because most of her fandom is bad about this.

Hmm, a pretty fairy tale girl sitting around talking to cute little critters in a puffy-sleeves dress in the sunshine... who does this remind me of?

 Now, anyway, I disliked her before the film came out (really fair, I know, but in my defense, many radical feminists made her sound like she was their poster girl). Then I saw it and loved her. Then I analyzed it and didn’t like her as much.

Disney really played it safe with her, like, they just took qualities from every past heroine and put them in her. She just overall feels too… carefully constructed, meant to appeal universally to little girls who like pastel dresses, cute animal sidekicks and long blonde hair (granted, that is canon) and and their Disney-apprehensive parents. Everything about her says “Made by Disney Co.!” I like her still, in theory, but feel she’s more of a marketing tool than an original, well-rounded character. Even her hobbies are plentiful, meant to have one for pretty much any kid to see they also like, instead of making a more distinct personality.

As for hidden princesses with blonde hair and a dashing prince with an amusingly stubborn horse, I actually prefer Aurora and think she has a more layered, organic personality in her 23 minutes of screen time. I like that while she has been kept at home all her life, she doesn’t run away even after she meets someone she clicks with, she doesn’t defy her guardians and rationalize her rebellion like Rapunzel, which is the one thing I truly can’t like about Blondie.

Hmm, a barefoot, free-spirited blonde princess hidden away from the world, talks to animals, and falls in love with the first man she meets... Geez, Disney, ever heard of originality?!

OK, I really hope that didn’t make it sound like I despise Rapunzel or anything, because I don’t, but Tangled bothers me for various reasons. I still watch it quite a bit though- love the animation and it’s very entertaining. But the designated heroes aren't very admirable, and the standard "follow your heart not your morals" is one that needs to stop being presented as good by our fictional role models.