In the Grimm tale, a prince riding through a forest is enticed by Rapunzel’s sweet singing and climbs up the tower where the imprisoned girl is reachable only by her golden tresses. “We’re having a lot of fun pairing Flynn, who’s seen it all, with Rapunzel, who’s been locked away in a tower for 18 years.”įlynn Rider, of course, is nowhere to be found in the original “Rapunzel” story. “In our film, the infamous bandit Flynn Rider meets his match in the girl with the 70 feet of magical golden hair,” wrote the film’s producer, Roy Conli, on Disney Animation’s Facebook page. Hints of swashbuckling action are already being leaked online. The studio’s marketing campaign will amp up the role of the dashing Errol Flynn-styled male lead to share the spotlight with the golden-haired namesake of the classic Brothers Grimm story. So Disney is taking no chances with “Tangled,” positioned to take advantage of holiday family moviegoing when it opens Nov. We make movies to be appreciated and loved by everybody.” “Some people might assume it’s a fairy tale for girls when it’s not. “We did not want to be put in a box,” said Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, explaining the reason for the name change. Disney can ill afford a moniker that alienates half the potential audience, young boys, who are needed to make an expensive family film a success. The makeover of “Rapunzel” is more than cosmetic. The studio renamed its next animated film with the girl-centric name “Rapunzel” to the less gender-specific “Tangled.” This time, Disney is taking measures to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
Disney is wringing the pink out of its princess movies.Īfter the less-than-fairy-tale results for its most recent animated release, “The Princess and the Frog,” executives at the Burbank studio believe they know why the acclaimed movie came up short at the box office.īrace yourself: Boys didn’t want to see a movie with “princess” in the title.