Tangled is one of Disney’s most recent animated fairy tales which is loosely based on the folktale of Rapunzel by Brothers Grimm. The story follows the magically long-haired Rapunzel that has spent her entire life in a tower longing to discover the world around her. When a runaway thief stumbles upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is. In updating the character of Rapunzel for the 21st century, the filmmakers decided to make her a much more bold and self-sufficient figure than she was in the original fairy tale.
Production Companies:
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Pictures
Computer Animation
Tangled is Disney’s 50th animated motion picture. It has been made by generating animated images using computer graphics. CGI or computer generated imagery is a widely used acceptable term but includes still as well as moving images whereas animation is only for moving images.
The biggest challenge for the filmmakers was to convincingly animate Rapunzel’s yards and yards of hair, explains animation supervisor Clay Kaytis, “No studio has ever had to do 70 feet of hair before. You’ve seen computer-animated hair, and most of the time, it’s pretty passive. Characters don’t usually interact with it; they don’t throw it around or whip it into chairs. This is the first time anyone’s ever done this kind of work.”
In this Case Study we are going to introduce two key concepts we will address throughout your course and in your exam: Representation and Audience.
We will then analyse the representations of males and females in the film. We will be focusing on the way in which technical codes are used to create meaning and how the audience reads the text. We will also explore the narrative structure and narrative theories.
Task:
Watch the following clips and write down some notes on how the creators of Tangled attempted to represent the characters within the movie.
Scene Analysis
Study the following scenes how are gender roles represented and what stereotypes and ideologies are being portrayed through the technical, audio and visual codes?
Rapuunzels domestic role "When will my Life Begin"
Mother Gothel "Mother Knows Best"
Rapunzel and Flynn meet for the first time.
Pub Scene - Masculine meets Feminine"I've got a Dream"
Narrative in Tangled:
Binary Oppositions in Tangled:
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LYRIC ANALYSIS
'When will my Life Begin'
"When will my Life Begin?"
7 AM, the usual morning lineup:
Start on the chores and sweep 'til the floor's all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15.
And so I'll read a book
Or maybe two or three
I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I'll play guitar and knit
And cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?
Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking
Paper mache, a bit of ballet and chess
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making
Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb,
Sew a dress!
And I'll reread the books
If I have time to spare
I'll paint the walls some more,
I'm sure there's room somewhere.
And then I'll brush and brush,
and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I've always been.
And I'll keep wonderin' and wonderin'
And wonderin' and wonderin'
When will my life begin?
And tomorrow night,
Lights will appear
Just like they do on my birthday each year.
What is it like
Out there where they glow?
Now that I'm older,
Mother might just
Let me go ...
"Mother Knows Best"
Mother Gothel:
You want to go outside? Why, Rapunzel...!
Look at you, as fragile as a flower
Still a little sapling, just a sprout
You know why we stay up in this tower
Rapunzel:
I know but...
Mother Gothel:
That's right, to keep you safe and sound, dear
Guess I always knew this day was coming
Knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest
Soon, but not yet
Rapunzel:
But --
Mother Gothel:
Shh!
Trust me, pet
Mother knows best
Mother knows best
Listen to your mother
It's a scary world out there
Mother knows best
One way or another
Something will go wrong, I swear
Ruffians, thugs
Poison ivy, quicksand
Cannibals and snakes
The plague
Rapunzel:
No!
Mother Gothel:
Yes!
Rapunzel:
But --
Mother Gothel:
Also large bugs
Men with pointy teeth, and
Stop, no more, you'll just upset me
Mother's right here
Mother will protect you
Darling, here's what I suggest
Skip the drama
Stay with mama
Mother knows best
Go ahead, get trampled by a rhino
“I’ve got a Dream”
I'm malicious, mean and scary
My sneer could curdle dairy
And violence-wise, my hands are not the cleanest
But despite my evil look
And my temper and my hook
I've always yearned to be a concert pianist
Can't you see me on the stage performin' Mozart
Ticklin' the ivories 'til they gleam?
Yep, I'd rather be called deadly
For my killer show tune medley
Thank you, 'cause way down deep inside I've got a dream
He's got a dream
He's got a dream
See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem
Though I do like breaking femurs
You can count me with the dreamers
Like everybody else, I've got a dream
I've got scars and lumps and bruises
Plus something here that oozes
And let's not even mention my complexion
But despite my extra toes
And my goiter and my nose
I really wanna make a love connection
Can't you see me with a special little lady
Rowin' in a rowboat down the stream?
Though I'm one disgusting blighter
I'm a lover, not a fighter
'Cause way down deep inside, I've got a dream
I've got a dream
(He's got a dream)
I've got a dream
(He's got a dream)
And I know one day romance will reign supreme
Though my face leaves people screaming
There's a child behind it, dreaming
Like everybody else, I've got a dream
Tor would like to quit and be a florist
Gunther does interior design
Ulf is into mime, Attila's cupcakes are sublime
Bruiser knits, killer sews, Fang does little puppet shows
And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns
I have dreams like you, no, really
Just much less touchy-feely
They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny
On an island that I own
Tanned and rested and alone
Surrounded by enormous piles of money
I've got a dream
(She's got a dream)
I've got a dream
(She's got a dream)
I just wanna see the floating lanterns gleam
And with every passing hour
I'm so glad I left my tower
Like all you lovely folks, I've got a dream
She's got a dream
He's got a dream
They've got a dream
We've got a dream
So our differences ain't really that extreme
We're one big team
Call us brutal
Sick
Sadistic
And grotesquely optimistic
'Cause way down deep inside, we've got a dream
My sneer could curdle dairy
And violence-wise, my hands are not the cleanest
But despite my evil look
And my temper and my hook
I've always yearned to be a concert pianist
Can't you see me on the stage performin' Mozart
Ticklin' the ivories 'til they gleam?
Yep, I'd rather be called deadly
For my killer show tune medley
Thank you, 'cause way down deep inside I've got a dream
He's got a dream
He's got a dream
See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem
Though I do like breaking femurs
You can count me with the dreamers
Like everybody else, I've got a dream
I've got scars and lumps and bruises
Plus something here that oozes
And let's not even mention my complexion
But despite my extra toes
And my goiter and my nose
I really wanna make a love connection
Can't you see me with a special little lady
Rowin' in a rowboat down the stream?
Though I'm one disgusting blighter
I'm a lover, not a fighter
'Cause way down deep inside, I've got a dream
I've got a dream
(He's got a dream)
I've got a dream
(He's got a dream)
And I know one day romance will reign supreme
Though my face leaves people screaming
There's a child behind it, dreaming
Like everybody else, I've got a dream
Tor would like to quit and be a florist
Gunther does interior design
Ulf is into mime, Attila's cupcakes are sublime
Bruiser knits, killer sews, Fang does little puppet shows
And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns
I have dreams like you, no, really
Just much less touchy-feely
They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny
On an island that I own
Tanned and rested and alone
Surrounded by enormous piles of money
I've got a dream
(She's got a dream)
I've got a dream
(She's got a dream)
I just wanna see the floating lanterns gleam
And with every passing hour
I'm so glad I left my tower
Like all you lovely folks, I've got a dream
She's got a dream
He's got a dream
They've got a dream
We've got a dream
So our differences ain't really that extreme
We're one big team
Call us brutal
Sick
Sadistic
And grotesquely optimistic
'Cause way down deep inside, we've got a dream
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DISNEY HOMEWORK
Watch the following clips and answer the questions on your work sheet.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Up (2010)
àLook at the following stills from different Disney films.
- What do they tell us about changes in the ways women have been represented on screen in the last century?
- Have things changed or have they stayed the same? Can we apply the male gaze?
Snow White
Cinderella
Jessika Rabbit
The Princess and the frog
How does the character Mulan challenge representations of women?
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