Since the release of its first movie, “Toy Story,” in 1995, Pixar has uniformly featured male leads in its films, including Buzz and Woody Mr. “Snow Queen” would have marked the company’s fourth animated film with a female protagonist, following “The Princess and the Frog,” “Tangled” and Pixar’s forthcoming “The Bear and the Bow,” directed by Pixar’s first female director, Brenda Chapman, and starring Reese Witherspoon. Rapunzel isn’t the only Disney princess to have a boy problem.Ĭoncluding it had too many animated girl flicks in its lineup, Disney has shelved its long-gestating project “The Snow Queen,” based on the Hans Christian Andersen story. I’m convinced they’ll gain nothing from this except the public seeing Disney as desperately trying to find an audience.”
Rapunzel movie#
“I’m still hoping that Disney will eventually regain their sanity and return the title of their movie to what it should be. “The idea of changing the title of a classic like ‘Rapunzel’ to ‘Tangled’ is beyond stupid,” said Norman, who worked on films including “Mulan” and “Monsters, Inc.” However, some in the Disney animation community think the name change is misguided.įloyd Norman, a retired Disney and Pixar animator, lampooned the new name with a cartoon on his blog that depicts Rapunzel in her tower brandishing a machine gun and declaring “Rapunzel Salvation: This Is Not a Princess Movie.” In rethinking “Rapunzel,” Disney tested a number of titles, finally settling on “Tangled” because people responded to meanings beyond the obvious hair reference: a twisted version of the familiar story and the tangled relationship between the two lead characters. “Based upon the response from fans and critics, we believe it would have been higher if it wasn’t prejudged by its title,” Catmull said. “The Princess and the Frog” generated considerably less - $222 million in global ticket sales to date.
Its most recent release, “Up,” grossed more than $700 million worldwide. Pixar’s movies have been huge hits because they appeal to girls, boys and adults. And in Disney’s latest version, the demure princess is transformed into a feisty teen.ĭisney hopes the introduction of the slightly bad-boy character will help it tap the broadest possible audience for “Tangled,” emulating the success of its corporate sibling, Pixar. The prince is hardly the boastful swordsman type, let alone a charming rogue. 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.