Now anybody who’s been a fan of Walt Disney’s canon of animated films should still remember much of 2010’s “Tangled”, the enjoyably fun spin on the classic fairy tale of Rapunzel, starring pop veteran Mandy Moore as the character in question, along with Zachary Levi as the bandit with a heart Flynn Rider. Viewers who enjoyed the film may have also liked the animated short sequel “Tangled Ever After”, shown 2012 as the feature before the 3D “Beauty and the Beast” re-release, which featured the main characters tying the knot. While the House of Mouse is busy hyping their “Ducktales” reboot with the Tenth Doctor voicing Scrooge for this year, they’ve surprised their supporters yet again by bringing back “Tangled” as both Disney Channel Original Movie and new ongoing animated series.
Rapunzel’s back (And so is the hair!)
In a recently released trailer by Disney, there’s first going to be a DCOM entitled “Tangled: Before Ever After”. As stated, the TV movie would take place before the wedding seen in the “Ever After” short. And there’s quite a shocking twist seen in the middle of it too. Spoiler alert, Rapunzel’s long hair was cut towards the end of the original film (as in the fairy tale), and some Disney images since then have depicted Rapunzel with a brunette bob. But now during a night ride with Flynn as seen in the teaser, Rapunzel’s gorgeous long blond hair comes back in a big way, only this time it’s more resilient to sharp blades. The mystery as to why it’s come back would likely be revealed when the film premieres on the Disney Channel.
But wait, there’s more! The DCOM is merely, the beginning, a feature-length pilot episode of sorts for an actual new Disney TV series with the “Tangled” characters: Rapunzel and Flynn (voices reprised by Moore and Levi), Pascal the chameleon, Maximus the horse, a brand new character named Cassandra, voiced by Broadway Eden Espinosa who becomes a new handmaiden and confidante for Rapunzel, (and of course, the hair as stated in the trailer).
Now considering that the 2010 film’s antagonist Mother Gothel was voiced by a Broadway star as well, this cast addition is an interesting development.
House of Mouse TV assault
It bears repeating, but Disney certainly is on a roll with their animated shows and films. While the “Ducktales” and “Tangled” series tear up Disney XD and Channel respectively, the company’s working on a double impact for 2018 (none for 2017), in a “wreck-it-Ralph” sequel and a reimagining of the “Jack and the Beanstalk” story, called “Gigantic”.
