Continued Exploration - Music and the Fictive Dream - Tangled

Combined with a heartfelt plot, beautiful animation, and amazing music, Tangled has become my favorite Disney movie of all time.

In the Kingdom of Corona, the King and Queen have a beautiful and magically long haired baby named Rapunzel. When Rapunzel sings a song, her hair glows and is able to heal anything around it. Mother Gothel discovers this and, when trying to steal the power to keep herself young, finds out that when Rapunzel's magic hair is cut it loses its power. This results in Mother Gothel kidnapping Rapunzel and raising her as her own in a tower, refusing to share her power with the outside world. Rapunzel grows up locked in a tower, afraid of the dangers of the outside world, and believing Mother Gothel is her true mom. Although she is scared of the dangers beyond her tower, Rapunzel dreams of leaving and seeing the "floating lights", which are lanterns sent by the kingdom in search of the Lost Princess. After an escaped prisoner named Flynn Rider stumbles upon her castle and makes a deal with Rapunzel to help her see the floating lights in exchange for his satchel, they embark on a journey that leads to Rapunzel discovering who she truly is. 

"When Will My Life Begin" is the first song of the movie. It was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater and sung by Mandy Moore. This song serves to keep the plot moving forward as Rapunzel is singing about how she is bored of the same routine in her tower and wonders what possibilities the outside world holds. Rather than just simply wondering when her life will begin, Rapunzel is wondering about when she will make her own decisions and have new adventures in her life. This song basically shows how she accomplishes many things throughout the day, but she wants to adventure outside of the tower. 

                " 7 AM, the usual morning line-up:

                 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"

Before creating this song, Menken had to keep in mind that the movie had planned to have a guitar-themed score. He wrote six different versions of the song and ironically the first version he chose is not in the movie, but is featured in the musical on broadway. The genre is rock and the tempo is moderately fast, with an ending that slows down. It features acoustic guitar, the Hammond organ, and aggressive percussion. The writers had the goal of making Rapunzel's songs have a youthful exuberance feel. This is especially noticeable when listening to the contrast of Mother Gothel's songs. 

I personally really like the end of the song where the pace changes. This is a complete change of tone because she is singing about her dream in a more serious and sadder tone rather than her bubbly and optimistic tone that she had during the rest of the song. It fits the lyrics perfectly because if she sang it with the same color tone and pace as the rest of the song, it would not nearly have the same impact on the audience as it does slowed down. This is also a key moment for the movie plot as a whole because it is when she decides to finally stand up to Mother Gothel and ask to explore beyond the tower.

                 "Tomorrow night the 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"

Aside from this song being significant to setting up the plot for the course of the movie, this song can serve a deeper meaning. Parents and their kids do not always see eye to eye, and this song explores that. Rapunzel being stuck in the same routine Mother Gothel put her in because she does not want to share her with the world is similar to parents not allowing kids to do some things at certain ages. Rapunzel sings about how being older may change Mother Gothel's mind as we all know being older means we can have more responsibility. 

Before researching, I had already loved all parts of the song like the lyrics and the instruments they used. But now, I have an even greater appreciation for the song because I discovered things I did not notice before such as the contrast between the tones of Rapunzel's songs and Mother Gothel's songs. I also really love how creative the lyrics are when naming all the things that Rapunzel does throughout the day, as they all flow very nicely together and make the song catchy. I too get stuck in the same routine everyday (especially during quarantine) and this song makes me think maybe it isn't too bad because this girl has been doing the same routine for 18 years! 

As I stated before, Tangled is a very beautifully crafted movie that uses music to portray the story. I have linked additional songs from the movie that I really enjoy listening to. 

I See the Light - sung by Rapunzel and Flynn

Mother Knows Best - sung by Mother Gothel

I've Got a Dream - sung by Rapunzel, Flynn, and the townspeople 

Sources: 

“Tangled.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt00398286/plotsummary. 

“When Will My Life Begin.” Disney Wiki, https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/When_Will_My_Life_Begin. 

“When Will My Life Begin?” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Nov. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Will_My_Life_Begin%3F.