Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Last Monday, my parents surprised me with a trip to the Magic Kingdom. And easily for me, the highlight was New Fantasyland as you truly felt immersed in all of the movies. Of course, I geeked out when I saw the Tangled rest area, specifically, the Tower. But then I just watched the latest episode of Tangled: The Series in which Pascal runs away back to the Tower because it seems like Rapunzel doesn't have anytime for him. And there was a small but brief moment, when Rapunzel had to enter the tower and reassure herself that she had this as it had been the first time that she returned to the Tower since the events of the movie.
Which brings me to the point of this article, Rapunzel's Tower is different than any other piece of Disney iconography from their animated films. Let's focus in on the princess films, most of the pieces of iconography from these films have good memories attached to them. I think possibly the only two that you could possibly argue are Beast's Castle as he was cursed there and stayed there because of his hideous nature and possibly the castle from Sleeping Beauty but even then, that doesn't feel the same.
And returning to my mention of good memories, that is true of the Tower as it shows a montage in the beginning of how Pascal and Rapunzel met. (Which was adorable btw)
But as this episode also highlighted, Rapunzel was still afraid of this place. And that makes so much sense because for 18 years of her life, she was held captive in the Tower by Mother Gothel. So, it's a bad place but there are good memories attached to it. I'll admit that I still do love the design of the Tower but watching this episode highlighted something that I have often thought about. The Tower is not the same as those other pieces of Disney iconography. Yes, Disney still does sell merchandise based on it. I know as I bought my niece a Lego set based on Rapunzel's Tower for one of her birthdays.
That's not to say that I have a problem with merchandise based on the Tower because I'd be a huge hypocrite if I did say that. But... as I've looked at what the Tower is more and more since my first viewing, I've become more and more morally perplexed by it. As a Tangled fan, I love seeing the film get representation like it has in the Magic Kingdom but at the same time, the Tower was not a good place.
Again, I want to stretch that I do not hate the Tower and yes, one could make the argument that the Tower is just a building and that it didn't hold Rapunzel their against her will. Mother Gothel did, but one can still attach bad memories to a location. I have no definitive answer on my feelings towards The Tower other than mixed.
At this point, this probably looks like the ramblings of a crazy person but that one moment from the episode really inspired me to share my thoughts on this. What are yours? Peace.
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