You see, most people just don't understand why I get such intense feels over movies, books, TV shows, etc. Well, for one thing, I am just naturally a very sympathetic person, so I can always just feel what these characters are feeling and can understand their happiness, their pain, etc. Another thing is, I am a hopeless romantic, so I adore happy endings, romance, meaningful moments, tenderness, cuteness, and so on.
But lastly, I read so much deeper into characters, plot, and other literary-type devices and analyze the heck out of them. I get excited over things like character development and stuff. I love to try and really understand why characters do the things they do or why a certain situation played out the way it did. And sometimes... it just gives me really intense feels.
To demonstrate my point, I am going to share with you my analysis of Flynn and Rapunzel from Tangled. Something I once (and still do) had very, very intense feels over. (Prepare yourself)
I have such boundless love and adoration for this couple! He was a thief on the run who had seen it all and she was a secluded girl locked away from the world. What a pair of opposites! You don't get a whole lot of backstory to their characters besides what's important to the plot (like the golden flower and stuff), but I-- being an analytical literature nut-- have read so much into them.
First off, there's Rapunzel. Sweet, sweet Rapunzel. The poor girl has been locked up her entire life, imprisoned by her hair. Never met or interacted with another living soul before (besides Mother Gothel and Pascal of course). I mean, she never even felt grass before! How completely tragic is that? Yet, despite this
fact, she becomes about 20x more accomplished than most people I know, remains wholly optimistic and happy, and is supremely caring and kind. She puts up with lots of verbal and emotional abuse practically everyday and yet still remains all of these things. That's why her encounter and relationship with Flynn is all the more meaningful. He's the first person she meets and he sees her for the beautiful person she is and not just an object to be used for eternal youth. Of course, she is also completely capable of taking care of herself as demonstrated by Flynn's intrusion into her tower and their visit to the Snuggly Duckling, even if she is a bit naive. Her biggest fear was defying her so-called mother. This is the common theme throughout the movie. I mean, she was obviously afraid of all the things Gothel told her about in the outside world, but she clearly was most afraid of defying her mother out of anything. She stays in the tower for nearly 18 years of her life because of it, she experiences extreme trauma over the very fact when she actually does leave, and the idea is constant (even though not entirely focused on) for the remainder of the film. The turning point for Rapunzel is when she finally does flat out, openly defy Gothel: "You were wrong about the world! And you were wrong about me! And I will never let you use my hair again!".
Then, there's Flynn. OMGG, where do I even begin? Here’s this rugged, thieving, bad boy who’s put up this front his entire life. He’s completely selfish, in the sense that he’d rather live alone with just piles of money to keep him company. In fact, he only helped Rapunzel leave the tower so that he could get his satchel back. But somewhere in between their near-death experience and confessions at the campfire, Flynn’s hard exterior started to vanish. He let his guard down because of Rapunzel’s genuine care and innocence. Eugene spent years of his life with a fake reputation and it only took Rapunzel a day to change it all. They built this undeniable trust and discovered their attraction towards each other. That’s why he didn’t run. He could have taken the crown and gotten his money. Instead, he realized that he didn’t want to live a lie anymore. There was something that he felt for Rapunzel that was bigger than himself. And because of this, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Even when he was trapped in his cell and later when he stabbed by Gothel, the only thing that mattered to him was Rapunzel. He could have let her heal him, but in the end, he’d rather give up his life to see her be free. Eugene became selfless. (I am going to keep referring to him as Flynn throughout the remainder of this post since that is his official Disney name and it makes it less confusing).
I need to point this out. I mentioned above that Flynn treats Rapunzel like a real person rather than an object, unlike Mother Gothel. Well, I noticed a repetitive example of this in how they handle Rapunzel's hair. Gothel is always touching and caressing Rapunzel's hair like it's some precious silk or something.
Look at Flynn protecting Rapunzel here
While she's interacting with Rapunzel, she is almost always touching her hair. Flynn on the other hand, is the opposite. He only touches her hair while helping her to transport it, even after he discovers its power. And on more than one occasion, he brushes it out of the way so he can see her face. He cares about her, not her hair. Just something I noticed.
Something else I noticed, Flynn is never actually mean to Rapunzel. At the start of their relationship he is always trying to find ways to get rid of her, but he is never mean to her, nor does he wish any harm on her. He's not actually a bad person, he just does bad things. Like when they're in the Snuggly Duckling and the thugs start closing in on them after they recognize Flynn from his wanted poster, Flynn actually puts himself in between them and Rapunzel. He only brought her there to scare her, he didn't want her to get hurt. So he actually tries to protect her when it looks like things are getting rough.
Now lots of people say that their love story was rushed, to which I say: "YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Have you not seen Snow White? Or Cinderella? Or Sleeping Beauty? Or The Little Mermaid? Or Aladdin? All classics and yet people still love those and (most) do not criticize them. Only some playful teasing. Only the new Disney movies get all sorts of crap about their romances, their female characters, their male characters, their not having characters of color, and whatever. But I'm not talking about that here, we're discussing Tangled. So anyways, I believe that their romance is very well paced (especially for a Disney movie). They go from slight irritation to mild attraction in one day (after a near-death experience. That always catapults couples into romance). Then they go from mild attraction to being in love after spending an entire day and a very romantic evening together. So you see? It's really not as rushed as you may think. Their day in the kingdom is literally like their first date. I mean, they just spend the day doing fun things like dancing, going to the bookstore/library, eating cupcakes, drawing on the sidewalk, etc. And Flynn was even paying for it all. Not that that could be helped since Rapunzel didn't have any money. But even if she did, I'm sure Flynn still would have paid since it was her birthday and "the best day of her life". (See? Just like a date.)
Dat face! 8D
Something to acknowledge before moving on: Flynn's stare. So many feels! This mostly falls into the category of my hopeless romantic side, but I must rant about it. There are so many instances where he's just looking at Rapunzel and... I just cannot even handle it! Most of the times she doesn't even notice which just makes it all the more "d'aaaaw!" worthy. There's one instance though, right after Rapunzel gets her hair braided when they first get to the kingdom, and Flynn smiles at her appreciatively. I melt into a puddle of goo at that smile!
The campfire scene is a very significant scene. I love the campfire scene so much, it's one of my favorites. They have just gone through a life threatening event where they both revealed their biggest secrets to
each other thinking they were going to die. This scene is the aftermath of that and I LOVE it! Plus the flirting*grins*. Love! And Flynn gets all awkward after her little smile at him and goes off to distract himself….because think about it. He acts like the biggest flirt in the land but he’s never told anyone the truth about what he really is. He’s happy that Rapunzel just accepted him for who he is. Of course, he's all flustered from the genuine feelings he's suddenly experiencing as well ;)
Then of course the lantern scene. Ahh! 'A Whole New World' blinds in comparison! (Not really. Although this scene is more visually stimulating, I think 'A Whole New World' is a better song. Don't hurt me, Tangled fans! I still absolutely love and adore this song!)
This scene though! There's not a whole lot of deep, hidden meaning because everything is out in the open. I think on Flynn's part especially. Because, as I keep saying, he's been caged up from everyone for years, but Rapunzel has finally managed to get him to open up. And his opening up has been kind of gradual. I mean, it's not like he just was immediately an open book and simply handed his heart to Rapunzel, but it happened slowly. I think he was probably sort of fighting it ever since he first started realizing he was becoming attracted to her, but then started to realize it couldn't be suppressed and then realized he didn't want it to be suppressed. And now, he's finally accepted that he is in love with her and decides to let her know. After all, he makes the first move by taking her hand. (This is all just my own speculation, there really is no proof for what I just said). Rapunzel, on the other hand, of course had never been in love since she had never met anyone besides Gothel or Pascal before Flynn. Now, she meets this boy who treats her so much differently than she's used to being treated, who is kind, who looks at her like she is the most beautiful
Look how close they got! AHHHH!!!
woman in the world (as mentioned above). What girl doesn't want that? I think she had deep feelings for Flynn before he did, or at least before he realized he did. But she was too shy and unsure of herself to really do anything about it. Besides, she had never experienced a connection like that with a man before, so she probably didn't really know how to go about it. I don't know. (That was all purely my speculation again) Anyways, this scene is where it finally all comes together. Where they let their feelings finally show.
I get SO mad when they don't kiss on the boat. Like they are seriously like two or three inches away when Flynn pulls back, and it's just like "Flynn! Argh!". But of course, no matter how much grumping and groaning you do, it will not change the fact that it does not happen. But you know what? The fact that he does this, the decision that he makes right in that split second, just goes to show that he really, truly does care for Rapunzel even more than a kiss would have (even though it doesn't really please hopeless romantics such as myself nearly as much). He is attempting to give up his old dream of riches and solitude to be with
No, but seriously. Doesn't that face just tear your
heart in half?
Rapunzel by rowing to shore to get rid of the satchel. That satchel basically represented all of that. But of course, we know it all goes horribly wrong and Rapunzel is tricked into thinking that Flynn betrayed and abandoned her. Honestly, I think this part actually ripped my heart out more than the ending tower scene. Because here's Rapunzel, who finally put aside all her fears about the world and trusted someone with not only her deepest secret, but also her heart, only to have it come back and slap her in the face. It's just so horrible! I have never personally experienced a heartbreak before, but I've seen it plenty of times with others and it's just dreadful. I hear the first one is often the worst. And Rapunzel's is definitely brutal. Just looking at her face as she watches Flynn's boat disappear into the fog... *tears*. Then she runs back to her old life and securities, thinking everything she experienced was a lie. No!
Another quick note: when Flynn bumps into the dock and revives, he immediately calls out for Rapunzel. This is very significant. It's the first time he actually uses her name (at least that we hear). All the times before, he always referred to her as "Blondie" or "Goldie". His tactic, I guess, of keeping her distant. His using her name is further proof that he has completely removed that outer shell of Flynn Rider the thief and became Eugene Fitzherbert again. (However, Rapunzel is not around when he first uses her name here. So often people refer to the second time he uses it outside her tower, during the iconic "Rapunzel, let down your hair!" quote from the original fairytale as the first time.)
No one ever really mentions or notices this while discussing Flynn and Rapunzel, but I think it's got some really good Flynn/Rapunzel moments: Rapunzel's realization and Flynn's prison escape montage. Even though they’re apart, you can see the concern and love Flynn and Rapunzel have for each other. Rapunzel does what she’s been afraid of her whole life, defying her mother, just to get to Flynn. And then, although he knows he’s going to be executed, Flynn doesn’t give up in struggling to break free. He risks everything to try and save Rapunzel. There's just such cold, hard determination in both of them.
Now of course I have to discuss the ending tower bit. The obvious: Flynn is fatally stabbed and Rapunzel volunteers to be Gothel's willing slave if she can just heal him. Look at this, Rapunzel is willing to give up her freedom to live with this awful woman for literally eternity just so Flynn can live. Don't ever tell me she doesn't love him! If you watch closely you see her constantly trying to calm and comfort him by stroking his face or some sort of physical contact, as if trying to somehow ease his pain. And just the way she looks at him, there's so much there in her eyes! Sympathy, love, sadness, encouragement, compassion, the thought that this will be the last time she will ever see him. Disney, how do you do it? As for Flynn, he is trying to stop her from healing him. He is trying to stop her. I'm sure he is in a load of pain and knows he is going to die, but he would rather have that rather than live with the knowledge of Rapunzel off in the world as a healing slave to Mother Gothel. He even goes so far as to cutting her hair so she has no choice. (Side note: Even while he's so weak and in pain, he's still thinking. Good for him.) Of course he knew he would die if he did that, but he made the decision to save her. Don't you ever tell me he doesn't love her! Now comes the heart-shattering bit: Flynn dies. But before he does his last words are "you were my new dream". That's basically telling her that he loves her. And she returns the sentiment, and he dies with those words as the last thing he hears. *Sobs waterfalls*. But of course, you know how it all tuns out. she cries her magic on him, he revives, happy reunion, finally a kiss! Hallelujah! Praise whatever deity you may worship! :DD
It looks like they have a cute sort of playful-bantering type relationship afterwards as seen with Flynn's "stealing" of her crown and playing keep away in the end scene, and Rapunzel's dipping him to get it back
(that just cracks me up that she does that), and it all ending with a kiss. It seems that even though Flynn changes his thieving ways and such, his sarcastic and mischievous personality stay the same and Rapunzel keeps him in line, as demonstrated by the narrations in Tangled and its sequel short, Tangled Ever After (if you haven't seen this short, you must! It's a total crack up! -"Those were my grandmother's wedding rings!" -"The kingdom is lost!" *castle explodes*).
Happily Ever After
I really have nothing more to say. But as you can see, I have analyzed the heck out of this couple. And don't think I haven't analyzed every little detail out of every other aspect of the film either, because I have. This is just Flynn and Rapunzel as a couple. Not Flynn and Rapunzel individually, or Mother Gothel, or the King and Queen, or the magic flower, or the pub thugs, or the Stabbington Brothers, or the crown, or Pascal, or Maximus, or Maximus and Flynn's relationship, or the kingdom, or the tower, or Rapunzel's paintings, or anything else. I've always got something to say, especially on a Disney movie.
Those of you lucky enough to know me back in middle school were fortunate enough to know me during my second great obsession since The Lion King (of my childhood). I mean I had some little obsessions since then, but I had never really been so consumed with something like I was with The Lion King in the very early years of my life until I pulled a certain book off the school library shelf that fateful day in the seventh grade... The Scarlet Pimpernel.
When I removed that novel from the shelf that day so many years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean it was a school assignment! We were supposed to pick a book from the library, read it, then take a test on it on the school computers to determine how good of a reader we were. Then repeat the process all year. I was at the highest reading level: a white star, so there wasn't a huge selection to pick from since not very many students reached that level. There were books like Moby Dick, Dracula, some Edgar Allen Poe, a couple of Charles Dickens books, but the majority of them were uninteresting looking books (and believe me, most of them lived up to their titles, covers, and back-of-the-book summaries). Since I was a fast reader, I read all the interesting looking ones right away and was soon stuck with the non-interesting ones. I would spend the majority of our reading block scanning the bookshelf, trying to will the books to suddenly become more appealing. I would eventually have to pick one of the boring books (making sure it was shorter and not one of the dictionary length ones) and just have to force myself to get through it so I would't fail the reading course (we would get points for every test we took).
Eventually one day, I was scanning the bookshelf as usual when I came across a small, but rather thick, white, hardback novel titled, The Scarlet Pimpernel. I had heard the name before, but couldn't recall where and had absolutely no idea what the book was about whatsoever. There wasn't much of a summary on the back, just something about the French Revolution (it seriously didn't give any details to the actual plot). It was literally like two or three lines long. But since I had actually heard the title before, I decided to give it a whirl. So I sat down and began to read it... and it sucked. Yeah, you were expecting me to say I was immediately enthralled weren't you? Nope. I was bored to tears. It started out describing... I couldn't even get through enough of it to find out. Paris, September 1792. That much I was sure because that's what the title of the chapter was. But I just could not focus enough to really understand exactly what was going on. There were no firm characters immediately introduced. There was no obvious plot. And there were these descriptions that just went on for pages and pages. I didn't even finish the first chapter before reading block was over so I stuffed it into my backpack and left.
That particular week, my parents were out of town, so I was staying with my grandparents. I remember exactly. I was waiting in their car in the parking lot of Target one afternoon after school, trying for like the third or fourth time to try and get through the first chapter of that darn book without success.I even tried skipping to the next chapter, but there was nothing there either, just more descriptions, and confusing and seemingly empty dialogue. Where was the plot!? Then my grandparents returned from their errand. I asked my grandpa (who knows literally everything, I kid you not) if he knew what The Scarlet Pimpernel was. Of course he did. He explained briefly what it was about to me as well as what the French Revolution was. His little description sparked my interest. I loved a good mystery and I loved a good historic fiction. I guessed I could give it another try.
The next day in reading block, I tried again. I managed to get through the first chapter. Hey, something actually happened there at the end. It's not all descriptions after all (and the descriptions actually did set the mood quite well now that I understood), then I read the second chapter. Hey, there's some characters (and that dialogue actually has some important stuff in there)! Third chapter. Plot development! I'm not sure how far I got, but I was definitely intrigued with it by the time we left the library.
So there you have it. The tale in full of how it all began. I did finish the book eventually. It didn't take long, especially once the main plot picked up. The author is quite good at keeping you in suspense. It's an ingenious book!
Once I finished it, I began looking up movie versions. There are several. I managed to get my hands on two (1934 and 1982) and watched one online (lucky I didn't actually purchase that one because it was AWFUL! Ugh! I can't even fully express the abomination that was the 1999 mini series). I won't bore you (or scare you) with the details of my obsession beyond that. But know that it was extreme, long, and intense.
So... what is The Scarlet Pimpernel?
It takes place during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. A band of Englishmen led by a mysterious leader is helping French aristocrats escape France and their fate at the guillotine. This mysterious leader is only known as the Scarlet Pimpernel because of the scrap of paper he leaves behind every time he strikes, with a little red star-shaped flower on it (al-la Zorro's "Z"). The plot centers around a French woman who recently married an English aristocrat, who is blackmailed into spying on the English to find out the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. There's also a subplot involving the woman trying to sort out her feelings towards her estranged husband, but I won't get into that.
The book is incredibly well written to keep you wondering who the Scarlet Pimpernel could possibly be and what his plans are. Then when you eventually find out, and you look back on past events and all of it becomes so perfectly clear, it becomes so painfully obvious the next time you read it (it's almost comical that the other characters don't notice any of it). These painfully obvious things are so cleverly disguised in plain sight as you read, you just pay them no heed, or they just don't seem to connect, or you just skim over that one tiny little detail the author mentioned and it becomes so majorly important later. It's seriously a brilliant book!
The characters are great too. All of them! They're flawed, have depth, emotional turmoil, are comical, etc. Sir Percy (main character's husband) in particular is a blessing from the literature gods (on the same level as Mr. Darcy. Oh yes, that high)! He's mostly there for comedy (and boy oh boy does he serve that role well XDD), but as you read on, you find he has a lot more depth and emotion than his initial appearance shows. He's the one that wrote that all-too famous poem from the book about the Scarlet Pimpernel. "All done in the tying of a cravat" he claims: We seek him here, we seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he is heaven?-- Is he in hell? That demmed, elusive Pimpernel!
Marguerite (our main character) is a very flawed character. She's often displayed as a much more sympathetic and innocent character in the movies, but in reality she actually kind of had what was coming to her. She's not exactly a mean person, but she's definitely not always the nicest of people (in the beginning at least. Character development!). And she's definitely very proud. Of course, she cares deeply for those she loves and tries to do what she thinks is best.
Chauvelin, the villain, is so delightfully wicked you can't help but despise him. He doesn't have a whole lot of depth, but he is definitely a very good villain. He is very threatening and disturbingly sly. He's not necessarily a smart character (at least not as smart as our cunning and daring hero), but all the power he holds is what the majority of his menacing... ness comes from. All the descriptions of him and his dialogue just make you absolutely fear and detest him.
Now, I'm not going to tell you who the Scarlet Pimpernel is, but just know that he is the most awesome character in the book! (Because's he's invisible for like half the time). He is actually the first character you are introduced to since the novel opens with one of his exploits in Paris.
Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour as Sir Percy
and Marguerite in the 1982 version
As to the movies, you know who the Scarlet Pimpernel is right from the start and he becomes the main character, so you follow him through most of the films rather than Marguerite. So if you want a truly amazing experience with the book, I recommend reading it before watching any of the movies.
Just as a side note regarding the movies, the 1982 version is the best. I absolutely ADORE that film! It's in my top three favorite movies of all time. It's got a definite 80's feel to it with the big hair and the music, etc. But it's fantastically done (even with that wonderful 80's over-the-top drama and cheesiness. But you know what? It works in this film. Because it's supposed to be dramatic and over the top.)
I also really like the 1934 version. It's not as well done as the '82 version, but give it some credit because it was made in the 30's after all. It's actually pretty well done considering that factor. The dialogue is why I really like it. It's brilliantly written and not completely cheesy like a lot of 30's dramas are. Of course the acting is even more over the top than the '82 version.
Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon as Sir Percy and Marguerite in the 1934 version
Then the 1999 version. Ugggh! *pukes* The characters are the worst part. It's like they purposely went out and cast the complete opposite of what the book describes. OK, so usually I can put up with a character
Richard E. Grant and Elizabeth McGovern as Sir Percy
and Marguerite in the 1999 version
looking different as long as they play the role well. But NOOOO! They all played their roles terribly! Or maybe it was just the writing. Just argh! All of it was a completely different story just with the same name. Like the writers didn't understand the original story at all. They turned it into an action adventure story with loads of sex thrown in. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel never dressed up, not once! He would simply walk down through the streets in the dead of night like a creepy pedophile and just stab like a million soldiers willy-nilly. Just NO! And there were so many random sex scenes. WHY!? And Sir Percy. Dear, dear Sir Percy, my favorite character... disgracefully ruined. Oh, they made him foppish like he was supposed to be, but in a different way. An entirely wrong way. The book always emphasizes how lazy and nonchalant he is, so what does the movie do? Makes him hyper and overly-enthusiastic. I could go on with this abomination of a film, but I'll stop.
Anyways... the book itself is utterly amazing! And many of the movies are great. There's also a stage musical (I haven't seen it, but I've heard many of the songs. I hear it's good though).
To sum up: fantastic! Mystery, adventure, romance, suspense... it's got it all! So if you haven't read this book or at least seen a movie version (the 1999 version DOES NOT count!), you need to rethink your life choices!
