blackcauldron85 wrote:JeanGreyForever wrote:
but the darker Glen Keane version of Rapunzel was meant to be a tribute to the 40s and 50s of Disney animation. It really sounded beautiful, and although I'm not sure if it would have been as commercially successful as Tangled, I think it would have been a critical hit and far more worthy of being the 50th Disney Animated Feature compared to what we got. I've stockpiled a lot of information on that version including characters, plot, etc. so if anyone is interested, I can post more here.
If you don't mind posting about, I, for one, would love to read it!
(I know that my external hard drive has a bunch of unproduced/changed-during-production "stuff" from lots of movies, but it's been years and I haven't done much with it...maybe someday I'll search through it and if there are any cool goodies, I could post them here.)
Oh definitely.
Glean Keane and Dean Wellins were both directing partners on
Rapunzel. Keane's version of
Rapunzel was a darker tale than what we got, but generally more accurate to the original tale. It was meant to be a throwback to the 40s and 50s films (ex. Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, etc.) but with a lot more character development. The film wouldn't have been a traditional broadway musical, but there would have been songs in the vein of the aforementioned movies. His motto for the film was "plus est en vous" which translates to "there is more than you." This would have been a huge theme for the movie in regards to the characters. Mother Gothel, for example, was far less theatrical and comedic in this version. She wasn't nearly as passive aggressive to
Rapunzel either, so from the outside looking in, anyone would think Gothel is actually a good and caring mother. Her design also reflected this because it was more toned down from her Tangled design. Most Disney Villains can be identified as villains from the second you see them, just because of their designs, but Gothel was different. The audience would be led to believe she is a good mother until you realized just how monstrous she is inside. Gothel would die, although after
Rapunzel and
Bastion (and Beau, the animal sidekick) would leave the tower, concept art shows them being followed by these sinister magical trees. Not sure if they were connected to Gothel, or if she would even be dead by that point.
This would be juxtaposed by
Bastion who was the prince/Flynn Rider figure.
Bastion would be very tall and heavyset to differentiate him from the other princes, but he would be a real softy on the inside, despite appearing intimidating. He was also a thief in this version, but a far more sympathetic one. He hates what he does, but he has nothing else to get by on, forcing him to remain a thief. This is different enough from Aladdin, who doesn't really have moral issues with being a thief, he just doesn't like being a street rat. Concept art also shows his origin. It appears as though he was orphaned as a young boy and found himself in the dank and dirty streets of the kingdom, leading to him becoming a thief.
There was a much larger supporting cast as well. Disney gets lots of complaints for whitewashing their films and completely eradicating any people of color from western European countries (ex. Brave, Frozen), but
Rapunzel actually had Xavier, a black man who would have been one of
Bastion's only allies.
Bastion would also have a pet basset hound named Beau (he actually came from
Rapunzel Unbraided).
Rapunzel had no animal sidekicks to show just how alone she really is. Gothel was
Rapunzel's foe, but
Bastion had one as well. His name was Griffol, and he seemed to be an aristocratic type of figure. I'm not too sure how he would relate to the film, but my suspicions are that he was somehow connected to the king, while also in league with the treacherous thieves
Bastion would be forced to associate with. There were two other thieve types of characters, who from first glance, are obviously villains or the sidekicks of the villains (in this case Griffol). One was named Crowley (skinny, hooked nose, bald) and the other had no name given (short and stout. Like a Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter). I think Griffol was in league with these thieves for his own personal gain (maybe plundering from the kingdom to add to his own wealth? Perhaps he was planning something against the king?) I'm guessing that since
Rapunzel doesn't leave the tower until near the end, she must have discovered her identity as the lost princess beforehand (the catalyst for her leaving the tower), meaning only
Bastion could have told her, so my guesses on how he learned it link him to Griffol since he was likely linked with the king. I could be very wrong though. The King and Queen also had much harsher designs. They are clad in Roman warrior types of clothing, so that makes me think, that after their daughter's kidnapping, the King and Queen become more hardened and perhaps more warlike. Sort of like how in Barbie of
Rapunzel,
Rapunzel's father declares war on the neighboring kingdom, because he believes they stole his daughter. Maybe Griffol benefited from the King and Queen's grieved states, I'm not sure.
Her tower, which would have been a much darker design, both inside and out, was full of some truly creeping paintings which
Bastion would react to. Most of them would involve monsters chasing a little girl who would be running to her mother for safety, obviously thanks to Gothel's brainwashing. This version of
Rapunzel was not eager to leave the tower at all because Gothel had indoctrinated into her a fear of the outside world. Hence, why when
Bastion first climbs into the tower,
Rapunzel confronts him with a crossbow (rather than that silly frying pan, which feminists decried as keeping her in the kitchen). I think
Bastion would slowly ease her into wanting to leave the tower and go to the outside world, because for much of the film she would be reluctant, first out of fear, and then out of guilt to her mother. Gothel would slowly notice signs though, such as
Rapunzel humming a tune she wouldn't have known otherwise, as well as keeping a diary/journal. I think her paintings would also start to change and be more receptive to the outside world.
Painting was a bigger deal in this film since
Rapunzel wouldn't leave the tower until about 2/3s or 3/4s of the movie in. Actually, this was an issue in production, because Lasseter praised the film's opening as one of the best he had ever seen. The first half was said by all to be just incredible, but it was the second half that was struggling because
Rapunzel remains stuck in her tower. This is why when the new team of Nathan and Byron came along, they had
Rapunzel leave the tower early on, since the film was losing steam by then. I think Lasseter feared that audiences would be bored to just see
Rapunzel and
Bastion in the tower for so long and felt there needed to be more action (hence, Tangled's pub scene and onwards). Anyway one scene shows
Rapunzel painting on
Bastion's hand in the tower. Another scene, when they first meet, would have
Rapunzel being fascinated with
Bastion's stubble (having never met a man before).
Concept art shows that Keane's version also had the flower (and probably originated it).
Rapunzel had the green dress that most people seem to prefer her in (not including small children who are probably attracted to the glittery pink and purple). The film in general seemed darker and grittier, since the art style was based off of Rembrandt paintings (some Fragonard, but that was mostly
Rapunzel Unbraided and then Tangled. Hence the buttery, bright look. Some concept art of the kingdom still looks like this). Everything, including the kingdom seems to follow this pattern, perhaps to reflect that the kingdom has lost its way with
Rapunzel gone. Actually some of the concept art of the kingdom reminds me of Hunchback. The castle also looked more like a classical French castle rather than the more eastern Disney-esque palace we ended up getting. The castle was based off of the French Renaissance, and going by the paintings, and some of the names (Beau) it appeared as though
Rapunzel was set in France, during the 1820s/Regency Era. Gothel has the Victorian governess look,
Rapunzel sometimes was seen wearing finger-less gloves, the Queen had empire-waistline dresses, etc (Tangled btw is set in the 1780s so a little bit earlier). Although the original story is German, apparently this version had influences from the French version of
Rapunzel called "Persinette" so it wouldn't be too out there to change the setting. Gothel could still be German, hence why
Rapunzel is named
Rapunzel (german for the rampion plant, which is what the magical flower is).
Rapunzel's hair would always remain blonde in this version and her hair would regrow by the end for the wedding. There's even concept art of her final dress (before the wedding) sticking with the green and gold color scheme with the more contemporary (compared to her main/peasant dress) empire waist.
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TENG is unique and enjoyable, but at the same time Yzma/Kuzko are the only memorable parts of the film. 
