Rapunzel

The background of Rapunzel stretches from her origins in centuries-old European folklore to her reimagined backstory in Disney's modern 2010 animated feature, Tangled. 

Disney Backstory (Tangled)

In the Disney film, Rapunzel is born a princess of the Kingdom of Corona to King Frederic and Queen Arianna. While pregnant, the queen falls terminally ill, prompting the kingdom to find a mythical golden flower sprouted from a drop of pure sunlight. The flower heals the queen, and its magical youth-restoring and healing powers transfer directly into the infant princess's golden hair. An old woman named Mother Gothel, who had spent centuries hoarding the flower's magic for herself, sneaks into the castle to steal a lock of hair. Discovering that cutting the hair destroys its magic, Gothel abducts the baby princess and locks her away in a hidden forest tower. For 18 years, Rapunzel is raised to believe Gothel is her mother and that the outside world is too dangerous, all while she grows fascinated by the thousands of floating lanterns released every year on her birthday—unaware they are being sent by her grieving birth parents in hopes of her return. 

Folklore & Historical Origins

The character originates from the classic 1812 German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. In the original story, Rapunzel is a commoner whose parents are forced to give her up to a sorceress named Dame Gothel after her father is caught stealing rampion greens (a type of lettuce or rapunzel plant) from the witch's garden. When she turns 12, Gothel locks her in a high, doorless tower in the wilderness. European variants of this "maiden in a tower" trope predate the Grimms, including Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force's 1698 French tale Persinette, Giambattista Basile's 1634 Italian story Petrosinella, and even the 11th-century Persian epic Shāh-nāmeh. The core concept is also widely believed by historians to be inspired by the 3rd-century Christian legend of St. Barbara, a young woman locked away in a tower by her wealthy pagan father to isolate her from unwanted suitors.