Remember when I posted about what looked like a discrepancy between the early Fragonard-style Rapunzel 2010 concept art and the new stuff that had recently been put out? I concluded then that the new stuff that we were seeing might be old stuff; I thought this because I had been out of the loop for a while, and I know zilch about animation.
But now it appears that some of that art actually comes from the film’s new direction, which goes hand in hand with its newly revealed style. Armed with this new knowledge (knowledge is power!) we can reconstruct a timeline for the evolution of Rapunzel concept-art.
Stage One Story: “Rapunzel Unbraided.” Concept: Girl gets pulled into Rapunzel-world from the modern world and gets turned into a squirrel. Oh, wait! This sounds like “The Princess and the Frog”…but with squirrels!
Stage One Concept Art: Rapunzel Unbraided
The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing In the Wind
But times change, and we move on to Stage Two!
Stage Two Story: Traditional Rapunzel? Squirrel Rapunzel? It is unclear if the story changed in this stage.
Stage Two Concept Art: Rococo Rapunzel
Once upon a time, in a land of C, C, CGI
And times change again!
Stage Three Story: [Official Summary] “A princess stolen from her parents’ castle as a baby, Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore) is locked in a hidden tower longing for adventure Now an imaginative and determined teenager, she takes off on a hilarious, hair-raising escapade with the help of a dashing bandit (voice of Zachary Levi). With the secret of her royal heritage hanging in the balance and her captor in pursuit, Rapunzel and her cohort find adventure, heart, humor, and hair… lots of hair. With original music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater, this comedic re-imagining of the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale comes to theaters in Disney Digital 3D™.”
And the art is below:
Dashing Bandit!
Cue Modern, Yet Whimsical Music
The Classic Disney Princess Shot: Looking With Longing
Absolutely Gorgeous
I love that last one. It reminds me of my favorite Maurice Prendergast painting:
Boats! On the water! With lights!
I’m *very* excited about the direction that the film is going in. Bandit! On the run! Action-Princess! This is the sort of thing I like to hear. Even though it does say “comedic reimagining.” And it’s only about 365 days away….
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January 18, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Sam
I absolutely adore this blog! I read it sometime in the early summer when I had first heard about the new Rapunzel/Princess and the Frog films. For the past couple of days, I’ve been obsessed with Rapunzel. I had no idea that they had taken an entirely new approach to it.
I love this post. I really appreciate that you not only included a timeline, but you also included your opinions. I’m so happy I ran across LitScribbles again. This blog truly is a marvel. Keep it up!
March 4, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Jenny
It is about TIME they paid attention to Rapunzel! I have wondered for years why they haven’t done a movie about her yet. I am thrilled that they are using one of my favorite art periods and paintings for inspiration.
April 2, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Dae
Hey Sam! Thanks for stopping by again…we’re pretty bad at updating regularly, but that doesn’t mean that we’re going away! And neither is “Rapunzel….” though the *title* is going to be changed soon (apparently to appeal more to guys and make the movie seem like more of an action flick?!!)
We’ll keep you posted!