Disney Prince Review: Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert, Tangled

"How ya doin'? The names Flynn Rider."

There is something to be said about Flynn Rider and Tangled in that like the character, the movie really tries to be something new while sort of wearing the bare bones of classics. It feels like a call back to Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and oddly enough Hunchback of Notre Dame. They both have a character that is oddly well adjusted for the most part though with a very optimistic view of the world and honestly with the exception of the villain and one other character, the movie universe totally accepts this. This was oddly my complaint with the Little Mermaid because Ariel gets exactly what she wants but Tangled is so different from that movie that it makes it easier to do and of course Tangled builds on Little Mermaid as a Princess Film. Flynn is an oddity in the Disney Prince lineup, like Aladdin he isn't a prince and the parallels don't stop there as they both are noted criminals and have a poor upbringing and are skilled at lying and manipulating. However, I don't think Flynn is a clone of Aladdin and as we go through we will see some interesting layers to Flynn as a character or at the very least understand him a little better.

One of the things that makes Flynn interesting is that he may be one of the few people in a Disney film that feels aware that things are just weird. This doesn't just stop at being aware of a song going on that everyone knows the words to (which he is guilty of to a much greater extent) but that he does seem to question every bit of logic presented to him. This goes to something as simple as pointing out where Rapunzel hid his satchel but he also seems to be the only to question the ridiculous feats Maximus does. To an extent he at times feels like a Dreamworks character living in a Disney film. People have noticed that Disney has seemed to be taking on a little of Dreamworks with characters like Kuzco, and more efforts to computer animation. This doesn't really add much to him as a character but I think it is important to understand what Flynn was to people. His design was created to be older (24 to Rapunzel's 18) and it was noted that he was created by having the women pick from pictures of handsome men and the women picked what they did and din't like about them. I think this is important because his looks are important to him and it shows the direction I think they were going for with his dynamic with Rapunzel as I think Flynn's story is about getting in touch with that younger part of him and go beyond the superficial.

A Man With a Past

"I'll spare you the sob story of poor little orphan Eugene. It's a.... It's a little bit of a downer."

Flynn Rider, whether he wants to admit it or not is defined by his past which isn't talked about in any real depth. He mentions being an orphan and growing up his favorite story was one about a swashbuckling rogue who was rich and did whatever he wanted (Gomez Adams?). This is what Flynn wants to do and it says a lot about what he wants because in a lot of ways he does act like a rogue, going around with little concern for anything other than his own image and his own goals. This makes him a bit different from Aladdin whose actions are done more from a need to survive whereas Flynn does what he does because he wants more, namely his own castle on his own island. I would also that Flynn also shapes himself by that character, he is confident, a bit theatrical at times and sees himself as totally in control of most situations. He is again a "swashbuckling rogue" and notable rogues in books would be Robin Hood, Errol Flynn (see that?), Zorro, etc. Flynn really molds himself to that and wants the level of freedom and comfort they had. Even changing his name as "Eugene Fitzherbert" is not the name one expects from a swashbuckling rogue. This says a lot about Flynn's upbringing and may hint at his life being more like Aladdin's but the difference possibly being that he had few, if any friends which would make sense as he showed no loyalty at all to the Stabbin Brothers. We get hints from the tv series that he has had friends but it doesn't feel like any of them really had the same impact that one would say Abu had on Aladdin, or even Chewbacca to Han Solo.

Flynn and Rapunzel, his Sun and Stars

"You were my new dream"

In terms of how Flynn views the world, I think it is rather appropriate that it would be someone who knows next to nothing of the world to counter his own. While he doesn't say it, Flynn lives by certain truths to how the world works, and Rapunzel challenges it with her wide eyed optimism and actual results. This is best shown at the Snuggly Duckling where Flynn tries to scare her with the surface appearance of the world, Rapunzel turns this around by inadvertently getting them to sing about their own dreams. When Flynn is face to face with Maximus, a rather serious and epic horse, Rapunzel talks him down, seeing him not as a mad machine of justice but as the adorable dog-horse that Disney loves to make. She has an impact on his view of the world which is more taking things at face value as opposed to what they really are. From Rapunzel's standpoint it doesn't seem Flynn would have much to offer her but like with Quasimodo and Esmerelda, Flynn plays a role of disproving the wrong ideas her parental figure has put into her head. Flynn sees in Rapunzel a kind of innocence and optimism that I think he wishes he did still have in the world and as their journey continues to the Lantern Festival he does begin to fall in love with her and does want to protect that innocence. This is best shown not only in their duet which mentions him never truly seeing things they were but also at the end when he chooses to give the crown to the Stabbin Brothers and when he is willing to die to free her with the latter two being done with the intention of her not knowing. Rapunzel makes Flynn a better person and oddly enough more like the swashbuckling rogue he read about and wanted to emulate.

When you look at Flynn you mostly see a happy go lucky and carefree thief but ultimately I think that is more of the surface argument. He is sort of like Phoebus in that there is very much an untold story that would better explain why he is the way he is. With Flynn we see someone that has created an image of himself to achieve the goals of a life of wealth and luxury. and he prides himself on that image, getting annoyed when people get it wrong. However, like Naveen, by the end of his adventure he comes to find happiness and what he wanted in Rapunzel (who also just happens to have a castle and as royalty is rich). He is a character that sees himself as cooler than he is and I think ultimately wants someone who likes him knowing that he is Eugene. That is something interesting about the change in the Disney Prince line that I want to think started with Kuzco, this sort of image of an almost Gaston-like character in need of change and improvement. Where Gaston seemed beyond help, we notice that Naveen and Flynn are characters who lack commitment and only need the commitment of others, Pacha, Tiana, and Rapunzel have an impact on our characters in addition to the adventure they go on.

There Aren't Enough Scoundrels in Your Life

I'd honestly gone back and forth with this one and I think Han Solo is the right choice. I mean, in a more adult/realistic setting Flynn Rider would be more selfish and brutally honest with is intentions. He's older than his love interest who is a bit more focused on the bigger things, where Han is in it for himself and getting paid Leia is fighting for the freedom of the galaxy. It is through their adventures that the two of them fall for each other, the proverbial "good girl" and swashbuckling rogue who isn't like the other boys (or in Rapunzel's case, like what Mother Gothel said). I also feel that Han and Flynn have the same kind of view of themselves as the sort of handsome ladies man. Another choice would of course be the pirate Jack Sparrow.

Next time we'll be heading over to a rather hot topic in a frozen wasteland where we will meet two upper and lower middle class examples of what a prince is.