Continued Explorations - Music & the Fictive Dream: "I See the Light"

I am what most people would call a 'big kid at heart.'

I enjoy the simple things in life, I like to keep things as light and airy as possible. I am always the first to crack a joke to get a laugh out of someone to ease any situation, whether it be a play on words or a corny joke, anything to get a laugh.

 I also am not afraid to embrace my interests that most grown adults consider childish. For instance, I love anything Disney-related, and all things related to the Magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So much so, that my husband agreed to go to DisneyWorld and the Wizarding World in Florida for our honeymoon! He embraces weird quirks just as much as I do, which is one of the many reasons why we are perfect together.

In the first year of our relationship, way back in 2010, Disney Studios released a new movie that caught both of our eyes for different reasons. For me, it was a classic fairy tale that I had enjoyed when I was little, with an exciting 'Disney spin' to it. For my then-boyfriend, Terry, it was the lead voice actress, Mandy Moore, who he was already a fan of for her singing performance for another movie she had starred in. For whatever reason we were watching it, we were excited to watch it together!

 Movie Title: "Tangled"

Directors: Nathan Greno & Bryan Howard

Created By: Dan Fogelman, Jacob Grimm &Wilhelm Grimm (Brothers Grimm)

Release Date: November 24, 2010

Country of Origin: U.S. & Canada  

This fun and carefree animated film is a spin-off of the classic fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, called "Rapunzel", originally written back in 1857. Like most fairy tales from that time period, it came with a dark undertone, filled with lying, stealing, trickery, and even some violence.

A short telling of the classic version is a Sorceress, by the name of Gothel, entraps a couple to give their firstborn to her. Gothel takes their baby girl at birth, names her Rapunzel, and traps her in a high tower in the middle of a forest. Rapunzel's hair reaches great lengths by her early years, and Gothel uses it to enter and exit the tower. Later in life, a Prince hears Rapunzel singing, falls in love, then tricks Rapunzel into bringing him up the tower. Startled at first, soon Ranpanzel falls for the prince and they plot an escape plan together. However, Gothel catches on, she cuts, and uses Ranpuzel's lengthy hair to entrap the Prince. When the Prince sees their plan is foiled, he assumes Rapunzel is dead, so he sacrificially throws himself off the tower. He survives the fall but blinded by thorns in his eyes, he wanders the forest while crying for his lost loved one. Years later, they find each other, and Rapunzel's tears magically heal his eyesight.

Disney's version was much more child-friendly, with the characters modeled after the original story but with adjustments to the storyline. In this modern adaptation, screenplay writer Dan Fogelman, took some creative liberties while coming up with a new storyline for a familiar fairy tale.

In this new telling of the story, Rapunzel is kidnapped as a baby by Gothel so she can abuse Rapunzel's magical hair healing powers. Gothel raises Rapunzel as her own in a high tower in the middle of a forest, and never allows her to cut her hair or leave the tower. However, as Rapunzel's 18th birthday approaches, her curiosity gets the better of her. She's determined to know what the lights are that fill up the night sky in the far-off distance every year on her birthday. Soon, after a series of unusual events, Flynn Rider comes across the tall tower in the forest. Rapunzel sees an opportunity to act and creates a task for Gothel to accomplish that would take a lengthy amount of time. Although reluctant at first, Flynn ends up finding himself helping Rapunzel to achieve her lifelong dream, to see the floating 'lights'! 

Song Title: "I See the Light"

Performed By: Zachary Levi & Mandy Moore

Composers: Alan Menken (Music) & Glenn Slater (Lyrics)

Date of Release: November 24, 2010

Country of Origin: U.S. & Canada 

This song takes place in a rowboat at the center of the lake next to the city of Corona, while Flynn (voiced by Zachary Levi) and Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) prepare to watch the lighting of the lanterns. Which is a ceremony that is performed every year in memory of the kingdom's lost princess. 

Rapunzel starts the song, by singing about all the days she spent watching the ceremony from her windows, wondering what she was missing out on, and if she would belong outside of the tower. Now that she is experiencing it firsthand, she knows what she's been missing, what she has been blind to. She speaks of finally being able to see the light after the fog has lifted, speaking of seeing her true potential and where she belongs in the real world. Flynn showed Rapunzel with the help of a different outlook and perspective on life, everything can look different. 

The next verse is sung by Flynn, singing of living in a blur for years while he chased after an unrealistic daydream. Never slowing down to enjoy his life, he was always focused on the next step to get rich quick. Now, after he has slowed down during this journey with Rapunzel, he sees things much clearer. He sees now that there are more important things in the world than just materialistic means, and she's standing in front of him, shining in the starlight. 

The last verse is sung as a duet between the two main characters in beautiful harmony. They are being surrounded by the lanterns from the ceremony, as they begin to sing the final lyrics of the outro to each other rather than to themselves like in the previous lyric lines. As if both came to a personal realization simultaneously that because of the other, they are seeing the best side to themselves, that they have never seen before. 

After years of Gothel telling her how dark the world can be and how frail she is, Rapunzel's self-confidence never had a chance to flourish until Flynn Rider came into her life and showed her the light the world has to offer her now that she's with him. In any good relationship, your partner should bring the best out of you. Rapunzel did something different for Flynn but similar in the sense of bringing the best out of him. Flynn was able to slow down, be himself for once, and enjoy the simple things in life with Rapunzel's easy-going presence and accepting attitude. She did not judge him like others he has encountered in the past did, so he didn't need to wear a facade or a disguise around her. He was able to be himself around her and still feel accepted. 

This particular musical number may have been the slowest song in this film, but I feel the animators took an extra amount of care toward the visual effects for this scene, to give a warm, loving feeling. Along with the amazing visuals, this musical piece helps give you a comforting feeling with the use of the musical form and with the melody as well.

The musical form is structured to something most people are very familiar with for the majority of the song. However the lyricist, Glenn Slater manages to surprise and draw you in even more with the voice performers. It starts with an instrumental introduction then jumps into the first verse from the female voice only. The female continues alone into the first chorus, then the male voice takes over in the second verse, solo. Then finally for the outro, the two voices come together for a powerful ending to the number.

The last thing that gives this song such a warm, inviting and exciting feel is the melody. In this piece, the wide range of musical instruments is a perfect accompaniment with the lyrics. The musical composer, Alan Menken created a wonderful track full of string and wind instruments. The teamwork between Menken and the lyricist, Glenn Slater is evident in the way the melody starts slow and stays steady with the female vocalist in the first verse. Then it fluctuates when the lyrics move toward the chorus before drastically picking up when the male vocalist starts for the second verse and it follows the vocalists throughout the rest of the song. 

This is a fantastic musical number, even if it was written for a Disney kid movie, any grown adult I know can appreciate the work put into the original soundtrack for this film.

Hopefully, I inspired you enough to give this movie a try, if you haven't already. And if you have seen it, go watch it again! Your inner child will thank me!

Sources:

1.) Tangled | Disney Movies | © Disney, All Rights Reserved, Disney Entertainment

2.) Tangled (2010) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb | © 1990-2021 by IMDb.com, Inc

3.) Grimm 012: Rapunzel | By D.L. Ashliman | University of Pittsburgh | © 1996-2021

4.) Tangled (2010) - Soundtracks - IMDb | ©1990-2021 by IMDb.com, Inc