Saturday, February 6, 2010

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...


I alluded to some of this in"The Killing of a Queen by a Princess" post the other day...

Yes, it looks like "Rapunzel" will get a name change. I've known about this for the past couple of weeks. And this along with some other news has sort of been disappointing when it comes to the animated world that we all love to talk about.

The marketing guys have gotten together with the Suits and Ed and John and have determined that boys being boys, well... they won't go see a movie that is perceived to be a "girlie" pic. Now, I may think that there might be some truth to what they're saying, but I certainly don't believe wrapping it up in that nice little bow explains fully the box office disappointment of TPATF. In fact, one of the main problems I believe happened with this film is that the word "Princess" in the title made many a girl expect to see more, not less princess and some of them were disappointed that she spent so much time as a frog. They did, after all, come to see a princess movie. So I think that the perspective may be somewhat off here.

One important thing to remember is that just because the name changes doesn't mean the story does as well. From everything I've gathered, the film itself is quite good, entertaining and gorgeous to behold. The last couple of screenings up on reels have improved the story which Lasseter is very happy with. So when it comes out in theaters it'll have to stand on the tale that is written, not the name on the screen. There are several factors that also seem to have worked against Frog as well. The holiday release date which is so jam packed as well affected this (Pixar in my estimation gets the more desirable summer openings).

Now another thing I want to address is the strategy that Ed and John came in with and how it was/is noble and was/is flawed. Now, that is changing and hopefully it's a good thing. But when they came in the plan was to get the division up and running as quickly as possible. John went through the entire list of development projects and shelved some while altering others and looking for new stories in the process. The original strategy was to take what Disney is known for (Princess films, fairy tales, classic characters) and show that you can make a solid, well crafted film with a good story. The problem with many of those stories in the past is that they used all these characters in crappy stories. Ed and John felt that making quality stories using a tradition Disney staple would help get the company back on track and then after showing that they would move on to other, original material (like the Lamp). After TPATF this idea has been scrapped and the focus will just be on creating good stories as it appears fairy tales are perceived as "old hat" and there is a need to "just tell good stories." Ed and John thought that focusing on these stories would help out the marking department and other consumer divisions that continually want to focus on Disney's "Brands." Now, the feeling is that the marketing department will have to bend to the story not the other way around.

Back to Rapuzel, I'm sure most of you have heard about the names that are up for this new title change. I personally like none of them, although the "Tangled" one is in the lead. I just pray that "The Thief in the Tower" doesn't wind up wining the prize. Again, it doesn't mean the film will be bad, I happen to think "The Great Mouse Detective" is a wonderful film despite "The Basil of Baker Street" being the better and original title. I don't know why they don't just take part of the original title and call it that... "Unbraided" as in "Rapunzel Unbraided," which was the actual name of this project. We'll find out about this very soon, btw. And by that I mean VERY soon. The only way that the title will remain the same is if Ed and John decide against it and right now they're part of the group that is working on this name change. If it does happen, let's try and makes sure the box office results of this film are different from TPATF as well. Come November, we'll all get to put our voice and dollars into this process. Only then will we find out if this tangled web ends happily everafter.

Time will tell...

68 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with having Tianna spend so much time as a frog being a problem. My guess is that they felt it was the only way they could think of, to stretch the story along. Though having her stay human and needing the prince to navigate through the swamps would've been more entertaining. Imagine the tension between her and the alligator. Not only is she relying on this frogs word that the alligator is harmless, she's RELYING on the frogs word that the alligator is harmless. It calls into question her sanity, and makes for good comedy.

Unknown said...

That's ridiculous...it doesn't matter the name of the movie..people know it's the movie about rapunzel. I'm starting to lose hope in the new lasseter-oriented disney.
Lasseter once said that the problem wasn't if the movie was hand drawn or CGI, the problem was if it was good or bad. I'm starting to think he forgot that.

Doopey said...

In this instance, changing the name does nothing to help the situation, and only makes the marketing job even harder. No one has any clue what "Tangled" or "Unbraided" means. And once marketing clues people in, the result will be, "oh, I get it, it's a Rapunzel movie." So you're back to square one. Disney doesn't do well with vague marketing. Remember those meaningless lightning bolt posters for "Bolt"?

Anonymous said...

This news does not surprise me at all, even though it infuriates me a great deal. And one does not even have to be female to realize how unfair the situation is:

The movie industry, being such a macho, male-driven business always finds a need to "cut back" on anything to do with the female gender. Is it not unfair enough that very few films (percentage wise) are actually targeted for women and girls? (Sure, films such as Twilight, TPANF, Did you Hear about the Morgans comes to mind, but that is literally NOTHING compared to the amount of stuff driven for boys and men).

John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, the good guys they are, are trying their best to make Rapunzel pull through, and I respect them for. But by assuming that males will not watch it because of the title infuriates me, especially when society allows girls to watch GI Joe or Transformers.

Oh well. Let's hope the title stays the same. "Tangled" isn't all that bad either.

dee said...

Tangled sounds a title for a porn movie... It's horrible!

Unknown said...

Oh, boy. I don't think "Tangled" or "Unbraided" are very good titles. What do they mean? If you're going to give a fairy tale a vague title you'd better have a good reason, like for "Hoodwinked." Fairy tales are very straight-to-the-point. "Rapunzel" is a nice straight-to-the-point title. You see it and you know exactly what the movie is about. Doopy has a very good point.

And, besides, I'm male, and "Rapunzel" has been my most anticipated Disney movie for some time. The thing is beautiful. It's an animated movie that looks nearly like Romantic paintings. How does that not sell itself? Please, Disney, don't make it seem like a run-of-the-mill animated movie by giving it a vague, hip-sounding, "marketable" title.

Bob said...

Hey, here's an interesting solution to Disney Animation Studios' problem: Quit scheduling your movies next to massive tentpoles (Twilight, Avatar, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). Mind-blowing, I know.

Mistress Inverse said...

This is crazy. Tangled?
Yup. Feels so magical right there...
Rapunzel would be best. Honestly, this is going to go the way of PATF.

Anonymous said...

"Rapunzel" is the name of a movie that can/should be an enduring classic that will make money for Disney for decades to come, sitting on the shelf alongside Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. Take the long view, and trust in making a quality movie, give it its proper name, and give it time. Sleeping Beauty didn't make money in its initial run either, but it still making money for disney all these years later. A good Rapunzel will do the same.

The "Unbraided" name made sense when this was a modern spin on the classic story. Now that its a straight-up telling of the classic story, it should keep the simple "Rapunzel" as the title.

Anonymous said...

I guess we now know who truly calls the shots at Disney.

spacemtn77 said...

Hey Honor--

What's the best way to send feedback to the brass at Disney about this upcoming (and stupid!) decision? E-mail? Snail mail? Twitter? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I'll quote what an anonymous (myself) said back in January-

"Anonymous said...
Pretty much due to the underperformance of PotF, this next golden age isn't going to happen people...

January 9, 2010 12:26 AM"

I shall put this comment back on the floor for commenting due to the past couple of updates from the animation world...

Where does your 'golden age' stand now? Shattered so far as I see it...

Anonymous said...

**Honor, I don't understand what you did not approve my comment on this matter. (I had said that it was "not necessarily a bad thing"
Did I write too much? Did you not agree with what I said?...Its not like that ever stopped you from approving before.

Apparently your mood is worse than I thought. :(

I can take a hint...

Katty said...

I believe The Princess and the Frog title DID affect the box office. Most boys WERE turned off by the Princess in the title. My grown-up son was, and he otherwise loves animation. Sexist of not, that is the real world and when you spend $100 million to make a movie you have to deal with it. Most boys would as soon go to a "Princess" movie as they would to a Hannah Montana one.

I don't know if it's a good idea to change Rapunzel's title to something more gender neutral, but if it gets more boys into the theater I don't see anything wrong with it.

Anonymous said...

Honor, if I'm reading between the lines correctly, Am I correct in assuming that this recent news has made you hate Lasseter?

If that's the case, then its been fun reading your thoughts all these years, but I bid you farewell.

...I guess bad moods are contagious.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why people seem so afraid of pointing out the obvious. The success of these animated films have nothing to do with good stories, it's the fact that they're computer animated.

I adore Lasseter, but his mantra that it's story that counts is extremely naive, or a downright lie. He has repeatedly said that 2D was made the scapegoat for bad storytelling... so how do we explain the failure of TPATF? Here was a great film, with great reviews and a proper return to classic Disney. Yet it didn't make an impact. So do we now say that TPATF was a bad story, or do we admit that 2D animation just doesn't draw the same crowds?

Additionally, the problem with Laseter's previous comment is that by his rationale any film which has been a success is necessarily a GOOD story. But can we really explain the success of films such as Kung-Fu Panda, Ice Age 3 and Madagascar on strong stories? Of course not. Consider that Chicken Little, a terrible decision by Disney, actually had a stronger opening weekend than The Lion King! Or that The Emperor's New Groove, a hugely underrated film which is arguably Disney's funniest, flopped at the cinema, despite displaying the same razor sharp wit that had made Hercules and Aladdin a success years before. 3D attracts audiences, 2D doesn't. It's unfortunate, but it's true.

Ally said...

I HATE Tangled! It's horrible!!!

If Disney wants to change the title of this movie, I prefer too much "The Hidden Tower" or "The Secret Tower"...

Tangled is also a commercial name for a G-Strip in Europe! so I agree with Dee... Tangled is a title for a porn movie, not for Rapunzel!

I'm very very very disappointed about this...

Unknown said...

I'm not so sure how classic a story this will be. To me, it seems like it will have a smattering of the original story, but John Lasseter has said that Rapunzel will be a grrrl-power kind of girl, so I mean, yeah, maybe she won't be as passive a heroine as Aurora, for example, but it will still have a modernness to it. I mean, but so does "Aladdin", and that's considered classic... ?

The Missing $$ said...

I would like to help RE: Box office, but unfortunately my tickets don't count at the Box Office since I'm not from the US.
As that market is all that matters, and international market doesn't count to Disney or the movie biz and blogoshere, then there is, perhaps no point in me going to see either Rapunzel next February\March, or Princess and the Frog this week, if I can wait one-two months to get an imported DVD for less cost, or hopefully I will get a copied disk from a friend at even more a fraction of the cost.

Anywho.
Disney marketing are dumb.
Rapunzel makes sense.
I hope someone wakes up.

Paultje said...

what a stupid idea......

and what if it doesn't lead to more money?
what to blame next?

Woodrow said...

Calling Rupunzel "Tangled" or "Unbraided" is like calling Cinderella "Discalced" or calling Sleeping Beauty "16" or like calling The Frog Princess "The Princess and the Frog." It doesn't make sense.

starofthepop said...

Tangled is horrible... I dislike it too much.

People, in November Harry Potter 7 will be at the cinema and it will be a sure succes... donc Rapunzel will do battle with a very great movie... I don't know if Rapunzel will be able to fight with Harry Potter 7... but I'm sure that a title like Tangled will be a disaster!
Today people wants a new classic tale, the flop of Princess and the Frog isn't in the title, is the story (the movie is not the original Frog Prince story, the movie hasn't the original title and hasn't Disney spirit, it was too comedic and this is not what people want today! look Avatar, it's a great story, a great dramatic story, not only filler gags like Princess and the Frog!)... I really think that Disney must to create a very classic story, with great Disney spirit and not Dreamworks or Sony or other style! Disney has her own style and when people go to the cinema to see a Disney movie, people want to see Disney own style!!! Today Disney has lost his style, Princess and the Frog hasn't Disney style, it was too comical and there is just a little of heart!

Another thing: does Disney think that a movie called Tangled could be fight Harry Potter 7??? I think not.

So, if they change title for a classic fairy tale I hope they'll choose a very beautiful title, not Tangled which sounds like a porn title, I agree with dee!

Finally, I'm not a Disney fan (but I watched a lot of Disney movies and TPATF), I watched Disney movies for entertainment but I never was a Disney fan (a friend give me the link of this blog... Honor, you write very well!)... today I don't like Disney movie... and in my quality of non Disney fan, I can tell you that I'll never go to the cinema to see a movie called Tangled! If the movie will be Rapunzel, I'd go to the cinema, but if the movie will be called Tangled, I don't go to the cinema...

Matt DeWater said...

You guys are ridiculous.

Tangled sounds like a porn film? What? What kind of porn are YOU watching?!

For all of you saying "I hope they don't change the name" or something along those lines, wake up. They have ALREADY changed the name.

And to be honest, yes, I very much wish it would stay Rapunzel. But it's not going to. Does the title affect the movie itself WHATSOEVER? NO. If "Up" had been called "The Adventures of Carl Frederickson and his many sidekicks" would it have been a bad movie? NO! Rapunzel is STILL Rapunzel. Just because the opening title will say Tangled doesn't make the slightest difference. For how intense you all are as Disney fans, you'd think you'd be the first to trust them in whatever they're doing.

We've heard the movie is looking really good so far. Be happy.

nojarama said...

Ridiculous!!! Both "The Princess & The Frog" and "Rapunzel" should be called what they were originally (Particularly "Rapunzel"- unless they changed the story completely from the original). If they felt they were too girlish, they shouldn't have greenlit them to begin with. The suits need to shut the f*ck up & just sit in the corner & count their cash (because you KNOW P&TF will do VERY well in DVD/toy sales)!

Anonymous said...

I somehow doubt that "Tangled" will end up being the title.
It would be great if they left the title alone, but we'll just have to see what happens.

Anonymous said...

The Princess and the Frog is my favorite Disney canon. I am REALLY excited about Rapunzel. I just LOVE Disney! Some of you Disney fans should channel your negativity into support for Disney. With all of this talk of box office......there's Lion King in the 300s. Aladdin in the 200s. and a handful in the mid 100s. TPATF has recently broken 100, almost made it's budget in the US alone, just passed meet the robinsons, hercules, and hunchback....and those are respectable canons. I think expectations are set too high. Frog was a critical success, loved by nearly everyone that saw it, made respectable money, received many award nominations. most importantly, tiana will be a classic princess in the parks as well as a large part of the company's image for years to come. I think years from now, Princess and the Frog may be viewed as much more of a classic than it is at the present....

Anonymous said...

There probably IS something to the fact that boys are turned off by a movie with the word "Princess" in the title.
Bolt was a much more neutral title that didn't repel boys. And in the long run, Bolt ended up doing well.

As it stands right now, did Bolt make more money than PatF? Or are they pretty much comparable? I can't remember.

Don't misunderstand me, I loved both Bolt and The Princess and the Frog, but it does seem apparent that perhaps fairly tales just have a hard time these days, what with all of the "hip" movies that are attracting people these days. Plus, it does seem like audience's tastes have changed.
Sad but true.

I don't know if changing the title will help. "Tangled" doesn't sound very good. I'm hoping that common sense will prevail in whatever title to end up choosing. But if they do keep it as "Rapunzel" it will probably suffer the same fate as Princess and the Frog, unfortunately.
And with all due respect Honor, telling your readers to go see the film is a very good thought, but it is not going to make much difference either way.
You can't control the world my friend. :-/

Anonymous said...

...And you know what? "Tangled" does NOT sound like like a Porn film (like someone mentioned)

Do you know what DOES sound like a porn film?? "Tangled Bush"

(I got that one from my sister.)

If they went with Tangled, that would clearly not be the best title in the world, but it wouldn't be the worst either. When I mentioned it to someone, they thought it sounded kind of cute.

But again, hopefully, common sense will prevail when choosing a title.

Lets hope for the best.

Anonymous said...

tangled???? what a horrible title!!!!it makes no sense to me!!!!

Anonymous said...

Rapunzel and Rider

Flynn and the Tower

Rapunzel and the Secret Tower

Secret in the Tower

Mystery of the Tower

Girl in the Tower

Rapunzel Tangled Up

Rapunzel and the Tangle in her 70 foot braided hair

Rapunzel and the Tangled Thief in the Tower Unbraided

Anonymous said...

Wanna promote this for boys?

Just show how freakin HOT Rapunzel is, and leave the title RAPUNZEL.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/rapunzel_b.jpg

#1 rule of marketing, sex sells.

#2 rule of marketing, see rule #1.

Anonymous said...

Hey, maybe changing the name is a marketing scam in itself. As in, Disney is going, "Hey, we need some support from our fans. Let's make a 'title change' to something stupid that we know they'll hate, and give them a while to hate us, and then miraculously 'change the title back' to Rapunzel, so everyone will have a newfound excitement for the film."

Hey, a Disney fan can dream, can't they? :)

Symbolism said...

Hmmm I'm going to go pitch a few of my ideas to Disney...

Sprouted - a boy finds magical beans that grow a beanstalk in his backgarden and leads to a world of giants.

The Stake in the Eye - Odysseus and his mean plot to escape the evil Polyphemus by poking him in the eye..

Stitched Up - Super nerd Frankie Steinbeck decides to create the worlds best science project for homework - LIFE!!!

WHALE - a sailor sets out to catch a rare whale against adversity

I think i'm onto a winner here. Surely they'll love these.

Froggy said...

Shoulda stuck with "The Frog Prince"

Well thats what the film is no?

kevinwillis.net said...

The Princess and the Frog was a good movie, but more in Lilo and Stitch territory (and it grossed $145 million domestic). The Princess and the Frog has grossed $101 million (in an economic downturn) and will probably add another $10 million to that, domestically, by the end.

It's already $15 mil up on Brother Bear's $85 million domestic gross. And that movie had the word "brother" in it.

But The Frog Princess was not even close to Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid in terms of quality, and I think part of the problem there was the music. "Dig a Little Deeper" was really reminiscent of something that might have come from a Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated movie release. Swan Princess 2 type quality. The Southpark movie had far superior musical numbers.

And there was a reason Katzenberg and company went to the composers of Little Shop of Horrors for the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Where was the "I Just Can't Wait To Be King"? Wasn't there.

Yes, Friends on the Other Side was a good number, but, even then, the music really did live up to the visuals.

It was a good movie. It should have done better. But after years of mediocre direct-to-video sequels and anemic fair like Brother Bear and good-but-not-great movies, Disney would have to do better with their 2D animation than "better than Brother Bear". A number with both the musical and lyrical style and humor of "Gaston" regarding the baddy in TPATF could have gone a long way.

That being said, the visuals in TPATF were top-notch, and it's worth watching just for that.

The problem is, it's a competitive market place. Bolt was very good, but it wasn't great. It wasn't "The Incredibles", it wasn't "Toy Story 2". Maybe it was in the same league as "Cars". But even then . . .

Now that Dreamworks is producing movies like Kung-Fu Panda--which was great, the first Dreamworks movie that I said: "Wow, that's a Pixar-quality film"--and the upcoming "How to Train Your Dragon" has some pretty positive early buzz--Disney has to up its game.

And it could start by making an animated musical that treats the music seriously, and not as filler, or a background for some very impressive animation. I'm just sayin.

Ismael Hernández said...

It,s not about the title but the quality of the story and the cleverness of the marketing. Tiana was marketed as a comedy rather than a fantasy and that was STUPID.

I think they should LEAVE Rapunzel or just give it a subtitle or name it "Rapunzel and Flynn"

Anonymous said...

I agree that you're all being way too negative and pessimistic, including you Mario, for your Lassetter-hatred.

Mike Luzzi said...

Very disheartening. Make a classic film, stop trying to be "edgy"

Someone should force these execs to watch the "Poochy" episode of the Simpsons.

Anonymous said...

I also agree that Honor Hunter continues to become just as negative and cynical as many of the lemmings that post comments on here, especially in his more recent blog entries.

He does need to express much more courtesy and respect in his blog posts, especially if he wants to avoid burning bridges and hurting his relationships with the Disney Company and its staff/higher-ups.

Anonymous said...

Shoulda stuck with "The Frog Prince"

Well thats what the film is no?


Well, no, not really. The characters in The Princess and the Frog mention the original fairy tale a couple of times, but for all intents and purposes Princess and the Frog is an original property.

Anonymous said...

I agree 100 percent with the anonymous post from Feb. 8, at 10:19 AM.

Also, an important observation to make is that even though the title may get changed, that will not affect the story whatsoever.
All that there trying to do after all, is get both genders to the theaters and buy tickets.

Unknown said...

So, wait you're insulting Honor Hunter and his readers? I respectfully submit that you should express more courtesy in your posts.

Now, I don't want to hijack this thread, but Honor has no obligation to be nice to Disney. In fact, I can't see this negativity and cynicism you're referring to. The only "negative" recent posts are about bad news. I'd love if bad news didn't exist, but sometimes things develop in less than pleasing ways. It's the real fans who will say when they don't like something. Disagreement has never been a sign of disloyalty or even of disrespectfulness.

But, back on topic, I don't think this can be blamed on John Lasseter. (At least, I hope it can't.) It seems more like he's trying to assuage the marketers in order to give the animation department more time to show their strength. Bad marketing can hurt a good product. It seems, though, that we disagree with Disney on what makes up good marketing. I think they shouldn't focus on the films strengths, whatever they are, instead of trying to hide parts they think won't draw in crowds. But, hey, I don't have a marketing degree.

Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned what Honor said about Disney moving away from fairy tales to good stories of any kind. I think this is a good move, it might make people take notice. ("Hey, what? Disney's making a movie with no princess? This I gotta see.") I don't care myself, as long as the movie is good. However, I'll always like fairy tales, and Rapunzel looks like a good one. I just don't want to see people miss it because of crazy marketing.

meg said...

Tangled is the worst title in Disney history...

Captain Sensible said...

I hear that the male character (the mentioned thief) is supposed to be getting more screentime now so I guess it would be fair if they handled it almost like a mash up of two fairy tales.
Like the aforementioned "Rapunzel and Flynn"

and yes Princess and the Frog should have been "The Frog PRINCE" - doesn't really matter what happens after the kiss, the point is there is a frog claiming to be a Prince and asks a girl to kiss him. Hilarity ensues. The Frog is a Prince - a Frog Prince.

Anycase, hope its got Rapunzel in there somewhere.

Also its shooting yourself in the foot if Rapunzel is a hit and there is no Snow Queen in development because marketing got a bit itchy about girl movies.

Anonymous said...

At the risk of commenting and making this debacle even longer, I just have to say that I think that most people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. If the title gets changed, fine. Whatever. "Tangled" is not the most creative title in the world, but its not as bad as it could be.
Do you know what IS a weird title for a Disney film? "The Emperor's New Groove"

Also, Reuben;
I think that the point is, there HAVE been some people commenting on this blog who are nothing but trouble. Certainly not ALL of Honor's readers are bad eggs, but a lot of them are.
The sad truth is, most Internet comments in general are usually not very productive...As evident by a few of the earlier ones here. Witch brings me to this blog's past; have you heard of a guy called "Spokker"?
Also, I'm not sure if you are a longtime reader of Honor's blog, but most of the time, his tone is cautiously optimistic, and never too snarky...Unlike his recent blog posts that seem to have more venom than usual. Both overtly and between the lines.

And Honor; with all due respect, if this title news is what has been depressing you lately, then you REALLY need to get your priorities straightened up.

Anonymous said...

Well, no, not really. The characters in The Princess and the Frog mention the original fairy tale a couple of times, but for all intents and purposes Princess and the Frog is an original property.

Exactly!

Unfortunately, like almost everything else, the ever-cynical one-sided lemmings will continue to miss important points like this. :'(

Anonymous said...

The marketing guys have it wrong. Changing the name of last year's movie from the "The Frog Prince" to "The Princess and the Frog" was a mistake. Changing the name of "Rapunzel" isn't going to help. The key is to keep the classic names. Classic names largely have immunity from "girlie" associations. IMO the word "Rapunzel" won't have the same male-deterrent effect that the word "Princess" did.

- Tasman

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to briefly say here that I think its horrible and immature for people to blame John Lasseter. (I can't remember if people said that here, or in another comments section related to this topic)

Lasseter is a good guy. He really wants to make quality products.

I have seen and read enough interviews with him to know that believes that quality is the best business plan. He knows that STORY is what counts. And in the long run, that IS the truth.
(Just because a film does phenomenal business at the box office, does not necessarily mean that it has a strong story)

the king said...

Rapunzel must to be entitled Rapunzel!

The great mistake about TPATF was the change of the title from classic title "The Frog Prince" (a beloved fairy tale) to "The Princess and the Frog"... if they will change Rapunzel title, this movie will be another flop... Rapunzel is a classic story so the title must to be the original title... and if Rapunzel will be entitled Rapunzel, this movie will be a sure success...people want to watch another classic tale, and Rapunzel will be 50 classic Disney movie, so it's too important to entitled Rapunzel and not other title!

Mike Luzzi said...

This movie needs to be named "Rapunzel," period. It really cheapens the movie and the Disney brand to give it some cheezy title. Even "Rapunzel Unbraided is terrible.

Disney does movies that are "magical" not snarky or edgy. If the suits change this name that will be a very shortsighted decision. A movie called "Rapunzel" will sell for the next 50 years. A movie called "Tangled" or "Unbrraided" or whatever will not. People in 10 years will be puzzled as to what that movie is.

Anonymous said...

The King, please get it through your head already that TPatF was so not a flop!

And changing the title was not a mistake either! Remember, the characters in TPatF mention the original fairy tale a couple of times, but is, for all intents and purposes, an original property.

Stop jumping to conclusions, assuming that title changes will instantly lead to failures.

And Mike "Overly-Negative" Luzzi, you'd be wise to stay out of this.

hamlet said...

I agree with Mike Luzzi... Disney must to create movies for all ages not only for today...

What Disney must to considerer is that: in 2020 or 2030 or in the future a movie called "Tangled" never could be associated to classic story, never is at the same level of Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and others classic tales.

Disney stories and movies must to be immortal and a movie called "Tangled" isn't immortal...

Tangled is ridiculous, stupid title and it will be a great mistake...

tabs said...

Honestly, Pixar has had worse names...

TOY STORY
CARS

Anonymous said...

"Changing the name of last year's movie from the "The Frog Prince" to "The Princess and the Frog" was a mistake."

Wasn't the change from "The Frog Princess" based off of some russian folk tale?

Amanda said...

Rapunzel and Flynn or Flynn and Rapunzel

anything but Tangled or Unbraided

not now things have changed

Anonymous said...

The new title is "Tangled." Make no mistake.

But dont let that fool you into thinking its kiddie crap, direct-to-dvd disney. Its a good movie with a crappy title. Thats it.

Term papers said...

I also believe happened with this film is that the word "Princess" in the title made many a girl expect to see more, not less princess and some of them were disappointed that she spent so much time as a frog. They did, after all, come to see a princess movie. So I think that the perspective may be somewhat off here.

Anonymous said...

The Princess and the Frog should have just been called The Frog Princess. It would have made more sense and an easier title. Rapunzel is Rapunzel. Everyone knows it by that name. Snow White was Snow White, Cinderella - Cionderella. Heres the thing, if you are worried about it not appealing to boys just based on the title then advertise it as a fun movie with action, not all girly and such. Rapunzel is just a name of the girl. If it was Princess Rapunzel then yes I would say get rid of the Princess part. Jst call it Rapunzel and stop second guessing yourselves. Make the Snow Queen and King of the Elves. If you have to change the setting of King, fine.

Anonymous said...

Looks like "Tangled" is official:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3369110&id=23245476854&ref=nf

MarkTwain said...

Just in: The official title is Tangled, according to Disney's online release.

Anonymous said...

"Just in: The official title is Tangled"

Well there you have it. Case closed. Now lets all move on with our lives because there is nothing that people can do about the title. The title may seem funny to some, but I'm sure that story will be well done.

Personally, it really didn't matter than much to me anyway.

To be honest, I'm sure that the only people who are making a federal case out of this are the Internet crowd.

Most people in real life will probably just think "Hmmm, that's a funny title...Oh well"
And leave it at that.

Most people who spend there lives registered at (and track) every Disney board in existence, nag and obsess over every little thing (like wonder why the crab is gone from Pirates of the Caribbean, or complain about the new napkin design in a Disney park) are just DIFFERENT than "normal" non-obsessive Disney fans who don't spend their lives on the Internet.

The truth hurts.
(No offense Honor, I'm familiar enough with your blog to know that you try to be cautiously optimistic most of the time, I appreciate it, and I'm sure that many others do too. So please, don't lose that optimism, its what sets you apart from some other bloggers and Disney reporters out there.)

Now please, nobody try to address me, because I will not be returning here.

Linzi said...

hey guys, first time on here,

firstly Rapunzel Uncut... I'm so surprised it hasn't been mentioned before...it seems so obvious...Disney keeps the rapunzel element to its name and uncut makes it new and relevant. have we all forgotten the little mermaid? female in the title and it still brought in a huge audience including males.

the problem with Disney is their marketing...to be fair basing the so called 'failure' of princess and the frog on John Lasseter is ridiculous, the guy is one of the few creative visionaries of our time, he was one of a small handful of people who created pixar and everything pixar touches turns to gold so clearly the problem with princess and the frog (which i loved by the way and thought it was on par with aladdin) wasn't the story-line but rather the marketing created by Disney themselves to promote the film. I've worked within the Disney parks and the Disney store and have seen first hand the lack of effort that goes into marketing as a whole...normally the people in charge are not 'creatives' as they would like to be seen but rather suits looking for a quick buck...

simple...bad marketing...change it...

and bring back newt...one of the most intriguing premises for a animated movie i have heard for a while.

Anonymous said...

Why do you feel the need to constantly tell the readers that you "knew this information for weeks but couldn't tell". Who cares. Grow Up.

John said...

You can thank John Lasseter for a lot of this. John really is just a big girl underneath his skin. That’s why Disney is going to have all of these girly and boring things coming soon. For example the Fantasyland expansion, which basically is a land of princesses. Next instead of a really interesting and fun 2D animated film we are going to seeing another Winnie the Poo movie. Not because of a good story, nope, it’s because Winnie the Poo product sales are good. Which is exactly why they are making Cars 2. Not only was Cars a really boring, it was one of the worst animated films I have seen. But they toys sold a lot. So guess what, here comes Cars 2 coming down the boring pipe. Here is a hint too all of you out there. Just because you are good at one thing, does not mean you’re good at everything. So john because you helped make Pixar a great company because you brought in better talent than you ( Brad Bird, Pete Doctor, Andrew Stanton) does not make you a person that can do all. You should have never been in charge of The Disney Parks, The animation department, and everything else your little boring finger is touching. So everyone remember John Lasseter = Boring, Pain, Girly, Watered-down, No Design, and anything John thought was cool when he was young. Any minute now Pixar is going to announce that they are going to create a movie based on Hawaiian t-shirts, because you guessed it, John Lasseter loves wearing Hawaiian t-shirts. Good Luck Story board artists… try and make a film about that subject matter.

Max said...

nice post.. hanks for sharing..

error fix said...

That's ridiculous...it doesn't matter the name of the movie..people know it's the movie about rapunzel. I'm starting to lose hope in the new lasseter-oriented disney.
Lasseter once said that the problem wasn't if the movie was hand drawn or CGI.

College term papers said...

Amusing topic but truthful.

Term Papers said...

Like the logo of disney, amazing.