Disney’s rework of the classic story of Rapunzel didn’t look too promising for a start, at least to me, when I was contemplating which movie to watch. Should it be Narnia? Rapunzel? or the The Next Three Days? It didn’t take us too long until we reached the front of the queue and had to make the decision there and then. After much pushing and pulling, we finally decided on Rapunzel 3D. Amidst the rave reviews by friends and relatives, I wasn’t too convinced at first. However, it all changed 5 minutes into the movie when I was sucked into a fantasy world, which stays true to the original theme. The theme of love, guy saving the damsel in distress, the wicked bad guy, the supporting animals (very well played by the white palace horse and the cute chameleon) and finally, we all learn that it is still possible to “live happily ever after”.
The movie had much gold and glitter with Rapunzel going into new “lengths” to grab our attention with her never-say-die attitude. However, we turn to ourselves and ask ,”What can we learn and put into practice?”
Learning never stops (even when you’re trapped in a tower) or a deep-trenched well
Rapunzel was trapped in a tower for a full 18 years but she didn’t seem like she’s trapped at all. The ‘ol saying of being a frog and trapped inside a well, although is true in a sense, it’s amazing to see how Rapunzel is able to still learn how to paint and bake some sort of pies. She’s trapped but she made full use of her time learning whatever that she can. Have we then let our circumstances limit our learning opportunity and use it as an excuse to stop learning?
Make good use of your gifts (possibly the golden long hair)
Again, we can see how Rapunzel didn’t let her long hair to inhibit her movements. Instead of becoming her stumbling blocks, she turned her hair into a tool to hoist herself up to clean the room, to reach those walls that are beyond her reach for her painting, and sometimes, use it to wrap around herself as a blanket or even unbelievably, use it as a rope to swing from places to places. Remember Tarzan? So, here comes the big question, identify one area that you thought are perhaps your weakness and ask ,”How can I convert that into my strength?”.
See things from a different perspective
Rapunzel looked up to the ceiling in her bedroom and saw her own paintings come to life! What was originally a flower or a sun because a purple symbol of her family’s Kingdom. I hope I get this one right. And this led her to realize who she was and confront her fears. What is one thing that we can do today? Try to slow down and observe our surroundings, you never know what you’ve been missing all these while.
Don’t jump too fast into a certain conclusion
Rapunzel squinted her eyes and looked through the foggy seas. She saw Eugene taking out a boat to escape with her princess crown. The keyword here is a foggy sea. She was devastated and couldn’t believe what she saw. It turned out that everything was a setup by the evil duo sidekick. I guess it is worthwhile to always take a step back from where the actions are and understand why certain people behave in a certain way. As the saying goes, seek first to understand first, then to be understood.
See beyond your tools because it’s not those tools, but yourself
I wanted to use the word “gift” to describe Rapunzel’s golden hair as they are not merely tools. In the movie, it’s said that the golden hair will “lose” its power when it’s cut off. But we witnessed for ourselves that Rapunzel still retain her healing power even without her golden hair (btw, brunette looks good on her too). Perhaps, we can still be confident and stand tall when we do not have our “tools” with us? Think about it.
Alright! You may go watch the movie now!
