The story of the princess with long hair locked up in a tower is a commonly known fairy tale in the form of the Disney movie Tangled, released in November 2010. Fans of the movie are excited about the possibility of the movie having a live-action version soon, but nothing is yet confirmed. While this is very thrilling news for those who have grown up watching the childhood movie, the internet is currently split on who should be casted as Rapunzel.
There is a wide list of names of actresses who many on the internet find perfect for the role of Rapunzel, an 18 year old girl with long blonde hair, green eyes, and fair skin. This list includes Meg Donnelly who is mostly known from the Disney movie Zombies, Dove Cameron who is known for being in various Disney productions such as Descendants and Liv and Maddie, and the list of actresses who fit the physical description goes on.
One of the most attention-grabbing rumors stated that actress Avantika Vandanapu would be taking the role, who was in the recent Mean Girls movie released this year 2024. Although it was just fans’ own fictional casting, many are upset. Over the internet, Avantika has been receiving racist backlash and hate comments on her social media posts. Many disagree with the choice of having an Indian woman with long black hair play the role of an iconic character who’s known for her long, blonde hair. Despite the differences in appearance, others are excited for the likelihood of Avantika’s casting because of the representation and believe race isn’t important when deciding who is best for Rapunzel. Both sides of the debate have numerous reasons that support their idea on whether Avantika should take the role of Rapunzel or not.
A point that some against the casting of Avantika or anyone who doesn’t resemble Rapunzel is that the story of Rapunzel takes place in Germany, so it is most reasonable to give the role of Rapunzel to someone who is German. It is additionally debated that Disney has recently been trying too hard to be inclusive and represent other cultures. An example of this is the controversial casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in the live action version of movie The Little Mermaid released in 2023, which many were split on. It’s argued that there is a wide variety of blonde and green-eyed actresses to choose from that resemble Rapunzel and question why Disney would make the choice to ignore them, although they are almost perfect for the role based on appearance. A commonly asked question asked is, “Why can’t Tiana, Mulan, or Jasmine be played by a white person?” if it is fine for Rapunzel to be played by a person of color.
The opposing side of the argument has argued directly towards this question. The race and culture of some Disney characters don’t always have significance to the storyline, but many do. For example, the Disney movie Mulan is based on a Chinese legend and the story is based on an actual historic event that took place in China. However, Rapunzel’s race has no impact on the story and Rapunzel being German is not mentioned once throughout the movie, so the comparison between choosing a woman of color as a Rapunzel and choosing a white woman as a character who’s race has high significance towards the story makes no sense. The representation in Disney is also much appreciated, considering the lack many people of color have experienced while growing up.
Although the actress given the role of Rapunzel was never officially confirmed by Disney, nor the release of the movie, the possible casting of Rapunzel matters much to people who grew up watching the popular movie as a kid, proven by the online feud. Although both sides of the debate make great statements, a fancast of a rumored movie shouldn’t be taken as seriously as it currently is considering that either way, the original Tangled movie will still remain an iconic part of many childhoods.