“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair . . .”
When I was a little girl, I always wanted long hair like Rapunzel’s but I lacked the patience to let it grow. When my hair reached halfway down my back, I started begging to have it cut. Poppet, at the age of four, is well on her way to having Rapunzel-length hair When wet, it reaches her bum. (In addition to living vicariously through her curls, I’m now living vicariously through its length.)
Tangled‘s Rapunzel is not just a girl with fabulous (magical) hair, though. She is surprisingly well-adjusted for someone who spends her entire life with just a chameleon as a friend. She likes to read and paint. She’s playful and creative.
And she’s brave. When a strange man enters her tower, she takes action and whacks him over the head with a frying pan. She takes the chance to follow her dream, and she stands up to Mother Gothel when she realises the truth about who she is.
Image source: disney.wikia.com
Part of what makes Rapunzel so appealing is that, although she’s not 100% content with her life, she doesn’t pin her hopes on a man to make her life better. Her dream of seeing the floating lanterns is what drives her and she does whatever she can to make it come true. Sure, she happens to fall in love along the way, but her romance doesn’t make her lose focus.
I don’t want my daughters to pin all their hopes and dreams on finding the right man. I want them to have adventures and chase their dreams, whether they’re single or not. I want them to be secure in who they are as Poppet and Pixie, to know that it’s not a soulmate who will complete them and make them happy.
Image source: princess.disney.com
And when love comes along, I want them to be brave enough to embrace it.
What do you like about Rapunzel?
Image source: fanpop.com
Confessions of a Zombie Mom 
I think the Tangled version is more modern and supporting of what you are saying – I think the old version would have had her just being the rescued princess again!
I love how independent the modern princesses are.