UNTANGLING THE TANGLED TALE, RAPUNZEL

Last weekend, I finally watched a movie after a very long time – Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale. I’ve always loved fairy tales, animations and musicals, so I sat in the cinema seat with eagerness, waiting for the ‘golden screen’ to unravel the much anticipated twists and turns to the classic German story.

Before the movie started, I felt a tap on my shoulder a couple of times. I looked around, but those around seemed quiet. After a few mysterious taps, I must admit I began to wonder if that seat was haunted! “Oh, dear! I whined to myself, “I have picked a very bad seat…How am I going to enjoy this movie?’ But, it wasn’t haunted. Just when the movie started, the teenage boy behind me held my shoulder, and asked me for my phone number. I asked him, “Why?’ and proceeded saying, “It’s not necessary.” He got angry and said “You’re selfish…why not?”… My spontaneous response was, "My husband (if I had one, ha ha) would be very upset if I gave my number to boys! And that silenced him from that moment…ha ha… but that’s another story.

I soon made myself comfortable, and what I’m about to share are the lessons that untwisted themselves from this fresh, hilarious and adventurous escapade.

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION (if you haven’t watched it)

And so, the enchanting movie begins; an adorable little princess was born in the palace, unto the King and Queen. The Queen’s life was in danger when delivering Rapunzel, but the healing powers of a special flower saved her. The glowing flower was only one if its kind in the whole land, and once the plant was uprooted, the plant was lost forever. Somehow, the flower’s healing powers found its rebirth in little baby Rapunzel – in her hair. When a special song was sung, her hair glowed in the dark, healing and reversing time.

What everyone didn’t know was that there existed an old woman who selfishly used this flower to remain young for hundreds of years! When the only flower plant was taken to the palace, she needed to find a way to get its power. And soon, she discovered that the flower’s power lied in Rapunzel’s hair. Cutting the baby’s hair killed the magic, so she kidnapped the innocent child for her personal benefit. This super old woman (who looks young) raised Rapunzel as her own child. She locked Rapunzel high up in a tower, away from the outside world.

And when Rapunzel turns 18, that’s when the whole thrill begins - her quest to see for real, what she had always viewed from afar! She longed to see the ‘stars’ that appeared in the skies particularly on her birthday – a dream made possible by the unexpected arrival of a wanted bandit!

SIGNIFICANT CHARACTERS & ELEMENTS

1. THE EVIL OLD WOMAN (Rapunzel’s kidnapper who pretends to be her Mom)

The old woman deceives Rapunzel and pretends to be her mother. She only wants Rapunzel for the power her hair possesses, and she would do anything to keep it forever. To me, she represents Satan. The Bible tells us that Satan is the father of all lies (John 8:44).

Just like Satan, this old woman does not have Rapunzel’s best interest at heart. She gives Rapunzel a good life up there in the tower, everything in fact, to curb her longing to know the truth. The truth – that Rapunzel is actually a Princess, that those ‘stars’ on her birthday are lanterns lighted up by her royal parents, hoping for her return some day.

The old woman even cunningly orchestrates some events to make herself look like the ‘good guy’, in her attempt to make Rapunzel return to the tower after she runs away. Her evil schemes send innocent Rapunzel running into Mommy’s arms with gratitude, not knowing the harm she has carefully planned.

‘Oh gosh!” I thought to myself…"If that had happened to me, I might have fallen for the old woman’s trick 100%! This is really bad! How naïve!” Sometimes it’s difficult to detect lies from those we trust, especially if we have never doubted in the first place.

Can we identify Satan or are we victims to his lies?

2. THE TOWER - A PLACE OF REFUGE OR PRISON?

Rapunzel grew up in a beautiful tower, equipped with everything she could ask for, yet not everything her heart was longing for. She was not locked with chains, but her mind was firmly bound by the lies of the old woman. Even though she had the ability to come out of the tower with her 70 feet long hair, she never dared to step out... Not even once! Ohh….'Mommy’ said it was just too dangerous…men with fangs, all those people who wanted her hair…. The evil old woman had constantly fed negative thoughts into little Rapunzel for years, that she never dared to even attempt a ‘quick stroll’ out of curiosity.

Our mind is the battle field ( 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). If the Devil captures our mind, he’s got us! Then, he doesn’t need to tie up our hands and feet. We may unwittingly do Satan’s bidding, and even think that it’s the best thing for us to do. The worst part is, we may not even know we’re in bondage.

As I watched this awesome movie, I felt that I had also been in a ‘tower’ before, never having the guts to step out. I believe we can all relate to some situations in our lives where we had been bound by our own thoughts – lies that have been thrown to us by the Devil through people or ideas; that make us feel inadequate to leave, or become too complacent to live within a ‘prison’.

So, the question is, what is our ‘tower’? For how long do we plan to remain there comfortably and lose the experience of a lifetime?

3. THE KING AND QUEEN - FAITH, HOPE & LOVE

The royal parents portray a beautiful story of faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Since the kidnapping of baby Rapunzel, their hearts ached with overwhelming pain. Yet, they never gave up hope. Because of love towards their child, every year (for 17 years!), they would light up and send thousands of lanterns into the sky on Rapunzel’s birthday. They continued to hope that someday, Rapunzel would return to them. They believed and hoped by faith (Hebrews 11:1).

Are we still hopeful when the results take time to appear?

The King’s heart also represents never-ending love towards his child. Knowing that his daughter is lost and may not know him, he provides a sign for her to find him – the light of thousands of lanterns; so that she can find him one day, and come back home to where she belongs.

For me, this depicts the love of God the Father in Heaven, who welcomes us with open arms. Knowing that we humans were lost, He sent His Son, Jesus to be the Light – so that we can see Him. Even while we do not know Him, He gives us chances after chances to come back into His arms.

Have we found our way home?

4. THE BANDIT - WANTED OR UNWANTED?

The bandit finds Rapunzel’s tower by accident – seeking refuge while being chased by armed soldiers, for stealing the royal crown. He guides the beautiful Rapunzel to the lantern lighting event because he has no choice (she hides his prized stolen crown in exchange for ‘tour’ around the ‘real world’). Eventually, even the thief learns to love, against his self-centered nature. In the final thrilling scenes, Rapunzel offers to exchange her entire life to be a prisoner to the old woman, just to heal the dying bandit with her magic hair. But the bandit cuts off Rapunzel’s hair before she can heal him, ridding her hair of all power because he knows that’s the only thing the wicked ‘mother’ wants. He is willing to sacrifice his life for her happiness because he has known love.

Love always wins - his life is restored by Rapunzel’s tears. Eventually they get married, and the once bandit becomes a prince! Even a seemingly unimportant person can rise to heights beyond imagination.

In the same way, a person who has known the love and sacrifice of Christ will not remain the same. The old and bad goes, and a new nature takes its place, because of the discovery of Love. And God takes care of the rest.

1 John 4:8 in the Bible tells us that God is Love.

Do we really know Love?

5. MAXIMUS - YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOUR FRIEND CAN BE

Maximus, a horse from the palace, is the arch enemy of the wanted bandit. His ultimate aim is to catch the bandit at whatever cost! While Rapunzel eases the discord just for the sake of her birthday, Maximus and the bandit never meet eye to eye. The bandit constantly sees Maximus as an enemy. Yet, in the final hour, when the bandit needs help, it is this very same Maximus who comes to his aid. Maximus shows love to his enemy.

Sometimes there are people in our lives who annoy us to the maximum, and just seem to be our enemy. But we may never know how God could use them to help us in times of need, someday, somewhere. Even if these ‘enemies’ may never cross our paths again, for the sake of love, I find the words of Christ very true to practice – “Love your enemies…” (Matthew 5:44).

Have we learnt to love our enemies?

6. AT LAST BUT NOT LEAST - RAPUNZEL!

Charming and adventure loving Rapunzel is kept hidden from the world outside, in the so called safety of the tower. She is kidnapped as a baby and has no idea that she is a true Princess! She doesn’t have the slightest clue that her Father is a King. She doesn’t know that her royal parent’s are searching for her, and light up the skies with lanterns every year for her birthday.

Yet, there is a longing in her heart to find out what those extraordinary stars are – the one thing that would lead to the truth of her identity, though she didn’t realize it then. “Where did this longing come from?” we could ask ourselves. I’m somehow reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:11 where the Bible says God has planted eternity in human heart. To me, this represents the longing and search we have within us to know the truth – to find out about something that is beyond us.

Deep inside Rapunzel, the Princess longed to shine as she rightfully ought to rise (though she did not even know it). She may have been falsely raised as the daughter of a wicked old woman, confined in the walls of an incredibly lonesome tower. Yet, it doesn’t change the fact that Rapunzel IS the daughter of a King. Circumstances had suppressed her for a long time from knowing the Truth, but it couldn’t stop her forever.

I note one very interesting thing about Rapunzel’s escapade in this twisted tale – a knight with shining armor did not come and sweep her off her feet from the tower. Instead, she left the tower on her own free will, with a bandit. She was willing to take the risk; to leave her comfort zone and follow her dream

The bandit seemed to appear by coincidence, but in fact, nothing is ever truly by chance. There is always a purpose to it. The bandit was an opportunity; it was up to Rapunzel, what she did with it.

Rapunzel was a true Princess, but she would have never known it if she had never left the tower. She would continue to live and die as the child of the wicked old woman. Thankfully, she chose to leave the tower and chase her dream.

Finally, through all the turns of events, her eyes were opened to see who she really was – the daughter of a King. After she ran away, she was captured and locked up again in the tower, this time her hands and feet bound (because her mind was already set free, and this was dangerous to the wicked old woman). Because she realized who she really was – a Princess - she fought against the evil that bound her! At last, she is reunited with her royal parents.

I see myself in Rapunzel’s shoes, as probably many of us will. I have a choice, whether to stay or to leave. To continue to be afraid and just find comfort in the ‘tower,’ or to step out and rise up to what I was born to be. Galations 3:26 in the Bible, tells us that we are Sons and Daughter’s of God, in Christ Jesus. Yet, often times, we sell ourselves short and let Satan take captive of us.

Sometimes I look at my life and reflect, “Do you think, walk and talk, like your Heavenly Father is the King? Do you worry, or rest assured that your Father is rich enough to provide your needs? Do you let the Devil control your mind, or do you unleash your true potential? Do you just accept the chains that Satan has tied around your hands and feet, or do you fight with the Power within? By faith, do you really see yourself as a child of God - a child of the all Powerful Creator of Heaven and Earth - the King?

God has a master plan for our lives, and He lays the opportunities, people and signs on our path. God has given us the physical and mental abilities to carry out the plans and purposes He has placed in our hearts. But I also remember that Satan is on a mission to stop that prosperous plan from materializing.

Circumstanses may blur reality, but nothing can change the Truth. What must happen will happen, but the choices for our life are in our own hands.

As the movie ends, I leave the hall with the joys of truth being untangled from the tangled tale.

By JJ