Genre
Adventure/Comedy
Written By
Dan Fogelman
Logline
Beautiful, magic-haired
Rapunzel
has been trapped in a tower her entire life. But when a handsome thief stumbles through her window, the two set off on an adventure that will teach them both what they've always been missing.
Why break it down?
Dan Fogelman is one of the biggest writers in Hollywood right now, and rightfully so. Since 2006, he's written
'Cars,' 'Fred Claus,' 'Bolt,' 'Tangled,' and
'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' and his latest, the Seth Rogen/Barbara Streisand-starring
'My Mother's Curse,' just wrapped filming and should be due for release later this year (download a draft of it
here and bask in the amazingness). Hands down, he's one of the most reliably entertaining writers working today, and is a must-read for anyone serious about learning the craft. So why break down his 2010 animated flick,
'Tangled?' Well, because I just saw it…and WOW. Why on Earth did I wait so long?!
'TANGLED' IS AN EXAMPLE OF A NUMBER OF SCREENWRITING STAPLES, namely
THREE-ACT STRUCTURE, PLANTS AND PAYOFFS (which we've touched on
before), and the oft-used
MACGUFFIN, a type of plot device that drives a story forward regardless of what it actually is. MacGuffins are used all the time, but you'd be surprised at how few people actually know what they are, so for a great explanation, check out the
Wikipedia page. It's simple and effective, just like the movie
'Tangled.' (See what I did there?)
So read up, keep an eye out for the beats, look for the
Plants and Payoffs, and we'll break down the film's structure after the jump. (Click the
[+] button for a summary of each scene.)
ACT I
00:00 - 05:15 (5.25 pages) [+]INT. WOODS - DAY
We're floating through the woods, toward a "Wanted" poster of
FLYNN
RIDER (Zachary Levi) nailed to a tree. He narrates the backstory of the film we're about to see:
FLASH-BANG OPEN
05:15 - 08:15 (3.00 pages) [+]INT. RAPUNZEL'S TOWER - DAY
Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) - now grown up - and her pet lizard
PASCAL
play hide-and-go-seek.
Pascal wants to leave the tower, but
Rapunzel reminds him they're not allowed. She breaks into song, singing about her life in the tower and her deep-seeded longing to leave (so that she can see the glowing lights, from 00:00 - 05:15).
Song: "When Will My Life Begin?"
08:15 - 09:30 (1.25 pages) [+]EXT. / INT. PALACE - DAY
FLYNN RIDER and his partners - the red-headed
STABBINGTON
BROTHERS - break into the king and queen's palace to steal a jewel-encrusted tiara. The guards catch them, and they run for their lives.
| ⇡⇣ OPENING EXPOSITION
09:30 - 15:45 (6.25 pages) [+]
15:45 - 19:30 (3.75 pages) [+]EXT. WOODS - DAY
Flynn and the
Stabbington Brothers run from the king's guards. They hit a dead end, and
Flynn ditches the brothers, stealing the tiara for himself.
An action scene ensues, in which
Flynn runs from the guards and steals a horse -
MAXIMUS
- from them. But
Maximus is a loyal horse, and tries to detain
Flynn himself. A struggle ensues, and the two fall from a cliff into a deep trench.
Maximus hits the ground, jumping up to look for
Flynn. But
Flynn ducks into a cave, scurrying through a dark tunnel to find...
...
Rapunzel's tower, looming in the distance on the other side. Wanting to avoid being caught,
Flynn climbs up the side of the tower and stumbles through the window (front door, whatever you want to call it).
| INCITING INCIDENT
19:30 - 25:15 (5.75 pages) [+]INT. RAPUNZEL'S TOWER - DAY
Flynn hops in through the front door, only to have
Rapunzel smack him in the head with a frying pan and knock him unconscious. Having never seen a real-life man before, she admires his handsome face...
"He's beautiful..."
Flynn wakes up and she knocks him unconscious again. A funny montage follows, during which
Rapunzel struggles to shove
Flynn inside her closet. When she finally gets him in there, she takes a look at his satchel, finding the jewel-encrusted tiara he stole from the king and queen (08:15 - 09:30).
"It's beautiful..."
She puts it on, amazed at how well it fits her. But she's interrupted when
Mother Gothel
shows up.
Rapunzel asks to be taken to see the lights again, but
Mother Gothel ain't having it. So,
Rapunzel asks for a different present:
Mother Gothel leaves to buy paint for
Rapunzel, and
Rapunzel runs back inside to look at the unconscious man in her closet (
Flynn).
|
25:15 - 30:00 (4.75 pages) [+]INT. RAPUNZEL'S'S TOWER - LATER
Flynn wakes up tied to a chair.
Rapunzel hides his tiara somewhere safe, then gets an idea: With the tiara hidden, she can force
Flynn to take her out of the tower and show her the lights (like her mother never would).
30:00 - 32:00 (2.00 pages) [+]EXT. WOODS - DAY
Flynn climbs down the side of the tower, followed by
Rapunzel, who's so excited to be out of her tower that she sings a song about it:
Song: "When Will My Life Begin? (Reprise)"
PLOT POINT #1
ACT II
32:00 - 34:45 (2.75 pages) [+]EXT. WOODS - DAY
MONTAGE:
Rapunzel jumps around, excited to be free. But then, she cries, overwhelmed with guilt for betraying her mother.
Flynn watches, annoyed, as she flips back and forth between elation and despair.
Finally,
Flynn talks to
Rapunzel, trying to convince her to scrap the whole deal, give him his tiara back, and go home to her tower. But she refuses, insisting he take her to see the lights.
All of a sudden, something ruffles in the bushes.
Rapunzel jumps, terrified, afraid it's a ruffian or a thug. Turns out, it's just a bunny rabbit, but
Rapunzel's freak-out gives Flynn an idea...
34:45 - 36:45 (2.00 pages) [+]EXT. WOODS / INT. RAPUNZEL'S'S TOWER - DAY
Maximus (the horse) sniffs through the trees, searching for
Flynn. But what he finds is
Mother Gothel, who puts the pieces together:
Mother Gothel runs back home, where she discovers
Rapunzel is missing. She finds the tiara, as well as the "Wanted" poster of
Flynn. Pissed, she grabs a knife out of the dresser drawer and runs off.
|
36:45 - 44:30 (7.75 pages) [+]INT. RESTAURANT - DAY
Flynn brings
Rapunzel to a restaurant packed with ruffians and thugs. She's obviously terrified and he suggests they go back home, but before he can...
The thugs recognize
Flynn from the "Wanted" poster and lock the door, trapping them inside.
Rapunzel hits one of them on the head, begging the thugs to let them go:
And surprisingly (especially to
Flynn), the thugs understand. They burst into song about how they all have dreams of their own.
Song: "I've Got a Dream"
Their song is cut short when the king's guards burst in, demanding to know where
Flynn is. Helped by the thugs,
Flynn and
Rapunzel sneak through the back door...
But
Maximus (the horse) catches their scent, and the guards run after them. And to make matters worse,
Mother Gothel watches it all through a window, pissed. She finds out where
Flynn and
Rapunzel are going, and runs off to stop them.
| ⇡⇣ FUN AND GAMES
44:30 - 51:00 (6.50 pages) [+]INT. TUNNEL / EXT. ABANDONED MINE / INT. CAVE - DAY
Flynn and
Rapunzel sneak through a dark tunnel.
Flynn asks
Rapunzel about her "dream," wondering why she never just went to see the lanterns on her own. But before she can answer…
…the king's guards show up. As do the
Stabbington Brothers. As does
Maximus. With everyone on their tail,
Flynn and
Rapunzel run for dear life, breaking out of the tunnel to find themselves in an abandoned outdoor mine. A huge action scene ensues, during which
Flynn and
Rapunzel basically destroy the entire mine while running like hell to escape.
In the chaos, a dam breaks and water surges in, washing everyone away.
Flynn and
Rapunzel duck into a cave just as a mountain crumbles behind them, trapping them inside while the cave fills slowly up with water.
Inside the cave,
Flynn searches frantically for a way out (and cuts his hand, which will be important in the scene after next.) But it's too dark to see anything, making their chances of survival look more and more grim as water pours in. Then suddenly,
Rapunzel remembers…
…her hair glows when she sings! With her last breath of air, she sings and her hair lights up, allowing her to find an exit in the cave and swim out with
Flynn. They burst out of the water on the other side, catching their breath, and
Flynn can't believe what he just saw.
51:00 - 52:15 (1.25 pages) [+]
52:15 - 59:15 (7.00 pages) [+]EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Rapunzel wraps her hair around
Flynn's hand (which he cut in 44:30 - 51:00). She sings her song, and the wound magically heals:
Song: "Healing Incantation"
Flynn is amazed. They have a conversation, each revealing things about themselves they've never told anyone else (it's romantic).
Flynn gets up to get some more firewood, and
Rapunzel turns around to see…
Mother Gothel, standing in the dark behind her. She tells
Rapunzel they're going home, but
Rapunzel refuses. Pissed,
Mother Gothel gives
Rapunzel the tiara, challenging her to give it to
Flynn and see how loyal he really is. Oh, and by the way…she does this all in song:
Song: "Mother Knows Best (Reprise)"
Mother Gothel disappears into the woods and
Flynn returns, oblivious to what just happened. Gothel hides in the bushes with the
Stabbington brothers, waiting patiently…
| MIDPOINT REVERSAL
Midpoint
59:15 - 61:30 (2.25 pages) [+]EXT. WOODS - MORNING
Flynn wakes up to find
Maximus standing over him, determined to arrest him.
Rapunzel pets him, calming him down, and convinces him to let them go. They strike a deal:
Flynn can take
Rapunzel to see the glowing lanterns, but after that, he can chase
Flynn all he wants.
|
61:30 - 64:15 (2.75 pages) [+]EXT. KINGDOM - DAY
Rapunzel,
Flynn, and
Maximus arrive at the kingdom. They explore for a minute, and
Rapunzel finds a mural of the king and queen holding their long-lost daughter.
"That princess looks a lot like me as a baby..."
MONTAGE:
Rapunzel and
Flynn explore the city and dance, waiting for night to fall so they can finally see the glowing lanterns.
Song: "Kingdom Dance"
⇡⇣ ROLL DOWNHILL
64:15 - 71:00 (6.75 pages) [+]EXT. LAKE - NIGHT
Flynn takes
Rapunzel out onto the lake, where they watch the glowing lantern ceremony. It's the best night of
Rapunzel's life (and
Flynn's, for that matter). She gives him the tiara, and together they sing a song about their newfound love while the lanterns light up the sky:
Song: "I See the Light"
Flynn and
Rapunzel lean in to kiss, but stop when
Flynn spots something in the distance. It's the
Stabbington brothers, watching him from the shore.
Flynn grabs the tiara:
71:00 - 74:45 (3.75 pages) [+]EXT. LAKE SHORE - NIGHT
Flynn takes the boat to shore, where he meets the
Stabbington brothers in the woods and gives them the tiara. But the
Stabbington brothers don't care about that anymore; instead, they want
Rapunzel and her magic hair…
Back at the boat,
Rapunzel waits for
Flynn to show back up. But instead, the
Stabbington brothers arrive, revealing that
Flynn sold her to them in exchange for the tiara. They point to the lake, where
Flynn is floating away:
"Fair trade...a crown, for the girl with the magic hair..."
Terrified,
Rapunzel runs away, and at the last second,
Mother Gothel steps in to "save" her. Realizing her mom was right all along,
Rapunzel sadly agrees to go back to her tower.
Meanwhile,
Flynn wakes up tied to a boat, just as the king's guards show up to arrest him. He screams out for
Rapunzel while they take him away. Around the corner,
Maximus watches in terror:
"I've got to help my friends..." (Translated from horse language)
PLOT POINT #2
ACT III
74:45 - 81:45 (7.00 pages) [+]INT. KINGDOM - MORNING
The following short scenes in THE KINGDOM, RAPUNZEL'S TOWER, and THE WOODS are part of one larger scene, which is why they're grouped together.
THE KINGDOM
Flynn paces back and forth in his jail cell. The guards show up, ready to take him to his execution.
RAPUNZEL'S TOWER
Rapunzel pouts in her room.
Mother Gothel monologues like a trollop about how she predicted everything that happened from the very beginning.
Mother Gothel leaves, and
Rapunzel stares at the paintings on her walls. Slowly, she realizes…the paintings she made as a kid…match the symbol on all the flags in the kingdom! In an instant, she realizes what she'd been missing all along:
SHE'S THE LOST PRINCESS, AND MOTHER GOTHEL IS NOT HER REAL MOTHER...
THE KINGDOM
Walking to the gallows,
Flynn confronts the
Stabbington brothers:
RAPUNZEL'S TOWER
Rapunzel confronts
Mother Gothel:
THE KINGDOM
Flynn is dragged helplessly toward the gallows, when suddenly the RUFFIANS AND THUGS (36:45 - 44:30) show up to break him free! Turns out,
Maximus the horse brought them;
Flynn hops on
Maximus' back and they make a daring escape, riding into the woods to save
Rapunzel from her tower…
|
81:45 - 88:15 (6.50 pages) [+]EXT. / INT. RAPUNZEL'S TOWER - DUSK
Flynn climbs through
Rapunzel's front door, only to be stabbed in the fucking kidney by
Mother Gothel, who is such a goddamn bitch it's incredible. He drops to the floor, dying, and
Mother Gothel drags the tied-up
Rapunzel toward her new prison in the basement. But
Rapunzel makes her an offer she can't refuse:
Rapunzel runs over to save
Flynn, but before she can, he cuts off her hair with a broken piece of glass.
Mother Gothel screams, her youth fading away, as she decays into a corpse right in front of their eyes. She falls out the window and slams to the ground in a ball of dust.
Back in the tower,
Rapunzel struggles to bring
Flynn back. But it's no use…he dies in her arms, and she cries over his body. But when her tears fall on his skin, a miracle happens…
…and slowly but surely,
Flynn comes back to life! They kiss for the first time, and it's way more awesome than any kiss I'll ever have (except for that one we had while watching 'Shallow Hal' in seventh grade, Kammy Hodges. I know you're reading).
| CLIMAX
88:15 - 91:15 (3.00 pages) [+]INT. PALACE / EXT. KINGDOM - DAY
Rapunzel and
Flynn arrive at the king and queen's palace, where
Rapunzel meets her real parents for the first time.
Flynn watches, beaming with pride.
We fade to a MONTAGE of the kingdom, as
Flynn narrates the end of our story:
THE END
RESOLUTION
Analysis
I once heard someone say a nasty thing about one of my favorite writers, Allen Loeb. In a nutshell, it was that Loeb - one of the smartest, most in-demand writers in Hollywood today - isn't a good writer at all…rather, he just knows a bunch of
tricks that make it seem like he's writing good material. Now, aside from being an asshole - and I mean, what a total asshole (have you even read
'Only Living Boy??' Have you READ
'Baster?!') - the guy had an interesting point swimming around beneath his words:
GREAT WRITERS HAVE AN ARSENAL OF TRICKS THEY KNOW WORK, AND AREN'T AFRAID TO USE THEM. Why a thing like this would seem shameful to that guy I have no idea, but look at any of the greats…Zaillian, Sorkin, Darabondt, Haggis…they
all have tricks they regularly use, and it's a sign you're improving as a writer when you start to discover ones that work for you.
'Tangled' is a pitch-perfect example of this kind of writing. It's lean, it's emotionally resonant, and it's packed with clever screenwriting tricks that elevate it beyond the typical, "seen-it-all-before" kiddy fare. And for me, the most impressive trick in Fogelman's script is his
MacGuffin:
Throughout the entire film,
Flynn and
Rapunzel are chasing this idea of a "glowing light ceremony," which (if you think about it) could really have been anything in the world. Would the plot have been any different if they were chasing after a purple elephant? No. But Fogelman is smart, and he knew that eventually his two main characters would have to...you guessed it...FALL IN LOVE, so he created a MacGuffin for his characters that would provide
the most cathartic opportunity for romance that could possibly be achieved. I mean, what could be more romantic than sitting on a lake at night, watching a million glowing lanterns glimmer across the water around you? They could be chasing an elephant, sure, but if what they're chasing doesn't actually matter, then Fogelman's going to use it as an opportunity to solidify the
relationship between them. It's a trick, yes. And goddamn if it doesn't work like a charm.
But aside from all this,
'Tangled' is really just a fine example of three-act structure, so without further ado, let's take a look at where the important plot points show up, and briefly talk about why they are where they are:
Flash-Bang Open [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 00:00 - 05:15
I'm tempted to say that according to our
definition of the Flash-Bang Open,
'Tangled' doesn't actually have one. But remember how
'The Mummy' starts off with a big exposition scene, during which the history behind the story we're about to see is explained? Well,
'Tangled' does the same thing, and it's certainly entertaining enough in its own right to be called an attention-getter (even though it's not packed with action like most other Flash-Bang Opens). Of course, this is more a symptom of good writing than anything else; for example, take a look at the first few lines of the film:
See how instead of just going into the "once upon a time" stuff, Fogelman creates a sense of
mystery - i.e., brings up questions to get the reader interested? Right off the bat, he sets us up to wonder: Who is
Flynn Ryder, and more importantly,
why is he dead? This is a great way to start things off, because it gives us an ending we can't figure out; for the rest of the movie, we'll now have it in the back of our minds that
Flynn is going to die, and when he finally does (in the Climax), we'll remember it was planted at the beginning.
This is a small detail, but it's still an example of grabbing the audience's attention right away. And as simple as that may be, it's the same definition of a Flash-Bang Open we've always talked about. After this part is up, we can dip into the expositional stuff, which we'll go over in the next section.
Opening Exposition [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 00:00 - 19:30
There are three things we get from the Opening Exposition. They are:
≈ 5 pgs: Backstory [+]
≈ 9 pgs: Rapunzel's Story [+]Two scenes, during which
Rapunzel is introduced. We're given her
goal (to see the glowing lights), her
obstacle (she's stuck in the tower), and her
villain (
Mother Gothel). In all, here's what we learn:
• Rapunzel is grown up, and still has magical hair.
• She's been locked in the tower for eighteen years.
• She wants to see the glowing lights (lanterns, from Backstory).
• Mother Gothel is keeping her locked in the tower / is using her hair to stay young.
≈ 5 pgs: Flynn's Story [+]Two scenes, during which
Flynn is introduced. We're given his
goal (to steal the tiara), his
obstacle (he's being chased by the king's guards), and his
villain (the
Stabbington brothers). In all, here's what we learn:
• Flynn is a selfish thief.
• He has a tiara, which he stole from the king and queen.
• He has two ex-partners (the Flynn Brothers) who want to kill him and get the tiara.
• There's a police horse (Maximus) who will stop at nothing to arrest him.
Inciting Incident [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 15:45 - 19:30
The Inciting Incident occurs when
Flynn climbs into
Rapunzel's tower. This is the first step in a series of events (the Prepare For Adventure section) that will end roughly fifteen pages later, when
Rapunzel leaves her tower for the first time (Plot Point #1).
Prepare For Adventure [+]
Plot Point #1 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 30:00 - 32:00
Act I comes to an end when
Rapunzel and
Flynn leave the tower, setting off on their journey to see the glowing lanterns.
Fun and Games [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 32:00 - 59:15
The Fun and Games in
'Tangled' is very rigidly organized. Basically, we follow
Rapunzel and
Flynn through three distinct beats:
≈ 11 pgs: "I've Got A Dream" [+]
≈ 7 pgs: Destroying the Dam [+]
≈ 7 pgs: Romance [+]
But wait! There's also a
subplot going on in the Fun and Games, albeit a really simple one. Basically, it follows
Mother Gothel (
Rapunzel's villain) as she chases
Rapunzel through the forest. These short scenes are peppered in here and there to remind us of the danger our heroes are in:
≈ 3 pgs: Mother Gothel Being a Bitch [+]
Midpoint Reversal [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 52:15 - 59:15
The Midpoint Reversal happens when
Mother Gothel catches up to
Rapunzel, and challenges her to give
Flynn the tiara. After this, our story will leave the forest, and things will start to spiral out of control (
Flynn and
Rapunzel see the lights, then get captured, almost die, etc).
Roll Downhill [+]
Plot Point #2 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 71:00 - 74:45
Act II comes to an end when
Flynn gets captured by the
Stabbington Brothers and
Mother Gothel takes
Rapunzel back home. It's a big misunderstanding, but
Rapunzel essentially thinks
Flynn abandoned her and stole the tiara. In this one scene, everything goes wrong and the characters hit a
Low Point.
Climax [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 81:45 - 88:15
Flynn escapes from prison and runs to
Rapunzel's tower to save her. They have a showdown with
Mother Gothel and defeat her, though
Flynn gets stabbed.
Rapunzel uses her magic tears to save him, and they kiss.
Resolution [+]88:15 - 91:15
We end the story the same way we started it: With
Flynn narrating what happened to everyone. He and
Rapunzel get married, everyone achieves their dreams, and voila! Movie over.
Awesome analysis. Really in depth breakdown, I'm excited to read it myself and follow your notes.
ReplyDeleteAs far as "tricks" go--would you mind going into a little more depth on this? I understand the concept, but some examples would be particularly useful. Perhaps I simply haven't read enough screenplays to recognize tricks that some writers refer to in order to enthrall an audience.
Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed your dialogue with Dan. I felt I could connect to Dan's emotional perspective slightly more than Josh's, simply because it's usually me saying "just watch the fucking movie." Great work. Excited to see your next analysis. Keep it up!