i genuinely, sincerely adore the wide scope of possible themes the “tangled: the series” fans can create with. there are so many different genres.
if you favor more lighthearted interpretations of canon, well, this is the franchise where:
-the king very seriously steals a pet seal
-rapunzel’s chameleon becomes a dragon for some reason
-the princess leads a singalong with the worst of the worst
-sapient animal sidekicks exist
-shenanigans generally abound
you can write about the characters gallivanting to and fro for the silliest of reasons. you can have them solve mysteries with the zaniest of suspects. the world is your oyster.
even aside from creation, you should feel free to have your own version of events! you can reject any shocking implications the writers might have accidentally hinted at, simply because they don’t fit what the show means to you.
a show, once put out into the world, is left for the fans to do with it what they will. lighthearted-interpretation-havers are valid.
on the other hand, this is the franchise where:
-eugene fitzherbert desperately tries to crawl toward his chained-up love while bleeding out
-cassandra’s hand rots on-screen
-a child loses his morality in a desperate scramble to pin the blame for his father’s death on the princess
-rapunzel’s parents repeat the same behaviors as the abusive kidnapper she just escaped from
-impenetrable rocks shoot up quickly enough to impale somebody in their sleep
those with darker interpretations are drawing from the canon just as much as those who view it as a generally fun show. yes, good prevails over evil (ish) and our heroes win the day (depending on your views of how the finale served each character), and it overall has a cheerful atmosphere, but it’s still worthwhile to explore how our cast would be affected by the plot!
nobody needs to argue, because nobody is wrong.
the people who want frederic and arianna to resemble their movie counterparts are welcome to have at it. the people who find the show’s parental conflict intriguing are welcome to dive into that.
the people who say “the guards are just background characters— they wouldn’t directly hold a grudge or misuse their power against varian during his stay in prison! just look at stan and pete!” are not wrong. neither are the people who bring up the prison chase scene in “tangled”, or point out that “it’s not unrealistic to assume they’d hold a grudge against the kid with the monster that nearly killed them”.
(my interpretation is somewhere between those two options. i think some guards were apathetic or misguided, while some were particularly cruel. they are the medieval police.)
i hope this doesn’t come across as vagueposting or condescending. i just find myself saddened when i see people from differing camps trying to drag one another into their opposing sides.
just visit! mingle! spend some time with the lighthearted-interpretation-havers, or people who tend to create more fluffy content, and then (depending on if you’re in the mood for it/want to see it at all) venture over to the implication-expanding, angsty side.
we all care about this story, and, if we care in different ways, that just means that the fanworks are beautifully varied.
