MovieChat Forums > Tangled (2010) Discussion > Rapunzel & Flynn's age difference

Rapunzel & Flynn's age difference

posted 9 years ago by coollikewhovian
32 replies | jump to latest

I ADORE this film, I think it's beautiful (both narratively and visually), it made me cry and I feel for the characters. However, does the age difference between Rapunzel and Flynn bother anyone else? He's supposed to be around 26, while Rapunzel's only just turning 18. 8 years isn't a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but it's a considerable gap for a teenager (especially one who's been locked in a tower her whole life). I'm 18 and if I brought home a man in his mid-twenties, people would be iffy about it.

I'm just wondering, does anybody know why Disney did this? They easily could have made Flynn a 20/21 year old or something. I don't know, it just kind of bothers me.

Thoughts?

[–] O_Danil 8 years ago

So in his 30's she'd be 22?

I really don't see a problem.

[–] kehwie 8 years ago

My best friend from high school was 17 when she started dating a 24-year-old. And yes, her mom freaked out a bit at first. But then she got to know said 24-year-old. And a few years later they got married (and by that point my friend was in her twenties, and the age difference was less of a big deal).

It's funny now to look at them, just because those few extra years has caused him to go gray-haired, and she's still a thirty-something blonde. So she looks like a trophy wife, even though she's not.

All that to say, those kind of age differences don't always just happen in the past--they can still occur. And once people get over the weirdness, it *can* work out fine.

Obviously Rapunzel is a unique case, with plenty of tower-exile naivete to work through. And she does need to have some time to get to know her parents and even herself. But I think that's why the movie mentions at the end that they didn't get married right away. I think she got that time. And in a few years it really wouldn't have mattered at all. :)

"A good man is like a good cup of coffee--hot, strong, and sweet."

[–] O_Danil 8 years ago

Also, that is very regional, I get from movies that the U.S has problems with a 22/23 year old dating a 17/18 year old? That is VERY commom anywhere else in the world.

Here in Brazil for example, the guy having like 26 and the girl 18 is not a problem at all;

[–] bethgoth17 8 years ago

I don't think it's a big deal, if you like someone a little older go for it. But in my experience, that hasn't worked out so well (I was 19 at the time, he was nearly 37). Wow I managed to contradict myself. Don't take my advice, kids lol.

[–] Helenlaurence 8 years ago

Does he say he's 26 in the film?

[–] ameliaseyruun (2) 6 years ago

No, but it is listed on his Disney biography.

[–] carrot_handvo 8 years ago

Girls married the second they hit puberty back then
in Colonial America it was age 13.... in Midevil Europe it was even lower....

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

Not always. certainly not the common people, who couldn't afford to marry very young. But even among the upoer classes girls did not always marry very young, Plenty did not marry until their late teens, or even 20s. In England in the 16th century, the typical age at marriage was about twenty six for men and twenty three for women.

[–] desertgaara1995 8 years ago

What's wrong if women date older men? She's an adult.

I am 21 and my boyfriend is 37. Is our relationship inappropriate or something?

[–] mochierry (13) 7 years ago

18 is an adult and has the right to date literally anybody...

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

He may not even be that old, they don't say how old he is. But he probably is in his mid 20s

It doesn't bother me at all. There is nothing wrong with it.
My dad is 9 years older than my mom. She got married to him when she was 16. (No joke.) it was all her choice. They have plenty of ups and downs in their marriage, but it is still strong and they still love each other. I really don't get why people are so easily bothered by age difference.
My philosophy is if he isn't old enough to be your dad, then it's ok
Btw, love this movie ♥️