Credit: DisneyOne of Disney’s most beloved animations is in talks to become a stage show, according to its composer.
Inspired by the traditional Brothers Grimm fairytale, Tangled (2010) tells the story of Rapunzel – the lost princess with magical hair who accepts the help of Flynn Rider to escape her tower, all in pursuit of the mysterious “floating lights” that appear each year on her birthday.
To this day, Tangled is Disney’s most expensive animated film of all time. Coming in at a whopping $260 million, it was the intricacies of animating Rapunzel’s legendary hair that sent production costs skyrocketing.
Ultimately, this was an investment well made. Upon its release, Tangled made $592.4 million at the box office, with rave reviews going so far as to dub it Disney’s best film of all time.
While it may have little theme park representation beyond an incredibly well-themed bathroom (and an upcoming land at Tokyo DisneySea), Tangled still has a pretty ardent fanbase to this day. In 2015, “Tangled: The Musical” – an hour-long stage adaptation – debuted on board the Disney Magic and remains a Disney Cruise Line favorite. Now it seems like Disney is going a step further with a full-blown stage show à la Frozen (2013) and Beauty and the Beast (1991).
In a recent interview with What’s On Stage, Alan Menken – the film’s composer – confirmed that Disney is in talks to make a Tangled stage show a reality.
According to Menken, “We’re already talking about [Tangled] for the stage.” He also clarified that “there’s a version that’s done on the Disney Cruise Line,” suggesting that this new version would be separate from its existing iteration on the Disney Magic.
Menken – who also composed the iconic soundtracks for the likes of The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992) – revealed that he also hopes Enchanted (2007) gets the same treatment. “Enchanted I would love to see on the stage,” he said. “The trick would be to get that animation into live-action thing happening.”
He also noted that Pocahontas (1995) would be the toughest of his Disney projects to translate to Broadway, most likely due to the liberties it takes with its historical source material.
Right now, there’s no official confirmation from Disney on a Tangled stage show. Considering that multiple Menken projects have been lifted from the screen to the stage in recent years – including The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and Hercules (1997) – we’re hopeful that Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, and Mother Gothel will be on Broadway in no time.