Disney Wiki, an encyclopedia for everything related to Walt Disney and his work, reports that Flynn Rider is 24 years old during the feature film Tangled, and Mother Gothel is at least 1,000 years old, as is hinted in Tangled: The Series.
In this article, I’ll explore how Disney experts arrived at these ages for the two Tangled characters through careful attention to detail in the Tangled film, television series, and short.
How old is Flynn Rider?
Flynn Rider, also known as Eugene Fitzherbert, is somewhere between 22 years old and 26 years old, depending on who you ask and which Tangled story you’re reading or watching. You may come to different conclusions if you haven’t seen every Tangled story.
In the Tangled films and television series, Rider is the funny and sarcastic deuteragonist, defined as the second most important character in the story. His character is based on the prince in the original Brothers Grimm fairytale “Rapunzel,” though Rider is a thief in the film when we first meet him. At the beginning of the film, he’s referred to by his alias Flynn Rider, but we learn later that his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert and that he was actually born as a prince. His first given name was first Horace.
Tangled Directors and Writers Disagree over Flynn’s Age
Disney Wiki reports that Tangled directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard disagree with the film’s supporting writers on Rider’s age when Rider makes his first debut in Tangled. His age is not explicitly mentioned in the screenplay, but the writers had a general idea in mind when they developed Rider’s character, knowing that he was to be a love interest for Rapunzel. Greno and Byron said that they personally felt Rider was approximately 22 years old.
The story writers considered Rider to be younger than 22 years old. Later, when fans began guessing Rider’s age to be somewhere in his mid-to-late-20s, more like 26, one of the directors tweeted that Rider was definitely closer to 24 than 26. Ultimately, it was clear that Rider’s character was never assigned a definitive age upon his debut in Tangled, the film.
All parties involved in the development and production of the Tangled feature film agree that Rider is aged somewhere in his early 20s, at least in the first Tangled movie. Later storylines would clarify this fact.
How do we know how old Flynn Rider really is?
If you look ahead to later appearances by Flynn Rider in the one-hour special of Tangled: The Series, titled “Destinies Collide,” the episode confirms that Flynn Rider is 25 years old at that time. This episode occurs at the end of season two (S2, Episode 21). In the episode titled “Cassandra’s Revenge” toward the end of the third season (S3, Episode 12), Disney Wiki says that Flynn Rider is 26 years old.
Using this math, Rider would be older than 26 years old in Tangled Ever After, a short film sequel that follows the nuptials of Rider (known as Fitzherbert in this short film) and Princess Rapunzel.
When is Flynn Rider’s age mentioned in the Tangled film and television series?
Rider’s age is not mentioned in the original Tangled film, which premiered in 2010. It is assumed that Disney would create a love interest for Rapunzel that is similar in age to her, though, as the studio has for every other Disney princess and prince.
In season three of Tangled: The Series, we see Rider celebrating his 26th birthday. The episode celebrating Rider’s birthday premiered around three years after the original film, leading some to believe that Rider was around the age of 22 or 23 years old in the original computer-animated feature. This assessment would fall in line with the film’s supporting writing staff on the film, which stated that Rider was indeed somewhere around 22 years old in that first story.
What is the age difference between Flynn Rider and Rapunzel?
According to Disney Wiki, Rider is approximately 22 years old in Tangled, while Rapunzel is 17 years old and waiting for her 18th birthday to arrive. By the end of the feature film, Rapunzel has turned 18 years old. In this scenario, Rider and Rapunzel are approximately four years apart in age.
We know that Rapunzel is 18 years old because it is mentioned several times in the film. For example, Rapunzel states:
“I’ve been looking out of a window for 18 years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it’s not everything I dreamed it would be?”
She also states to Mother Gothel, whom she believes to be her real mother at the time, “Mother, I’m turning 18, and I wanted to ask, uh, what I really want for my birthday this year is …”
Rapunzel wants to leave the tower for her 18th birthday, but Mother Gothel desperately wants to keep her there because her youthful looks depend on it.
Why do people care how old Flynn Rider and Mother Gothel are?
One of the central themes of the Tangled stories centers on aging, making the characters’ ages a common question. As Rapunzel states early in the film, “That’s the thing about birthdays. They’re kind of an annual thing.” You will see the theme of age brought up multiple times throughout the film.
Therefore, each storyline offers a clue as to how old Flynn Rider and Mother Gothel really are, which is how experts came to the calculations that you’ll read below. Using other characters’ ages, origin stories, and celebrations, we can determine how old each character is over the course of the films and television series.
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How old is Mother Gothel?
Mother Gothel, the villain in Tangled who abducts Rapunzel to use the princess for everlasting youth, is at least 1,000 years old. Mother Gothel is obsessed with youth and admires her own youthful look, as evidenced in quotes from the film such as this one:
“Rapunzel, look in that mirror. You know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady … oh, look! You’re here, too.”
According to Disney Wiki, Mother Gothel is one of Lord Demanitus’ pupils, and he lived more than 1,000 years prior to the plot that takes place in the Tangled: The Series. Of course, you’d have to watch more Tangled storylines than just the feature film to solve this mathematical equation.
Mother Gothel is the antagonist in Tangled, also known as the “bad guy” or the villain. When we meet her, we learn that she has maintained her youthfulness for centuries by using a magic flower. Later, that magic flower’s powers are transferred to baby Rapunzel, who harnesses the power in her golden flowing hair. Mother Gothel locks Rapunzel up in a tower so she can continue to draw on the magic for her youthful glow. She convinces Rapunzel that she is her mother and that she only keeps her locked up in order to protect her from the evil world.
Why are people confused about Mother Gothel’s age?
To make the issue of age even more complicated, it is not evident how old a character is supposed to be in the story due to computer animation as well as character changes. Mother Gothel’s physical age fluctuates throughout the film Tangled. For much of the film, we know Mother Gothel to be the apparent mother of an 18-year-old girl, so audiences naturally peg her to be somewhere in her 40s. The audience sees her age before our eyes when the magic of Rapunzel’s hair wears off, and she’s portrayed as an old woman who may be more like 80 or 90 years old.
But Tangled Wiki puts Mother Gothel’s age at 40 when we see her as a younger woman, 400 when she loses the magic of Rapunzel’s hair. Her own hair changes from brunette to gray, wrinkles appear on her face and hands, and her eyes begin to sag as she ages.
Watch additional Tangled stories, though, and you’ll soon learn that even that age estimate of 400-some years is far shy of her real age.
How do we know how old Mother Gothel really is?
We can draw reasonable conclusions from some hints in the Tangled film and television series that give the nod to her being at least hundreds of years old. Disney Wiki says Mother Gothel is centuries years old, meaning hundreds of years old. Hundreds refer to multiple 100s of years, so at the very minimum, this means Mother Gothel is 200 years old. However, as stated above, we learn in Tangled: The Series that Mother Gothel’s mentor Lord Demanitus existed at least 1,000 years ago, making Mother Gothel at least 1,000 years old when the Tangled film begins.
When Mother Gothel fades to dust at the end of Tangled, Rapunzel has turned 18 years old. So, Mother Gothel is at least 1,018 years old at this point.
When is Mother Gothel’s age mentioned in the film and television series?
Disney never explicitly states how old Mother Gothel is but does hint at her age in other ways.
For example, in the opening monologue of Tangled, Flynn Rider states:
“Oh, you see that old woman over there? You might want to remember her. She’s kind of important. Well, centuries pass, and a hop, skip, and a bump right away there grew a kingdom.”
In that same monologue, the visuals show Mother Gothel as being an old woman before the Kingdom of Corona is founded.
Later, Rider says, “You see, instead of sharing the sun’s gift, this woman, Mother Gothel, hoarded its healing power and used it to keep herself young for hundreds of years.”
So, multiple times, the audience is informed that Mother Gothel is a very, very old woman.
What do the Tangled writers say about Mother Gothel’s age?
Dan Fogelman, the screenwriter who wrote Tangled, has not publicly stated how old Mother Gothel is supposed to be in the feature film. Writers on the television series and short films have also not specified Mother Gothel’s age since she only appears as a memory in later storylines.
How can you tell how old the Tangled characters are?
There are multiple Tangled storylines that you need to consider when trying to determine the characters’ ages. IMDb.com lists the following Tangled stories:
- Tangled, written by Dan Fogelman and directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, premiered in 2010. This original feature-length animated film follows Rapunzel, who has been locked up in a tower for nearly 18 years. She escapes her tower with the help of a thief (Flynn Rider), discovers the world, and discovers who she really is. The story is loosely based on the Brothers Grimm folk tales.
- Tangled Ever After, written and directed by Nathan Greno and Byon Howard, premiered in 2012. It is a six-minute-long animated short film that follows Rapunzel approximately two years after the feature film storyline. In it, Rapunzel is preparing to marry Eugene Fitzherbert, but her trusty sidekicks Pascal and Maximus lose the wedding rings.
- Tangled: Before Ever After, written by Jase Ricci, Shane Prigmore, and Chris Sonnenburg, and directed by Tom Caulfield and Stephen Sandoval, premiered in 2017. The film is approximately one hour long, and it follows Rapunzel as she adjusts to royal life and tries to determine why her 70 feet of magical golden hair has returned.
- Tangled: The Series (formerly known as Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventures), created by Shane Prigmore and Chis Sonnenburg, premiered in 2017 and ran through 2020. The television series centers on Rapunzel’s life as a princess, getting to know her new but biological parents and her Kingdom of Corona. The show lasted for three seasons and 59 episodes.
What order should I watch the Tangled stories in to determine the character ages?
The chronological premier date of these stories does not correspond exactly to the order in which they’re meant to be viewed. To understand the stories chronologically and calculate the characters’ ages, you’d want to first watch Tangled, then Tangled: Before Ever After, then Tangled: The Series, and finally Tangled Ever After, in that order.
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