Disney's film for next year is Rapunzel, one of the few Brothers Grimm fairy tales that has never been adapted into a motion picture

Mandy Moore is voicing Rapunzel. One of the directors is Glen Keane, who worked on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective, The Fox and the Hound and Pete's Dragon.

Another is a man called Dean Wellins, whose name I don't know but maybe I should as he worked on Bolt, which I liked, and The Iron Giant which I absolutely love.

According to this news item their "take" on the classic is:

Rapunzel is a more independent heroine who uses her 70-foot locks for more than just a ladder, like whipping and tying people up.

Boy I hope I can put this together properly...as you're about to see, I'm heading into quicksand. But...does anybody else get tired of the independent, strong Disney heroine of the past 20 years? Belle; Jasmine and Ariel and so on?

I happen to like independent, strong women characters, and I like the movies those three "star" in. I'm not advocating for a return to helpless Minnie Mice being rescued or kindly old widow women.

I guess it's just, they're beginning to all sound a little bit the same to me. Then again, I feel the same way about American Idol contestants, and that hasn't seemed to hurt their popularity.

Then again again, in this image of "concept art" released for the picture-



--I like the look of Rapunzel...but that prince looks too much like Eric, Aladdin, etc. However, if you've seen concept art for other motion pictures (animated or otherwise) you know that it's merely a suggestion of how things will play onscreen. (You can find more images here)

The same goes for characterization. In a couple of lines, this Rapunzel sounds like I've heard it before, but that doesn't mean that I have, or that I won't like the way they tell it to me again.

I'm intrigued.