The Story of Rapunzel

“The Story of Rapunzel” is probably the weakest of the fairy tale shorts that Ray Harryhausen made. Not for any particular reason besides the lack of a truly memorable villain to make it all worth the trip, of course this can be traced back to the source. The fairy tale drops the witch quickly and then continues with our tragic lovers finding each other in the desert wilderness before running off into the sunset.

Once more, the best thing about this short is the animation of the big bad. The witch doesn’t get enough time in the narrative, but her hunched body posture and more feral body movements stand in contrast to the marionette qualities of the Rapunzel and the prince. In fact, Rapunzel and the prince bare a strong resemblance to Edger Bergen’s puppets more than anything else with their apple cheeks, gigantic teeth, and large eyes. They have as much personality as the felt and clay they’re made from, and emote just as well. It’s clear where Harryhausen’s interests lied, and so do ours as a viewer.

Still, like all of the rest, the scenery is gorgeous, looking like a particularly ornate storybook drawing brought to life. It’s entertaining enough, and a breezy eleven minutes despite the source material’s distinct lacking qualities. There’s nothing wrong with Harryhausen’s adaptation other than it follows the material perhaps too closely. I don’t know about you, but the things I’ve always remembered most about this are the sights of Rapunzel’s hair braiding itself and the witch’s petty, cruel face as she enacts her revenge. More liberating scares or wondrous bits of magic like that, and “The Story of Rapunzel” would only improve in my estimation.