I say “indisputable,” but what I really mean is “really difficult to disprove because the evidence is compelling” (and who has time for that long of a headline?)
Frozen and Tangled are two animated Disney films that exist in the post-Disney Renaissance slew of films that ended with The Princess & The Frog. They are among the first high-profile Disney films, aside from Pixar, to use computer animation as a means to retelling classic “fairy tale” stories.
Tangled, which premiered in 2010, features the story of Rapunzel. The movie was a huge success, mostly because it brought a new kind of enjoyable movie experience to both children and adults akin to the Disney Renaissance films of the 1990s.
As you may recall, the films between The Little Mermaid (you can also count The Brave Little Toaster) and Treasure Planet were animated films that took old classic icons and modernized them for a new audience.
Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King (which modernized Hamlet), Pocahontas, Hercules, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Tarzan, Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis and Treasure Planet all featured established stories with cutting-edge animation.
Then Lilo & Stitch happened—a Disney film that while successful, signaled a departure from the old format. Disney was going for original stories.
For the next few years, Disney would continue experimenting with both CGI and 2D animation, but they would only cover new stories (probably due to the success of Pixar’s original stories).
Valiant, The Wild, Home on the Range, Meet the Robinson’s and Bolt were mitigated successes that ended up being mere shadows of how captivating Disney movies really could be.
This culminated with the release of The Princess and the Frog, an obvious attempt at cashing in on the old formula (revitalizing an old story).The movie was well-received, but it still didn’t have the cultural impact that Disney was looking for—and they knew this a mile away.
That’s why in 2010, Disney threw a hail mary with Tangled, the first post-renaissance film to combine both strategies of the previous generations: computer animation and established storytelling.
Tangled wasn’t an immediate hit culturally, but it would eventually become a mainstream staple upon DVD releases and the onslaught of meme-generation online. It was a good first start.
But Disney didn’t figure out why Tangled worked before they would make a colossal mistake in 2011, which saw the release of Mars Needs Moms—one of the biggest box office disasters in movie history.
That same year was also when they brought back Winnie the Pooh and figured out that 2D animation just wouldn’t cut it anymore—not because it doesn’t look amazing, but because the tastes of the new generation have changed.
Disney’s next experiment would come in 2012 with the release of Wreck-It-Ralph, an odd case study about a movie where video games come to life. The makers of the film clearly wanted to find a new groove for these movies without having to rip off old properties by featuring…well old properties from video games.
Wreck-It Ralph drew in viewers because it was a fantastic homage to dozens of iconic video game characters, even though it featured an original story and computer animation.
So, does Wreck-It Ralph exist in the same universe as Tangled and Frozen? Well, there’s actually more evidence that they take place in the same universe as The Fairly OddParents…
Hold on, let’s zoom in a little bit:
Of course, it’s probably too good to be true.
By 2013, Disney had figured out that original stories coming out under their umbrella need to have something familiar for audiences to grab on to in order to gain momentum in the box office.
And then everything changed when Frozen came along.
One of the most successful animated films of all time (especially our time), Frozen finally got the Disney recipe right. Based on The Snow Queen, the movie was a familiar, but fresh take on a classic fairy tale.
Of course, it was still successful without having to be instantly familiar to children. Thanks to a viral soundtrack, fun storytelling and memorable characters, Frozen has essentially marked the beginning of a new era of Disney movies, and what is a Disney movie without some universe sharing?
Yes, Tangled and Frozen exist in the same universe for plenty of reasons, but the most important being that the two movies are of a significant recipe that is uniquely different from every other Disney film. Also, I have evidence:
See that couple in the bottom-left corner of the image? That’s Flynn and Rapunzel (after her hair changes color and length) from Tangled showing up to Elsa’s coronation in Frozen.
It’s clear that the animation style is seamless enough for these characters to show up in the movie without looking out of place, and you can even see that their wardrobe has subtly shifted.
Another persistent theory you may buy into was proposed by this redditor who claims that Flynn and Rapunzel were at the coronation because Elsa and Anna’s parents died while traveling to their wedding 3 years before the events of Frozen.
He also claims that Flynn actually refers to Arendelle as “being nice this time of year,” but I’ve yet to find the actual clip of him saying that in Tangled or Tangled Ever After.
Another interesting piece of evidence is how similar the settings are conceptually. Tangled is loosely based on the fairy tale about Rapunzel, which takes place in Germany. In the movie, however, their adventures take place in the fictional kingdom of Corona, rather than any real settings.
In similar fashion, Frozen is based on a Norwegian tale, but it takes place in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle. The idea here is that Disney is trying to build new fictional kingdoms to go along with their adaptations, so you can expect to see more of this in future Disney CGI films.
Going forward, 2014’s big animated movie is Big Hero 6, which is an animated adaptation more similar to Wreck-It-Ralph than Tangled and Frozen due to its ties with “geek” culture (the movie is based on a graphic novel and features fighting robots).
2015 will be even stranger, with the release of The Descendants, a Disney Channel Original Movie that calls back to the 90s era with the offspring of the protagonists from those films. If you needed more evidence that the Disney Renaissance movies shared a universe, then that should settle the discussion.
Other than that, however, there are no announced projects on the horizon that will continue the post-renaissance film sharing that has begun with Tangled and Frozen…for now.
[UPDATE]
Some clever commenters pointed out that The Little Mermaid may exist within this universe as well. The theory (which has now been propagated by Tumblr users and promoted by Buzzfeed) is that the sunken ship in The Little Mermaid is the same one that Elsa and Anna’s parents died on when it was lost at sea.
One piece of evidence has to do with the location of each movie. Tangled takes place in Germany, Frozen takes place in Norway and The Little Mermaid takes place in Denmark. In order for Elsa’s parents to travel from Norway to Germany via boat, they would have passed by Denmark. See below:
I have to admit that this definitely solid evidence (and kudos to you readers who pointed it out in the comments, including my roommate who pointed out the same thing). Of course, the biggest piece of evidence is the fact that both The Little Mermaid and Frozen are based on fairy tales written by the same person: Hans Christian Andersen.
If this is all true, then that would mean Frozen and Tangled exist within the same universe as the Disney Renaissance films, albeit with some new twists to their conceptual design and settings.
Another update: a lot of people like to argue that this is somehow connected to Tarzan and/or Beauty and the Beast. Guys, it’s not. It’s just not.
WATCH THIS JON NEGRONI… Oh, and, uh, other people. If you want to watch it too, go ahead.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LYp-KEeSGSQ
Jon please make more theories like this about Disney. I’m making a Disney that literally connects every Disney movie. I’ll give you lots of credit. Thanks!
Joe, This is an excellent article and I couldn’t agree more. I’d like to point out something in regard to Disney adding to the, as you call it, “post-renaissance films.” On Wikipedia I found that in the line up of future Disney feature films there is slated to be a movie based loosely on Jack and the Bean Stock called “Giants.” The release date is unknown at this time. It seems to me like this could definitely fit into the world they are creating seeing as Jack and the Bean Stock is traditionally set in England which is around the area the other films take place. Just a theory, but I think Disney could also be hinting at Tangled and Frozen and possibly Giants being intertwined by giving them all single word titles.
I’m Sorry, I accidentally said your name was Joe and not Jon. My bad.
I like that you brought up the Hans Christian Andersen relation. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but in Frozen, there are three characters: Hans, Kristoff and Anna… Just thought I’d throw that out there! I love when Disney throws things like that in their movies.
And sven.
Hans, kristoff, anna, sven.
See…
And olaf don’t forget bout the little cute snowman
They were talking about how, in that order, those names all together sound like Hans Christian Anderson.
Olaf doesn’t fit into that.
I got it…
:0 i never would have figured that out on my own
by the way in one of the hunchback of notre dame bell is seen roaming the streets
It would make sense considering The hunchback of Notre Dame is set in France and Belle is a French name
Belle in Hunchback is just a fun thing they put in there; they take place in totally different centuries, Belle in the 1700s and Hunchback in the 1400s!
The release date is unknown at this time. It seems to me like this could definitely fit into the world they are creating seeing as Jack and the Bean Stock is traditionally set in England which is around the area the other films take place. Just a theory, but I think Disney could also be hinting at Tangled and Frozen and possibly Giants being intertwined by giving them all single word titles. http://qr.net/rtcX
While I have no doubt that The Little Mermaid exists around the same time period as Tangled and Frozen, the claim that the sunken ship that Ariel explores in the beginning of the movie is the same one that Elsa and Anna’s parents were on is entirely inaccurate. Having watched The Little Mermaid just last night out of curiosity regarding the claim I was able to find out that when inside the ship, Flounder got freaked out by a skeleton that clearly had on a pirate’s hat and had a cutlass through its chest. The ship is undoubtedly pirate. A better theory that I have is that the ship that Anna and Elsa’s parents were on is one of the ships that Ursula raises from the depths of the ocean with her whirlpool. It might even be the same ship that Prince Eric impales the bow on Ursula with. It would make sense because multiple ships wrecked there would imply that the waters were treacherous like they were when the late king and queen of Arendelle were travelling. But that’s just my theory.
I do believe that the ‘sunken ship’ referenced in the article is the exact same one that you’re talking about now, if not then I most definitely approve of your theory since it’s more sound and connects much more smoothly with the other two
While your theory about the ship is very well thought out, I highly doubt that is what happened. Frozen shows no sign of Ursula as the parents ship sinks.
Well of course it doesn’t. The ship had already sunken, meaning that Anna and Elsa’s parents were long dead by then. I dont think Ursula actually caused the sinking
this doesnt mention Brave at all.
Its not supposed to, it’s connecting Tangled Frozen & The Little Mermaid. He never said anything about Brave
frozen and tangled are not from the same universe as brave. brave is from pixar’s universe and it was the first “fairy tale” they made.
Tinkerbel The Pirate Faery exits in the same Universe of Tangled? Please look at the one of the pirates and one of the outlaws (the fat one with thin mostacho). The difference is that the Tangled’s outlaw looks little older and have a hook in his left hand.
If you go on descendants disney wiki page it says that not only is belle and the beast and their child Ben is going to be in the movie, but Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert (Flynn Rider) and their child Anxelin, a Mulan and Li Shang from Mulan and their children, Aurora and Phillip and their children, the fairy godmother from cinderella, and even villains and their children – Maleficent and daughter Mal, Jafar (Aladdin) and son Jay, The evil queen and possibly first king (snow white) and daughter Evvie, and Cruella De Vil and son Carlos are all in or mentioned in Descendants! This just proves how somehow they are all tied together. This is going to be a cool movie!
Plot :
In a present day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic “Beauty and the Beast”) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, The Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters.
These villainous descendants are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Descendants
That doesn’t make sense, There is too much technology in 101 Dalmations – like Radio and Cars to be in the same timeline as the all the royals. That wiki page must be wrong or Disney isn’t thinking straight,
I think Disney is doing it to be creative and to have fun with their characters, not to perfectly align every story and timeline
I don’t think Tangled is based in Germany, I think the kingdom of Corona is based on the real life island Mont St. Michel off the coast of Normandy, France. Corona and Mont St. Michel have the same exact look and both have a bridge connecting the island to the mainland. In the movie, it shows a succession of how the kingdom grew, and if you look at the growth of Mont St. Michel, it is almost identical. Also, if Tangled is set in France, it would still work with the theory of how the Little Mermaid, Frozen, and Tangled are connected because Elsa and Anna’s parents would still have to travel by Denmark to get to France from Norway.
my bet is is that Disney will use the same drawings over and over again like every other production studios
There is another theroy that Ana and Elsa’s parents did not die at all! They accually swam ashore on an island and had a a baby boy named Tarzan! The parents in both movies look indisputably alike!
nope, in this, he says that the ship would have sunk near denmark, around the little mermaid, and that they swam ashore and THEN had a son,.. but I copied this directly from the disney wiki page: “In the late 1880’s off the coast of Africa, a young couple and their infant son escape a burning ship and land on the unexplored rainforests of Africa, where they craft themselves a treehouse in which to live using salvaged ship parts”. So not only is it not in the same place, or time, but they have a child BEFORE they swim ashore. furthermore, if the time doesn’t throw you off, doesn’t the technology gap seem a bit big? From monarchy to compases, and moving pictures in under thirty years (guestimating Tarzan’s age)?
Um. I’m not sure I’d call Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Ice Queen” a Norwegian tale since HCA was actually Danish. Scandinavian yes, but different countries.
So writers can’t write stories based in other countries than what they live in?
Is it possible that rapzel and esla and Anna are cosins it is possible?
I have also read that the ship that sunk was the one in the little mermaid AND that the kind and queen were the parents of Tarzan, when they had to get off of the shio and ended up on the island and with Tarzan. If you look at the picture of Tarzans parents a compare it to the King and Queen of Arendale, they share a similar resemblance and to what they would have looked like later on in the future. Leaving Tarzan, Ana and Elsa related. It makes sence because Jane is English, but what doesnt quite fit is the gorrillas in the Tarzan movie, obviously in Africa.
Another thing, at Queen Elsas party you can also catch a glipmse of Prince Naveene and Tiana together!
new evidence says that frozen and little mermaid and tarzan are all connected that elsa parents Are the parents from tarzan after there ship somehow they get to shore idk but you should look in to it
I asking have my thoughts that even Princess Tiana and Cinderella maybe in the movie as well. If you look closely enough in the coronation scene to through the part where she says to shut the gates there are two African American girls in green dresses. When Elsa tells Anna no, there is a girl with a bun and in a blue dress talking to a short round man. They may just be coincidences or it really is the two princesses. When Elsa is being crowned, there is ALSO a girl in a yellow dress, maybe Belle from beauty and the beast? Possibly not, you can hardly tell. I have the screen shots of these glipses of what may be the princesses that may or may not appear in the movie, but cannot find a way to post on her to greet your opinion on who they are.
I don’t mean to sound rude but not EVERY girl in a colored dress is one of the princesses. I mean, they may have the same colors but it would have to be undeniably alike to be considered one of the princesses.
Yes this is true :/ wish I had more evidence to actually be able to tell, if any of them are any other princesses, but the two African American princess’ faces are never shown. There is no way to tell…. Oh well, we can all still have our imagination 🙂
why rapunzel and flynn saw in the frozen
Do not spend too much money on shipping.
Well, the ship that Anna and Elsa’s parents boarded wasn’t exactly the same as the one in “The Little Mermaid…” But there were tons of ships in that graveyard, though.
Has anyone else noticed the possible connections between Brave and Frozen? We know that Tangled and Frozen are in the same universe. At the top of the Tangled map, there is a dragon that looks like the Loch Ness Monster. At the bottom of one of the Brave maps, the same dragon appears. Possible connection? Maybe.
Ever notice the white streak on Merida’s mom’s hair? Well, it’s possible that a sorceress did that to her. It is awfully similar to Anna’s white streak…
After frozen when the parents crashed, they washed up on a near shore and gave birth to a boy named Tarazan. Think about it
It can’t be, one, the ship on Tarzan’s movie burned, also, the baby was already born, and to have a baby on the ship she would have been already 9 months pregnant, and in the film she looked fine and without traces of a pregnancy.
also, Anna and Elsa’s parents did not die in their shipwreck. They are the parents of Tarzan
this cant be because tarzans parents were in
africae not denmark
Reblogged this on jacobreviewsshows and commented:
Another interesting post from Jon Negroni. Definitely check him out.
When she dances with the Head statue talking about “true love” it’s a sign of foreshadowing. The head is of Julius Caesar, he wanted to take over Rome for himself. Ana’s “true love” in the movie is Prince Hans who, at the end, wants to rule Arendale for himself, just like Caesar but when Ana ends up breaking the head, it signifies that Prince Hans and his plan is destroyed.
Very clever interpretation! Wish I’d seen that.