Philio, Agape, and Eros - A Tangled Movie Review

Out of all of the Disney princess love stories, I think that the story of Rapunzel and Eugene is my favorite.

When the movie first came out in theaters, I went to see it and instantly loved it. The characters were ones I related to easily, Rapunzel's positive and innocent world view and Eugene's melancholic dry humor reminded me of many of my close friends. I had so much fun comparing the characters to people I actually knew that it took me a bit to realize it wasn't just the likable characters, but the progression of the relationship that made me really like the story.

This isn't exactly what drives the relationship.

It helps tremendously for the story, that Eugene and Rapunzel don't like each other romantically right away. I find that sort of progression in a story incredibly refreshing compared to most love stories that one comes across in books or movies. While it's clear that they recognize the other is attractive, it doesn't really drive the relationship. If this story were a book instead of a movie, there would be very little of the "he/she she is the most beautiful person I've ever seen" mentality in the descriptions. More time would be given to watching them become friends instead. This makes the story a lot more interesting and we get to know more about the characters than their interests in perusing a significant other. We get to see their characters develop and their love develop as well. There are many types of love; the ancient Greeks had multiple words to describe them. There are three main types however, and Tangled is a great love story because all three are present between Eugene and Rapunzel.

The first type of love is Philia. This is the love of friendship. At first Rapunzel and Eugene are just friends and this is great. They get to know each other without the intention of gaining the other's romantic affections and instead come value each other as comrades that they can rely on. By watching each other's back at the Snuggly Duckling, and running from the guards they learn to trust each other. Then they are vulnerable with each other while they are trapped in the cave and recovering around the campfire. Eugene tells Rapunzel about his lonely orphan past and Rapunzel explains how the responsibility of her magic hair combined with her overbearing "mother" has kept her alone in a tower her whole life. It's at that point that Eugene and Rapunzel are defiantly friends. How could they not be after all they had done together? Of course there is probably a spark of romantic love by then too, but they already love each other as friends at this point, regardless of romantic affection. If any romantic advances had been shot down by one or both of them, you can tell that their adventure thus far hadn't meant nothing, and they would be there for each other in a pinch if need be.



As mentioned though, the spark of Philia love easily grows into Eros, that is, romantic love. That's not to say that every time Philia love exists it will grow into Eros, there are plenty of times in life where that's obviously not the case. However, my favorite romance stories are the ones that start as strong friendships. The romantic love has more of a foundation, more of a structure that way. There isn't as much stress or anxiety to impress a significant other if they have already accepted you as a friend. As for demonstrating that Eugene and Rapunzel fall in love romantically, I hope I don't have to make an argument for that.

And finally there is Agape. This the the strongest and most meaningful type of love. This the the self-sacrificing, putting-the-needs-of-others-above-your-own kind of love. (As a disclaimer, I'm not saying that Tangled is the only Disney movie that portrays all three loves in one move, it is just currently my favorite.) Of course, if you've seen the movie, you should know what point I'm referring to. If you haven't seen the movie, I'm not going to give the climax away, but ultimately both Eugene and Rapunzel put their own life on the line in order to save the life of the other.

Road trip of escapism!

Agape is important because without it love is barely love at all. Without the will to put what is good for the other above your own desires, romance is nothing. Without Agape, Tangled would be just warm fuzzies and a road trip of escapism at best.


But with Agape, love actually means something. It becomes a promise, a gift of one's own self, and the backbone and foundation for all other types of love. When Agape is present in love stories, like Tangled, it makes that story all the more meaningful.

And they lived happily ever after!

Thanks for reading!
~JMJ~

If you do not own Tangled and would like to, or if you want to watch it right now, check out the links below!