Adorably cute and beautiful, effortlessly hot, courageous, has perfect feet... Best. Disney Princess. Ever!
After many months of waiting, pining and more waiting, I finally got to see the movie Tangled. I saw it in a theater, in 3D, and certainly this is the best way to see it for the first time. I have to say, my being a foot fan aside, the movie is truly an adorable watch- This is easily one of the most beautiful animated films I've yet seen. The storytelling is modern, but make no mistake- this is not a pop-culture mash-up like the Shrek films- this is a classic Disney Fairy Tale, through and through. Rapunzel is a wonderful, gorgeous heroine that you can easily fall for the moment you see her, and you only love her a lot more as you watch her in her adventures. In terms of physical performance, personality, humor and drama, she's certainly the best Disney heroine in my book. Okay, now to business. Yes, indeed, the lovely Rapunzel stays barefoot for pretty much the entire movie- you literally won't see her wearing shoes, apart from a pair of brushes strapped to her feet for cleaning the floor of the tower (worn for about a couple of seconds). From the moment you first see 18-year old Rapunzel, she's THE footfan's ultimate animated goddess.
While the movie's featurettes highlight the animation of her hair, really it's Rapunzel's FEET that have to be given due interest. Given how realistic and lifelike they are, you wonder how they developed animating them. They are surely the most lifelike, realistic and detailed bare feet EVER in an animated film. And thankfully, the movie does not try to hide Rapunzel's feet at all- you see them pretty much every time she's onscreen, and are without a doubt integral to her character- not since Disney's Tarzan have feet been so expressive and important to a character's personality.
I guess we have the movie's villain, Mother Gothel, to thank since apparently it's all part of her ploys to keep Rapunzel imprisoned that she never gave her any shoes- however, thankfully that didn't stop our barefoot heroine from stepping out of the tower to adventure.
Mother Gothel can apparently be thanked for Rapunzel's lack of footwear.
There are several highlight points throughout the film that are memorable for me. These include:The moment where Rapunzel first leaves the tower- the moment where she tip toes onto the grass and spreads her toes is magical, as well as the part where she rolls on the grass and steps into a stream. Towards the middle of the film, after a major action setpiece, Rapunzel confesses part of her past, leading to a gorgeous extreme closeup of her feet (with some nice toe movement) which will surely have footfans getting envious of a certain chameleon.
Wouldn't you love to be that grass right now?
The best, closest view in the movie and one darn lucky chameleon...
Tangled is truly a must-see, awesome film. Not just for footfans, but for movie fans in general. However, we will surely value this film's aesthetics more than most. I can't wait for the Blu-ray release... surely one film that's a MUST for the collection.
Even if they're mostly known for goofy cartoons and anthropomorphic animals, Disney has also been pleasing foot fans for decades, giving us some of the most memorable animated heroines who often go barefoot on their adventures. While the generally wholesome flavor of Disney flicks guarantees that their characters can never be as overtly hot as in anime and more mature cartoons, there's still awesome appeal in the shoeless sirens from the House of Mouse. Here's a list of the best of the bunch- it's not a total exhaustive list, as I've decided to exclude characters like Lilo and Jungle Book's Shanti due to their being too young... and also not Nala or Miss Bianca since, while they don't wear shoes, they're also... not human. Aaaanyway... If I missed any aside from them, well, apologies... Anyway, here's the Solekeeper's list of barefoot Disney heroines!
10. Jasmine (Aladdin) Okay, this is a bit of a stretch since this Arabian princess doesn't ever go barefoot in the first Aladdin film. I'm sure she has some barefoot moments or scenes in the Aladdin TV cartoon. Anyway, I needed ten heroines and Jasmine completes the set. Heheh...
9. Pocahontas (Pocahontas) You'd think American Indian Barbie would rate higher, but really- I never liked the Disney fantasy cartoon that the Pocahontas movie turned out to be... perhaps it never should have been made, IMO. Despite the obvious tease in her design, she's just so bland and boring both in looks and personality (of course, they couldn't really do anything to make her too quirky since she's, well, a historical figure). There's never any point that gives good focus to her feet and perhaps due to the limitations of the animations her feet often lack detail. Disney's alternate-timeline Pocahontas lives to continue her adventures in a sequel, but is never seen barefoot again after the first movie.
8. Fa Mulan (Mulan) Ah, a lovely lady from ancient China who gladly hasn't had her feet bound. Unfortunately apart from a scant two short scenes, Mulan spends the most of her time wearing shoes... and dressed as a man, at that. The quality of the second barefoot scene though- Mulan's resolute transition into her disguise and quest- has a brief but awesome sole shot that foot fans will surely always remember.
7. Ariel (The Little Mermaid) You'd think a mermaid would be the farthest character from a foot fan's mind, but thankfully in the course of the story, this lovable sea-princess does get a fetching pair of legs, as well as an amazing sole shot moment as she marvels at her new appendages. Unfortunately afterwards the film is pretty inconsistent, with Ariel becoming barefoot or wearing shoes apparently at random. As cute and lovable as Ariel is, her animation quality leaves a bit to be desired for me. Still, she's surely a sentimental fave for many.
6. Kida (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) The Princess of the lost Empire of Atlantis was hot- in a jungle girl/tribal warrior way. She's certainly an exotic beauty with her white hair and dark skin, and an athletic, acrobatic fighter in her own right. She's also articulate, intelligent and quite a courageous princess. Too bad she suddenly turns into a helpless damsel towards the end. Of course, she's barefoot for the most part in the film (not so in the crappy sequel though), but sadly there are little, if ever any, good closeups or moments that focus on Kida's toes and soles- they're very understated, just like the character and the movie in general. Still, she and her film are hidden gems in the Disney repertoire, not to be missed.
5. Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame) This kick-ass gypsy rebel surely captured a lot of hearts when she appeared in this dark horse of a Disney flick. With flashing green eyes, dusky skin, acrobatic athleticism and the voice of Demi Moore, Esmeralda is indeed one bewitching beauty. As a gypsy, she stays barefoot for the whole film, and figures in quite a few cool action scenes as well as a sexy dance number. She's also spirited, courageous and kind, making her a standout character... too bad she becomes a pretty passive damsel towards the end of the movie. Esmeralda returns in the sequel to the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but for some reason she's wearing shoes then. What is it with these barefoot furies turning domestic and shod in sequels? Lazy animators, I guess... sigh.
4. Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) Though her real name is Aurora, the lovely royal heroine of Sleeping Beauty spends the earlier time of the film as the barefoot forest maiden Briar Rose, truly an enthralling and gorgeous beauty with an amazing singing voice, the talent to talk to animals and, well, some of the daintiest, tiniest bare feet you'll ever see. Rose is barefoot for some nice, lengthy scenes in the forest, which are surely foot fan favorites. Sadly, after she goes and returns to the castle we never see her lovely feet again. Though she became the stuffy Aurora forever after, we'll always love her as the simple, elegant and unshod Briar Rose.
3. Jane Porter (Tarzan) Ah, Jane... as lovely as she surely should be, she was saddled with frumpy dresses and Minnie Driver's voice (which, while ultimately pretty awesome, isn't your usual heroine vocal flavor). Thankfully it doesn't take long for Miss Porter to get into the ways of the jungle and start barefooting it. There are quite a few nice foot-tastic moments in Tarzan, plus Jane is always barefoot in the subsequent Tarzan animated TV series (which is so darn hard to find). In contrast to many heroines, Jane starts off wearing shoes and loses them in the end... which makes her an exceptional foot fan fave.
2. Giselle (Enchanted) With respect to Amy Adams hotness, the live-action Giselle really pales in comparison to her animated version, which opens up the movie Enchanted in a wonderfully long hand-animated intro sequence which both is a parody and wonderful modernized look at Disney Princesses. Nicely enough, animated Giselle is, like Briar Rose upon whom she surely got inspiration from, a barefoot beauty who can talk to animals. The whole cartoon sequence is animated with great detail and there are lots of nice views of Giselle's sexy bare feet, even a nice closeup or two as well. If only for animated Giselle, it's worth it for foot fans to get themselves a copy of Enchanted for their collection.
1. Rapunzel (Tangled) AND of course, last but certainly the BEST, is the princess with 70 feet of golden, healing hair. The story is all about Rapunzel's locks, but it's her feet that should please us all- undoubtably the most well-animated, most expressive, most adorable animated bare feet yet seen. Even better, she's barefoot for pretty much the whole movie! But beyond all that, Rapunzel's as lively, expressive, full of personality and mesmerizingly gorgeous as any live-action performer, and truly goes beyond what has been seen before in a Disney animated heroine. She's not just the best barefoot babe from the House of Mouse... in my book, she's the Best. Disney Princess. EVER!
And that's it! Go catch Tangled right now. I've still got some time to wait before I get my Rapunzel fix though, and I'll probably post more on Rapunzel when I do. For now, enjoy the holiday and meet Disney's best barefoot heroine.
Disney's Tangled, AKA the footfan's Disney Princess movie, is probably out in some theaters by now, so if you can, go watch it and enjoy the adventures of Rapunzel who, I think, has got to have the most gorgeous CG-rendered bare feet in cinematic history. Aside from that, the movie just looks absolutely beautiful and surprisingly hilarious, if only judging from these two cool clips I've found on Youtube. Check 'em out! Man, I've been loving this film ever since I first saw the trailers, and I just know this will be an all-time favorite of mine. For now, enjoy the clips!
Who cares about the hair... Rapunzel's bare feet look positively enchanting.
Here's a bit of a change from the usual videogame vixen, a barefoot virtual princess from Disney's upcoming CG Rapunzel flick, Tangled. Though now in 3D CG animation, this seems a bit of a throwback to the classic 2D Disney flicks about a decade or so ago, which is a good thing. But that aside, the awesomeness is in Rapunzel's design. For starters, she's mind-numbingly gorgeous.
This Disney Princess is a Knockout!
Then, aside from just having yards and yards of hair, she's gotten the pretty awesome ability of manipulating her golden locks, ala Medusa (the hair-controlling Inhuman from Marvel Comics, not the Gorgon). But the most important part is, apparently she goes barefoot for at least a good part of the movie- at least in the beginning. Check out the cool teaser trailer for some nice peeks at this princess's tender and tasty tootsies in action!
The first parts of Rapunzel you see (aside from her hair) are her feet. Talk about Love at First Sight!
Seeing this scene (and Rapunzel's toes) in motion is sure to have foot fans' drooling.
Tangled looks to be a surefire foot fan favorite.
And contrary to most CG flicks, the animators have put a lot of effort into animating Rapunzel's adorable feet, so I expect foot fans will have this particular Disney flick in their libraries once it's out. I just hope that Rapunzel doesn't start wearing shoes immediately after she goes out of her tower, or that she goes barefoot at least some of the time afterwards. We'll just have to wait and see. But what has so far been seen looks simply foot-tastic!
This really isn't a surprise as Disney has had a history of awesome barefoot babes in its films- Sleeping Beauty, Hunchback of Notre Dame... now Tangled. Awesome! This flick is out late this year... something to look forward to then!
