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My friend Z has already had to indulge my random interest in this song/video I discovered on YouTube. So now . . . the rest of you.

The discovery: my YouTube algorithm showed me this animatic video for Miraculous Ladybug (which, if you watch, is a complete fanfiction hypothetical not a 5th season spoiler in case you were worried . . . no, just me?):

So naturally my reaction was what the fuck is this song and why does it hit so hard? Is this a Broadway song I’ve never heard about? What’s the story here??

Get ready for it. It’s a song featured in an episode of Tangled: The Series on Disney Channel. As in, the spinoff animated series from the hit Disney movie Tangled about Rapunzel.

What??

So I looked up the video for this song in context of the series and watched this:

I have so many questions. What in the world is going on here? What kind of shenanigans does Rapunzel get up to in this series? And, again, why the fuck does this song hit so hard?

Eventually I looked up what the series was even about and got this:

“Rapunzel is destined to one day assume the role of Princess of Corona, but she’s not ready for that yet. She realizes that there is so much more she needs to learn about both herself and the world before she can take on the responsibility associated with being princess. So she goes on a journey to ready herself for eventually ascending to the throne and is joined along the way by partner-in-life Eugene, no-nonsense and dutiful horse Maximus, and tough-as-nails friend and confidante Cassandra.”

The series features 3 seasons and 59 episodes, and, most relevant to this post, music by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and Oscar-nominated lyricist Glenn Slater, who both worked on the movie.

Do I have to watch this series just to understand the context of this one specific song? Maybe. Later. It’s a long list.

Okay, update — in writing this post I also discovered this song and video, which is also great? And the villains are flipped? What in the world is going on with this show? Should we all be talking about this?

Thank you for joining me on this journey of discovery.

With Love,

Natalie