Can you believe it's nearly a decade since Disney's Tangled was first released? Time flies! In the last 9 years, scores of Disney fans have watched Rapunzel escape from her tower, fall in love, and reunite with her birth parents. This popular movie spawned a mini-sequel and an animated TV series that's still airing to this day. We're all clearly very keen on seeing what happens to this princess next!

Tangled's popularity is down to a lot of factors. It has amazing songs, not least the super-romantic "I See The Light." It's packed full of fun characters, from singing criminals to unnaturally intelligent horses, and its plot has all the ups and downs needed to keep viewers interested. The animation is pretty stunning, too – just think of how shiny and fluid Rapunzel's long, blonde locks are! Hair goals right there, am I right? It's a shame that Tangled was never picked up for a feature-length sequel, but hey – at least we have the TV show to keep us going.

Still, even the best-loved Disney films have their flaws. More to the point, they're often full of plot holes, inconsistencies, and truly baffling moments! While we know films like Tangled mostly exist to make us smile rather than to be masterful cinematic works, their mistakes can be pretty off-putting at times – especially when you can't un-see them! Here are just some of the issues with Tangled that we all try to ignore. Warning: you might not be able to see the film in the same light ever again!

25 Why Do Rapunzel's Roots Lose Their Power When Her Hair Is Cut?

At the end of Tangled, Rapunzel gets a bit of a hair makeover. Flynn cuts off the majority of her golden locks, and the little hair that's left behind loses its magic and turns brown. Question: why does cutting the hair make it lose its power? Is all of the magic contained in the ends, making the roots totally useless? It would make more sense for the power to come from the hair's roots, and thus for Rapunzel's pixie cut to stay blonde and magical. But hey – who are we to judge Disney's creative choices?

24 Why Does Rapunzel Have Matches When They Haven't Been Invented Yet?

If there are any history fans out there, be warned: this issue with Tangled might cause you a little bit of grief. At one point in the movie, Rapunzel strikes a match to light a candle. Seems innocent enough, right?

Well, not if you consider when the film is set.

According to the creators of Tangled, the events of the movie take place around the year 1780. However, the self-lighting match wasn't invented until the early 1800s. Either Rapunzel is a time-traveler, or Tangled's creators made a tiny historical slip-up here!

23 How Did Mother Gothel Discover The Lyrics Of The Healing Song?

Let's be honest here: the entire concept of a flower that heals people when you sing to it doesn't make much sense. The opening narration of Tangled establishes that there was only one magical flower out there and that it was lost to pretty much everyone – except Mother Gothel, that is. The fact that you have to sing to the flower to make it work wasn't common knowledge. How did Gothel know about the song in question – and how did she work out the exact lyrics she needed to sing to unleash the flower's magic? It's never explained!

22 Why Did The Royal Family's Castle Have Such Bad Security?

If the events of Tangled tell us anything, it's that the king and queen of Rapunzel's kingdom really need to invest in better security guards. Firstly, there's the fact that a random old woman was able to break into the king and queen's bedroom and steal their baby, while the parents themselves were in the same room!

Did they not hear Mother Gothel sneaking in and singing?

Secondly, the fact that Flynn was able to steal the precious crown from the castle so easily says a lot about the competency of the guards. Spoiler alert: they’re terrible at their jobs.

21 Did Rapunzel's Hair Magically Clean Itself?

Anyone who's ever had long hair has probably thought about the logistics of having locks as lengthy as Rapunzel's. How does she manage to keep it looking so healthy and shiny? More to the point, why doesn't her hair get dirty even though it's dragging along the floor for most of the film? Rapunzel keeps her hair loose until she reaches her parents' kingdom, meaning it's been dragged through a forest, into a pub, and along various dirt tracks. It should be absolutely rife with dirt, but nope – it's as pristine as ever. What gives?

20 Why Did Gothel Let Rapunzel Keep Her Birth Name?

Let's be real: Mother Gothel is a pretty incompetent criminal. Instead of doing the simple thing and giving Rapunzel a whole new identity after she's taken her, Gothel lets the young girl retain some aspects of her former life.

For one, she lets her keep the same name!

Gothel also keeps Rapunzel's birthday the same, rather than making up a fake one. This turns out to be her biggest mistake! The fact that the lanterns appear on her birthday every year is the thing that piques Rapunzel's curiosity and causes her to leave her tower. Rookie error, Mother Gothel!

19 How Can Rapunzel Remember Her Life As A Baby?

It seems that in the Tangled universe, memory doesn't work in quite the same way as it does in our world. As we all know, humans don't remember everything that's happened to them since birth. Most people's earliest memories come from around the age of 3. However, when Rapunzel spots a familiar symbol in her parents' kingdom, she has a flashback to the brief time in which she actually lived in the castle. Rapunzel was only a baby when Mother Gothel took her. Therefore, she shouldn't have any memories of her former home at all!

18 Was Flynn's Wound On His Chest Or Back?

Towards the end of Tangled, Rapunzel's love Flynn Ryder is cruelly stabbed by Mother Gothel as he tries to rescue the princess. It's all very sad – and a little bit confusing, actually. Mother Gothel stabs Flynn in the back (harsh, right?). However, when Flynn crumples to the ground in pain, he clutches a wound in his chest! Surely Gothel's knife wasn't big enough to go all the way through him? Why does Flynn's wound move, Disney? Where is the consistency?!

17 How Did Rapunzel's Tears Heal Flynn?

Speaking of Flynn being stabbed – the fact that Rapunzel's "magical tears" save him is a bit ridiculous. Throughout Tangled, it's been emphasized that Rapunzel's healing powers lie in her hair and her hair only. That's why Mother Gothel is so determined to keep the princess' locks attached to her head. However, when the moment requires it, Rapunzel's tears suddenly become magical too! What?! If this had been hinted at earlier in the story, sure – we'd have been able to accept it a little easier. However, this development is seemingly totally random, and it makes very little sense.

16 How Did A Drop Of Sun Create A Magical Flower?

Another totally bizarre plot point in Tangled is the backstory behind the magical healing flower. Apparently, it was created when a "drop of sunlight" fell to the Earth.

Sorry... A drop of sunlight?

This film may be set in a magical fantasy version of our world, but surely the sun hasn't become a dripping liquid. A ray of sunshine would make sense, but a drop? Come on! Unless the whole “drop of sunlight” thing is a metaphor for the flower's golden color… But that might be a bit too deep for a Disney film.

15 What Did Mother Gothel Expect To Do When Rapunzel Passes Away?

Honestly, we get the sense that Mother Gothel didn't think the whole "taking Rapunzel" thing through. Gothel's aim is essentially to have eternal life. However, she can't achieve that using Rapunzel's hair, since Rapunzel herself will perish one day!

What happens then?

How will Gothel get her anti-aging fix? She doesn't seem to be bothered by this fact and instead is focussed on keeping Rapunzel with her for now. Forward planning is key, Gothel! Perhaps she could make Rapunzel use her anti-aging powers on herself … But there’s no suggestion in the film that this would actually work. Who knows!

14 Was Rapunzel's Hair Really Long Enough For Her To Escape Her Tower?

When Rapunzel decides to leave her tower, she folds her hair in half, loops it around a hook, and uses it to swing out of the building and lower herself to the ground.

Would that method actually work, though?

Concept art from the movie shows that the tower is 70 foot tall – the exact length of Rapunzel's hair. However, she has to double her hair up to create her pulley system. It would, therefore, need to be 140 foot long in order for her to make it to the ground. She should have run out of hair halfway down!

13 Why Was Maximus Made A Commander Of The Guard When He's A Horse?

Can we just talk about the fact that at the end of Tangled, an actual horse becomes the captain of the castle's guards? Sure, we've already established that a lot of the human guards are pretty incompetent. Would putting a horse in charge really make things better, though? Don't get us wrong: we love Maximus. He's sassy, brave, and wonderful. However, he's still just a horse. Also, replacing actual weapons with frying pans doesn't seem like a good idea, unless all of the criminals in the kingdom do the same thing.

12 Why Didn't Flynn Cut Rapunzel's Hair Off After She'd Healed Him?

Remember how at the end of Tangled, Flynn gets stabbed by Mother Gothel? Well, spoiler alert: he actually perishes from his wounds. While he comes back to life eventually thanks to Rapunzel's magical tears, he doesn't let the princess heal him with her hair. He cuts it all off before Rapunzel can heal him, to save her from Mother Gothel's clutches. Thing is, Flynn totally could have waited until after Rapunzel healed him to cut off her hair. Sure, sacrificing himself was more dramatic, but he didn't need to do it!

11 Was Rapunzel Really Ready For A Romantic Relationship?

There's no denying that Rapunzel and Flynn make a pretty cute couple. However, you have to wonder whether their relationship is actually a good idea. Think about it: Rapunzel has been locked in a tower for 18 years. The only human contact she's had is with Mother Gothel, and we all know that she didn't give the young princess any advice on how to form healthy relationships. In reality, Rapunzel probably lacks the social skills she needs to be in a happy romantic partnership. Sorry to burst your bubble, guys!

10 Wasn't Flynn Finding Rapunzel's Tower Just A Bit Too Convenient?

One of the main triggers for the events of Tangled is Flynn choosing Rapunzel's tower as a hiding place while he's on the run from the palace guards. Thing is, the timing of his visit to the tower is almost impossibly convenient. He just happens to rock up when Mother Gothel has gone away on a long trip. If Gothel had been there when Flynn entered the tower, who knows what she'd have done to him. It's seriously lucky that Flynn turned up almost immediately after Gothel left. Talk about an overly contrived coincidence!

9 Is Flynn Actually Invincible?

Now, before you get confused by that title, we're not trying to claim that Flynn is 100% invincible. As has already been established, he full-on perishes after being stabbed by Gothel. However, until that point in the film, he comes through a lot of dangerous and seemingly painful situations with little to no damage. For one, he seems totally fine shortly after being knocked out twice by a very heavy frying pan. In reality, he'd at least get a concussion from that, if not more severe brain damage. You're not fooling us, Disney! Your characters' injuries are never realistic!

8 Why Didn't Rapunzel Notice That Gothel Kept On Aging?

As we all know, the reason behind Mother Gothel taking Rapunzel is the older woman's desire to stay young. Rapunzel's hair is apparently a potent anti-aging tool as well as a healing source, much to Gothel's glee. Whenever Gothel's grey hairs start to come back, she sings to Rapunzel's hair and regains her youth once again.

Thing is, she seems to age again fairly rapidly.

Does Rapunzel never wonder why Gothel ages so quickly between hair treatments? Does she not suspect that her mother might be a bit older than she's letting on – by a few centuries, no less?

7 Why Was Rapunzel So Trusting Of Strangers?

For most of her life prior to leaving her tower, Mother Gothel fed Rapunzel various stories about the rest of the human race. Gothel claimed that everyone in the outside world was a lying, cheating, untrustworthy villain.

Sounds about right! (Just kidding...)

Anyway, you'd think that hearing all of this nonsense would have affected Rapunzel somewhat. Yet, when she does go out into the world, she trusts pretty much everyone she meets, even a bunch of hardened criminals. It's sweet, but not a particularly sensible policy!

6 Didn't Rapunzel's Hair Cause Her Some Neck Strain?

Having long hair can be, quite literally, a bit of a pain. Hair is surprisingly heavy, especially if it's thick! Tying it up when it's super long can lead to neck strain. This begs a very important question: how on earth does Rapunzel manage to carry all of her hair around when it's in a braid? She must either have impossibly strong neck muscles, or a very high tolerance for pain! Either that or her magical hair is magically weightless. You have to hope the latter is the case.