It's hard to believe that ten years ago Tangled made its cinematic debut. We're still waiting on a cinematic sequel so, for now, you'll have to satisfy your fairytale cravings by rewatching the original on Disney+ over and over again.
After all, what better way to ease into the colder months than with such a heartwarming story? Many know the original fairytale, but the Disney adaptation adds a layer of charm and humour that makes it relatable.
Some even claim that it's superior to the wildly popular Frozen movies. Whatever side of that debate you land, it's impossible to deny that Tangled is, at the very least, just as endearing and enjoyable.
Like all Disney movies (and fairytales in general), there's a hefty helping of magic that goes into making them make sense. In the case of Rapunzel, there's – well, her magic hair.
But setting aside the whole magic thing for a second (yes, we know how that sounds) there's the very real question of how much her hair weighs. After all, it's a lot of hair!
Well, it turns out that someone did the math, and that someone is Kelly Ward, senior software engineer for Walt Disney Animation Studios. She was finishing up a PhD in computer animating human hair (yes it's a thing!) when Disney contacted her about its Rapunzel adaptation.
She told Science Friday that Rapunzel's hair, which is known in canon to be 70 feet long, would weigh between 60–80 lbs (or 27-36kg).
But how did she get to that number? Well, we have to approximate a bit but the maths makes sense. To make it easy, let's say that Rapunzel's 70 feet of hair weighs 70lbs (sorry metric system, in this case imperial is easier).
That means each foot of hair weighs about 1lb.
According to the Internet, an inch of hair weighs 50 micrograms, so a foot of hair would weigh 600 micrograms (1.3lbs). However, given that blonde hair is lighter and we picked a weight on the lighter end of Ward's estimate, 1lb a foot could still fit within the realm of possibility.
Related: Mandy Moore has no time for your Tangled/Frozen fan theory – and she certainly doesn't want a crossover
Does your head hurt, too? (See what we did there.)
Of course, Ward didn't animate the hair as if it weighed nearly 36 kg. Instead, she said: "We developed different ways to kind of trick physics to make sure the hair still look like had weight to it but that it could still glide easily with her while she moves."
And thus Rapunzel's hair was born. We're all jealous of it, let's not lie.
Tangled is available to watch on Disney+
Disney Classics Complete Collection
The Lion King double pack boxset
Now 17% Off
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Disney Princess Complete Collection Box set [DVD] [2019]
Now 12% Off
Digital Spy has launched its first-ever digital magazine with exclusive features, interviews, and videos. Access the latest edition with a 1-month free trial, only on Apple News+.
Interested in Digital Spy's weekly newsletter? Sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox – and don't forget to join our Watch This Facebook Group for daily TV recommendations and discussions with other readers.
Gabriella Geisinger
Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance journalist and film critic, and was previously Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. She loves Star Wars, coming-of-age stories, thrillers, and true crime. A born and raised New Yorker, she also loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.
FAQs
She was finishing up a PhD in computer animating human hair (yes it's a thing!) when Disney contacted her about its Rapunzel adaptation. She told Science Friday that Rapunzel's hair, which is known in canon to be 70 feet long, would weigh between 60–80 lbs (or 27-36kg).
How much would 70 feet of hair weigh? ›
According to Disney's version of the legend, Rapunzel's hair would weigh 60 to 80 pounds, and would be 70 feet long.
How big is Rapunzel's hair? ›
We present several key techniques used for simulating Rapunzel's 70 feet of hair for the animated feature “Tangled”; these techniques range from methods to improve the run-time efficiency of the simulations to achieving the desired art direction of the hair.
How much does hair weigh? ›
Weight of a single strand of hair
In the study, researchers cut small samples of 30 to 50 hairs from 21 African American participants. The average weight of these samples was 0.00064 ounces per inch of hair.
Is Rapunzel's hair infinite? ›
In the TV series, Rapunzel's magic hair grows back to the length and color it was in the film. It grows back when Rapunzel and her handmaid, Cassandra, discover some mystical rocks with magical properties during a secret adventure. In the series, her new hair is revealed to be indestructible and cannot be cut.
How long is Rapunzel's hair in Tangled in meters? ›
Considering the fact that Rapunzel's hair is 70 feet (21 meters) long, that means when Rapunzel is seen throwing her hair down to leave the tower, and she safely manages to reach the end of her hair without running out of hair, it means that her tower is at least 35-40 feet (10-12 meters) tall (the average height of ...
Why was Rapunzel's hair so long? ›
In the TV series, Rapunzel's magic hair grows back to the length and color it was in the film. It grows back when Rapunzel and her handmaid, Cassandra, discover some mystical rocks with magical properties during a secret adventure. In the series, her new hair is revealed to be indestructible and cannot be cut.
How was Rapunzel's hair made? ›
Moreover, the specific art direction of the film adds to the complexity of the simulation. To simulate Rapunzel's hair we use our proprietary hair simulation software, dynamicWires, which utilizes a mass-spring system for the dynamics of curves.
How long is 70 feet of hair? ›
Rapunzel - At 70 feet, Rapunzel's hair is 840 inches long--how long have you let your hair grow to be? | Facebook.
What Disney princess is 14? ›
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The first Disney princess, Snow White was only 14 years old when she had to face off against the Evil Queen.
A month later in the wilderness, Rapunzel gives birth to her twin children with the prince – a boy and a girl. For some years, the blind prince wanders through the wastelands of the country and eventually comes to the wilderness where Rapunzel has been living with their children.
What Disney princess has a tattoo? ›
Pocahontas is the only Disney princess with a tattoo.
How many hairs are on a human head? ›
Depending on hair color, the average person has between 90,000 and 150,000 hairs on their head. It is safe to say that no one has more than a million hairs. There are eight billion people living on our planet, however.
How fast does hair grow? ›
Hair grows at about half an inch per month, and the hair on your head usually grows for about six years before falling out. Your hair is in a constant state of growth and renewal, and it's normal to shed hair each day, even as new hair grows.
Does long hair affect body growth? ›
Long hair will not stunt your growth. Your hair does consume some of the nutrients you ingest, but the hair that is outside of your scalp is technically a nonliving product of your hair follicles. As such it draws no nutrition from your body.
How much weight can your hair hold? ›
Hair is strong. A single strand could hold 100g (3oz) in weight: the combined hair of a whole head could support 12 tonnes, or the weight of two elephants. Weight for weight, it is not as strong as steel: more like aluminium, or reinforced glass fibres or Kevlar, which is used to make bulletproof vests.
What's the age gap between Flynn Rider and Rapunzel? ›
Flynn Rider is 26 years old in Tangled, while Rapunzel is 17 turning 18, creating an age gap that raised some eyebrows. Flynn subverts the typical Disney prince archetype, with some finding him too co*cky and obnoxious to be likable.
What is the tensile strength of Rapunzel's hair? ›
Conservatively, let us assume that Rapunzel has an even 100,000 composing her ponytail for Flynn Rider to climb, with each hair having a diameter of 60 μm and a strength on the order of 200 MPa. This results in a breaking load of over 10,000 lbs.
Is it possible to have 70 feet of hair? ›
We measured and weighed the hair of several team members, and based on averages and ratios we determined that Rapunzel's hair would weigh 20 pounds. Since we couldn't get 70-foot-long strands of human hair, we had to use a material that has a similar strength-to-weight ratio as human hair: aluminum.
