Disney princesses have become such an ingrained part of our collective conscious that most of us can rattle off the names Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Tiana, Ariel, Moana, Mulan, Rapunzel and so on without having to think too hard about it. Disney princes, however, are another story. There’s the classic Prince Charming, of course. Aladdin is hard to forget, since the story is literally named after him. Beast doesn’t have a name, and beyond that, most Disney princes just don’t stick in people’s minds.
Flynn Rider from “Tangled,” however, might be the exception.
There’s something about Flynn Rider that has made him a Disney fan favorite, and a behind-the-scenes video explains one possible reason why: He was designed by a room full of women.
First, here’s a reminder of Flynn’s character for those who haven’t seen “Tangled” in a while:
“Tangled” directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno shared in a Q & A what they were thinking in the process of creating Flynn.
“Flynn’s character, from the get-go, had to be a charmer,” Howard said. “He had to be this charming kind of swashbuckling, amazing action guy who you had to love from square one…We always kind of compare him to characters like Indiana Jones, who have confidence about them but they’re human at the same time. Because you have to relate to these guys. They can’t just be Superman.”
Greno added that Flynn is one of the funniest characters Disney has created. “He’s this really smart, witty guy. He’s an action hero, he’s also very handsome.”
Flynn’s handsomeness ended up being highly curated. Howard and Greno shared that after the animators had come up with hundreds of mockups of potential Flynns, they invited the women from around the animation studios to come and weigh in on the sketches, as well as images of leading Hollywood men over the years, to determine what features would make Flynn the most attractive.
This “hot man meeting” yielded a lot of strong opinions, which Howard said was “tough.”
“The hot man meeting was hard to go to, for us,” said Greno, “because everyone had opinions on what works and what doesn’t work. And occasionally things would come up that don’t work, and those were things that, you know, we have.”
Watch the women in action:
@ashley_tropea Never forget The Hot Man Meeting #disney #tangled #flynnrider #animation #menwrittenbywomen #disneytangled #disneytiktok
Designing a male hero based on what women actually find attractive vs. what men think women find attractive turned out to be a solid approach. It may be worth imagining what would happen if the idea were reversed—a group of men in a “hot woman meeting” to piece together the ideal woman would likely be received a bit differently—but the consensus in the comments was that the meeting achieved its intended goal.
“This makes so much sense. Flynn Rider is elite.”
“And in the end, they nailed it.”
“My girls KNEW what they were talkin about.”
“And they did a FANTASTIC job.”
“Those women did amazing bc that man is FINEEEE.”
“THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE! I always felt like he was such a female gaze character I was surprised they nailed it…now I get why.”
Several commenters also wondered if that meeting was the genesis of the WANTED posters and Flynn’s “They just can’t get my nose right!” line in the film.
Of course, as much love as Flynn got in the comments, some people disagreed that he was for sure the most attractive prince. There was a lot of appreciation for Prince Naveen from “The Princess and the Frog” (that voice), Li Shang from “Mulan” and Eric from “The Little Mermaid” in the comments.
Thousands agreed, however, that Disney should have used an approach like this to create Beast when he turns into human form because that reveal left a lot to be desired.
Ultimately, asking women what they actually find attractive instead of assuming or guessing led to the creation of one of the most beloved princes in the Disney lineup. If the goal is to have the female audience swooning over a character, it’s definitely something for creators to consider when designing a leading man.