Rapunzel – The Blonde Years

This 2-minute medieval comedy drama demonstrates how one plucky maiden found her own route to freedom. It’s already had over seven hundred thousand views* on YouTube, and has been used as an education resource in Irish schools to explore complex concepts like self-determination and creative thinking.

A Film Festival Favourite

‘Rapunzel: The Blonde Years’ shows how you can use your mind to creatively solve your problems in new and exciting ways. This short film has continued to screen at film festivals around the world since then.

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Fun Facts

Interestingly, in 2010, nearly two years after Rapunzel was made, the GHD hair straightening company made a TV commercial with a very similar concept. I wrote to the GHD marketing team offering to pitch script ideas for their next ad campaign, but they never got back to me.

The sequel, ‘Rapunzel: The Pond Years’, was never made, and remains as just a dusty script in a drawer alongside ‘Smoky Bacon’, a new interpretation of the story of the Three Little Pigs.

And yes, I confess, it was me who asked for Comic Sans in the titles. For a giggle. It was a dreadful creative decision and I cringe every time I see the titles and credits.

There are two versions of this short film: the two-minute version above, which was uploaded to YouTube in the wrong format (4:3), and a longer four-minute version for festival screenings.

Sadly, ‘Rapunzel: The Blonde Years’ has never won an award at a film festival, despite being accepted into, literally, dozens. I blame the Comic Sans titles.

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Cast and Crew

Rapunzel was funded by the Screen Ireland (formerly known as the Irish Film Board) in 2008 under the Virtual Cinema Scheme. I wrote and produced the script, and worked with talented director and social media guru Fiona Ashe who added her own magic to the project. Including an extra day’s shoot to get the final ‘beat’ of the story: Prince Charming’s triumphant return.

Rapunzel stars former ski champion and stunt performer Orlaith Doherty as Rapunzel, and the hilarious Gordon Mahon as the dashing Handsome Prince.

_{*735,467 YouTube views as at 10 October 2021}