It’s all so…so…magical.
Perhaps the most ironic thing about my reading this book is the fact that I don’t really care for Tangled The Series as a show. I watched the movie and a few episodes and still don’t quite get why it was necessary to bring the magical hair back. Also, it was all just very meh for me.
So, the truth is that I probably would never have read this book were I not a huge fan of the author and illustrator, Katie Cook.
While I adored Tangled, I admittedly don’t know much about the series and genuinely have very little interest in watching it. Granted, I’m not the target age group, so I think this is fully understandable.
But, I do know Katie Cook via her webcomic, Nothing Special–fingers crossed it ends up published physically one day so I can actually put it on my shelf–which I just loved. So, knowing she also writes and illustrates children’s books, I decided one day to see what books of hers were available at my library. Tangled: The Series: Hair and Now was the only book of hers available.
Side note: illustrators Eduard Petrovich, Rosa La Barbera, Diogo Saito, and Monica Catalano also were involved in the making of this book.
So, I Read It
Now, if you’re going into this book with only the movie for knowledge, you’ll probably find yourself a little disappointed. There are a bunch of new characters included in this book (as they are in the show) that you’ll have to get acquainted with. And personally, I don’t really care for them. I mean, I love Tangled. And I love it for what it offered initially. And while I’m not entirely against characters being added, the ones that were are just a little bit unrealistic to me.
Ultimately, Hair and Now is a collection of short stories or, episodes, that feature various characters from the show. This collection takes quite a few of them, so I’ve listed them below with a few thoughts.
Under the Big Top
Rapunzel and crew head to the circus. Amusingly, Eugene (or Flynn, which I honestly prefer) is afraid of clowns. There’s a magical bird being kept in captivity and so Rapunzel, who was kept in captivity her whole life, sets out to free it. This was a cute story overall, but the plot line is completely dropped by the end of it all. This kind of disappointed me since there was a lot of potential for future endeavors. I mean, surely the circus guy would want revenge?
The Corona Caper
Okay, so in this one there’s a bunch of random stuff that’s gone missing and it’s driving the Captain of the Guard, Cassandra’s father, bonkers. He just can’t seem to put it together and since it’s affecting his mental health, the crew set out to investigate for him while he rests. I thought this one was cute but was admittedly quite disappointed not only with the thief but also with the resolution. I get that this is a kids book, but come on. Spice it up a bit, would you?
Framed
I loved this one. Out of all the stories in this book, Framed was my favorite. It features a painting gallery for a woman who has gone missing. Turns out that the artist, Pamona Percy, is actually a sorceress. After not taking well to some criticism of her artwork, Percy makes some poor decisions that Rapunzel and her friends must work through with her.
Picture Perfect
This was a very short, but adorable bit. Almost wordless, this features Maximus and Pascal as they pose for Rapunzel. Of course, distraction comes and these two creatures get up to all sorts of accidental mischief, much like they do in the wedding short.
Barefoot Friends
Rapunzel meets a girl with a similar background to herself. It was cute, I suppose. I’m sure the kids will love it and the story definitely had a good conflict and moral. The thing is, aside from Rapunzel, it doesn’t really feature the main characters of the film much. I found it pretty meh, overall, though I imagine lovers of the show will enjoy it.
Baking Instinct
This one was really cute with how it started off. Flynn, or Eugine, was trying to learn how to cook so he could make a cake for Rapunzel. And this alone was massively adorable. But then it got weird with this strange alchemy mishap that I don’t think was necessary at all.
Eager to Help
I applaud this story so much. Rapunzel, a genuinely kind individual is doing all she can to help out others. I loved this story and appreciate its message more than any of the others. It shows both the importance of helping others and of taking care of oneself in order to do so. And that was amazing to me.
Guardian’s Day
It’s basically mother’s/father’s day for Rapunzel’s kingdom. And this one was cute, but it also featured Cassandra for the most part. Thus, with the fact that she was a new character I wasn’t really invested in, I didn’t care much. But it was cute.
Curtain Call
This one was hilarious and fun all at once. Once again, a near wordless comic bit featuring Maximus and Pascal as they crash a theater show. Definitely a great way to end the collection.
Overall, the stories are all very cute and interesting. I can certainly see young kids who are really invested in Tangled overall enjoying it.
🦊🦊🦊
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Reader Fox 