Eugene Fitzherbert, known by the alias Flynn Rider, is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated film Tangled (2010), its short 2012 film Tangled Ever After, and the 2017 television series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (previously titled Tangled: The Series). The character is voiced by American actor Zachary Levi, who decided to audition for the role upon learning that he would also be providing the character's singing voice. Levi's duet with singer and co-star Mandy Moore, "I See the Light", would go on to become the actor's first professionally recorded song and musical debut.
Loosely based on the prince in the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel", Flynn is a wanted thief who seeks refuge in Rapunzel's tower after stealing a crown. Blackmailed by Rapunzel into taking her to see the kingdom's floating lanterns in time for her eighteenth birthday, Flynn undergoes a change of heart as he gradually begins to fall in love with Rapunzel. Flynn was created by screenwriter Dan Fogelman and directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard because they felt that the incarcerated Rapunzel needed someone to escort her out of the tower. He was conceived as a thief as opposed to a traditional prince in favor of making him a funnier and edgier character. Originally written as a British farmer, Flynn was ultimately developed into a swashbuckling thief inspired by fictional characters Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and actors Gene Kelly and Errol Flynn; the alias Flynn Rider was named after the latter.
Flynn has divided film critics. While some reviewers enjoyed the character's refreshing humor, rebelliousness and sarcasm in comparison to traditional Disney princes, others found his personality to be annoying and obnoxious, while panning his narration. Additionally, Flynn has also been strongly accused of being a marketing tool exploited by Disney to attract a larger male audience to Tangled. However, both the character's romantic comedy-esque relationship with Rapunzel and Levi's vocal performance have received widespread acclaim.
Development Conception Filmmaker Walt Disney himself had first attempted to adapt the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel" into a feature-length animated film during the 1930s and 1940s. However, the project was eventually abandoned because the original fairy tale was considered too "small". When they were first approached to direct Tangled in 2008, directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard decided that it would be best "to blow up the scale of the film" and transform it into a "big event", while updating and modernizing the story for a new audience. Flynn was conceived because the directors felt that "Rapunzel needed to get out [of the tower] ... So she needed to meet a guy to take her to where she's going." In the original fairy tale, Rapunzel's love interest is a prince. However, Greno and Howard decided to make him a thief – dubbed "a subtle yet startling twist for Disney" by The New York Times – to avoid creating a character who is too "safe", opting for a funnier and "edgier" antihero instead. Greno elaborated, "When you look back at some of the past Disney princes ... a lot of them are kind of soft and they're not like people we think are that cool," continuing, "They're good guys, so I guess we sort of took that to the other extreme." However, some of the filmmakers themselves were concerned that Flynn was becoming too edgy. Greno revealed that "There were people ... who were a little worried because they were hearing these rumors, 'Well, it's not a prince it's a thief. He's kind of a ladies' man, and he's very arrogant.'" Greno summarized Flynn's conception and development to Orange:
Originally, Flynn was conceived as a British farmer named Bastian until his voice actor was finally cast. The directors cited actors Errol Flynn and Gene Kelly, and Star Wars character Han Solo, among several individuals by whom Flynn was inspired. Greno explained that "Having Flynn as a thief seemed like a fresh spin, especially in contrast to Rapunzel, who is a really smart girl but is just locked away in this tower. So she has a very limited world view and Flynn could complement that as this worldly guy." The film's change in title from Rapunzel to the more gender-neutral Tangled is due in part to Flynn's role and involvement. First observing that the Disney tradition is "to name the movie after the Princess", the directors had initially thought that the film "would be structured like Cinderella where there's Cinderella and then a Prince that pops into the movie once in a while". This changed, however, as Flynn was gradually developed into a much more prominent character. Howard explained that "When Nathan and I figured out that this film was really about two characters, Flynn and Rapunzel, we knew that changing the title would be a good idea." Meanwhile, the title Tangled summarizes the relationship between protagonists Flynn and Rapunzel, and antagonist Mother Gothel. Additionally, Flynn also narrates the film, providing it with "an ironic counterpoint", according to Children's Literature and Learner Empowerment: Children and Teenagers in English Language Education author Janice Bland. As "an example of first-person voice-over narration", Flynn's narration "compels the viewer to identify empathetically with" Flynn and Rapunzel.
Voice Greno and Howard were not particularly interested in casting solely A-list actors as the voices of main characters Flynn and Rapunzel. Instead, the directors simply searched for actors who had "the right voice" for these characters. Writing for ReelViews, film critic James Berardinelli felt that the directors' decision mirrored "Disney's approach during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when big name stars were often bypassed in favor of lesser known talents". Hundreds of actors and singers auditioned and were considered for the role of Rapunzel's love interest, among them comedian Dan Fogler and American Idol alum Clay Aiken. However, the role of Flynn Rider was ultimately won by American actor Zachary Levi because he, according to Greno, "nailed" his audition. Levi auditioned for the role after he first received a telephone call from his agent informing him about the film. Identifying himself as "a huge Disney nut", Levi was immediately "sold" on the project. His interest was further cemented by the fact that he would also be providing the character's singing voice. Additionally, Levi appears to have a history playing male "characters who are surrounded by tough, strong women". Required to audition a song in the style of a singer-songwriter, Levi decided to perform James Taylor's "Sweet Baby James" for the directors.
When Levi was first cast as the voice of Flynn, the character had been scripted as a British farmer at the time, requiring Levi to voice him with a British accent until Flynn was eventually developed into a bandit with an American accent. Although Flynn and Rapunzel share several scenes together during the film, Levi and singer Mandy Moore, his co-star who provides the voice of Rapunzel, recorded virtually none of their dialogue together due to scheduling conflicts, which Levi cited as one of the challenges he endured while working on the film, in addition to having to star in the television series Chuck simultaneously. Levi's starring role on Chuck required the actor to constantly "shed a character and take on another character and shed that character and then go back to something else". However, Levi and Moore did meet on one occasion to record their romantic duet "I See the Light", Levi was not intimidated by the thought of recording the song, describing the experience as "an added bonus". However, he admitted to having been nervous to sing with Moore, a professional singer, and working with composer Alan Menken. Although the actor identifies himself as "no stranger to singing" due to his background in musical theatre, Levi's performance of "I See the Light" is considered to be his "big singing debut" because it was his first time recording a song professionally.
It took Levi approximately one year to record all of his dialogue due in part to his busy schedule. Levi recorded once every six weeks for six hours at a time, recording each of his lines at least twice. The actor's voice ultimately helped shape and develop Flynn's character. Howard explained, "He's so smart and clever, and his adlibs are so great, and you like him straight away ... he brings that to Flynn." On Levi's own influence on his character, the actor explained that Flynn's "voice was really just a slight variation of [his] own". Wanting to sound "more appropriate" for the film's medieval setting, Levi "cleaned up [his] own diction and made things a little bit more polished", referring to Flynn's accent as mid-Atlantic. Describing Tangled as a "very family friendly" version of Romancing the Stone (1984), Levi studied and channelled the film's star, American actor Michael Douglas, and English legend Robin Hood. However, when Levi heard his performance in its entirety for the first time after the film's release, the actor admitted that he was ultimately dissatisfied with his performance, explaining, "I felt like I sounded incredibly nasally and I was plugged up," likening the experience to hearing one's voice played back on an answering machine.
Characterization, design and analysis Greno and Howard wanted Flynn to be funny and sarcastic as opposed to snarky. One occasion in particular involved an animator having Flynn respond to Rapunzel's excitement by simply walking away from her in silence. The directors did not like this because, according to Greno, Flynn "did this reaction where [he] treated her like she's nuts". Although both directors agreed that Flynn's reaction was funny, Greno and Howard wanted the characters to "connect" emotionally during this scene. Screenwriter Dan Fogelman said that Flynn is "at his best ... when he's playing little mind games with other people and entertaining himself along with them", likening him to English actor Cary Grant. Fogelman concluded, "At his heart, he's really kind of a lost soul who doesn't quite know what he wants and who he is." Howard cited fictional characters Ferris Bueller and Indiana Jones as influences because these characters, like Flynn, "are skilled but have a human side to them". Flynn is considered an antihero because "He is quick-witted and agile, stealing to survive" and "he is also extremely narcissistic".
Originally, the character resembled a "burlier leading man", described by Greno as "a muscular commoner/farm boy". However, the directors had always envisioned Flynn as "a dashing thief". To assist with the development of Flynn's design, Howard and Greno held a large meeting with thirty of Tangleds female employees. Calling it the "Hot Man Meeting", the employees were encouraged to "bring in pictures of their favorite hunky men". The Hot Man Meeting was created because the directors, who found that they were very much impressed with Rapunzel's design, felt that "Flynn [needed] to be up to [Rapunzel's] level". Greno described the Hot Man Meeting as "crazy", elaborating, "Photos of all the hottest men in Hollywood [were] being thrown around a room. Photos being torn in half and pasted back together. Eyes were ripped from one picture and put on another. Heads were torn from photos," concluding, "I've never seen anything like it." Howard cited American actor Clark Gable and English footballer David Beckham among several celebrities by whom Flynn was influenced during the meeting, joking that the employees eventually "started using Nathan and me as examples of what not to do".