Pascal and Maximus are a pair of anthropomorphic non-talking animal characters who first appear in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Tangled (2010) as supporting characters, and subsequently star in its short Tangled Ever After (2012), television film Tangled: Before Ever After and television series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure. Created by screenwriter Dan Fogelman, both characters are usually left unvoiced. A comedic chameleon and horse duo, Pascal and Maximus serve as sidekicks to main characters Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, respectively.
In Tangled, Pascal resides alongside Rapunzel in Mother Gothel's tower, while Maximus is a police horse originally trained to arrest Flynn Rider before he befriends him at Rapunzel's insistence. In Tangled Ever After, Pascal and Maximus appear as ring bearers at Rapunzel and Flynn's wedding. When they lose the couple's wedding rings, the duo frantically attempts to retrieve them. Greno and Howard created Pascal in order to provide the lonely, isolated Rapunzel with a friend to talk to. Feeling that a reptile would complement Rapunzel's quirky personality, the directors ultimately decided to make the character a chameleon as opposed to a traditional woodland creature. Meanwhile, Maximus was originally conceived as a very serious horse based on actor Tommy Lee Jones until the animators decided to make him a funnier and more likeable character. The unusual decision to make Pascal and Maximus incomprehensible to both the audience and human characters with Welker providing them with realistic sound effects was inspired by the performances of silent film actors Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Both individually and as a comedic duo, Pascal and Maximus have garnered universal acclaim from film critics, who referred to the characters as scene stealers – British magazine SFX dubbed Maximus the film's breakout star while The Age hailed the character as the funniest horse in film history – in addition to praising the fact that both characters are refreshingly funny, expressive and charismatic without the use of dialogue. Additionally, several film critics preferred Pascal and Maximus to the film's couple.
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. However, he abandoned the project because the story was considered too "small." When they were approached to direct Tangled in 2008, directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard decided that it would be best to update the story "for a modern audience", soon discovering "that the problem with having a prison character [like Rapunzel] ... is that they don't have anyone to talk to." Howard explained that because Rapunzel is incapable of having a decent conversation with Mother Gothel, the isolated, incarcerated heroine "needed someone to relate to." Unwilling to default to using the traditional "boring, ordinary side-kick," Greno and Howard created Pascal, conceiving the character as a chameleon because Rapunzel is, according to Greno, "a rough-and-tumble girl." Howard explained that "we wanted to do ... something fresh, something different. This girl, she's not a dainty, precious girl ... So what would she have? ... She's going to have a lizard." Additionally, Howard believed that a reptile would complement Rapunzel's personality best, describing the character as "a quirky pet for a quirky young woman."
Howard originally envisioned Maximus as the "ultimate super-cop", jokingly referring to the character as "the Tommy Lee Jones of horses". Attempting to make Maximus feel like a "fresh" character, the filmmakers researched several historical horses from both animated and live-action films to ensure that the character would be unique and different enough from his predecessors. Greno explained that "Maximus ... could have easily slipped into the category of, 'Oh, I've seen that before.'" To prevent this, the filmmakers referenced "a board with photos of all the different animated horses that had been done". Howard explained that Maximus was originally conceived as a "pretty serious" character, but eventually developed into a funnier and more likeable horse as the animators continued to draw him with dog-like attributes. Both Pascal and Maximus, who according to the Austin American-Statesman are responsible for providing the film with the majority of its comic relief, were eventually written into the film by screenwriter Dan Fogelman. Analyzing the characters' roles in the film, HitFix observed that "There's a simplicity to it all that I admire, and you throw in a few anthropomorphized animals so everyone laughs a lot, and that's the Disney recipe". One critic wrote about Maximus:
Characterization
Considered rare for Disney animals, Pascal and Maximus do not speak. The idea to make Pascal and Maximus mute was inspired by the performances of actors Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton in Silent films. Identifying themselves as "huge fans" of Chaplin, Greno and Howard suggested that it would be a good idea to have a character like the actor featured in the film. Additionally, the directors explained in an interview with Orange that Pascal and Maximus' silence was also inspired by the roles of Princess Aurora's animal friends in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959), following the film's rules and guidelines that even though they do not talk, they remain "very expressive" nonetheless and "act and understand without words." Maximus particularly "belongs to the grand tradition of Disney creatures that are full of personality even though they don't talk." One film critic observed that Pascal and Maximus "have personalities all their own, making use of techniques harkening back to the silent era". Howard explained that "Pantomime acting is a great challenge for our animators" because, according to animator Jin Kim, Pascal and Maximus both "had to be funny without speech", forcing the animators to exaggerate their emotions and facial expressions. The Chicago Sun-Times observed that "Pascal ... doesn't speak, but manages to convey himself with eye rolls and changes of color."
Pascal's supervising animator Lino DiSalvo told the Los Angeles Times that at one point the animators "weren't getting enough entertainment out of Pascal." DiSalvo elaborated, "originally, he was very realistic. He moved like a real chameleon," which in turn depicted him as very "cold." By exaggerating the character's shape and face, the animators eventually "amped [him] up" in order to make him funnier. The name "Pascal" was borrowed from a pet chameleon owned by Tangled animator Kellie Lewis. During production, Lewis' other pet chameleon and Pascal's mate hatched six eggs, in turn making Pascal a father. In tribute to Pascal, the directors included a "Chameleon Babies" credit in the film's closing credits, parodying the more traditional "Production babies" credit, while Lewis herself received a "Chameleon Wrangler" credit.
Discussing the likelihood a Tangled sequel, Howard explained to the Los Angeles Times "We don't want to do a sequel for the sake of sequels ... The story has to be worth telling." Because the original film "buttons up" well, the directors wanted to avoid simply creating a movie wedding featuring Rapunzel and Flynn because "that's not entertainment", so Greno and Howard conceived a funny story about Pascal and Maximus instead, providing the animators and writers with "an opportunity to do a lot of slapstick" that was mostly absent in Tangled. Wanting the film "to be a movie for everyone", the directors "figured out a way to give [the audience] exactly what they wanted, so there is a beautiful grand wedding in the short, but what happens pretty quickly, those two goofballs Maximus and Pascal lose the wedding rings ... It turned into this big, zany, cartoony, fun, action-packed short." In the short, Pascal and Maximus encounter "a trail of comical chaos that includes flying lanterns, a flock of doves, a wine barrel barricade and a very sticky finale".
Appearances
Tangled Pascal and Maximus first appear in Tangled (2010). Introduced as the pet and best friend of Rapunzel, Pascal is a chameleon who lives with Rapunzel in Mother Gothel's secluded tower. Although Rapunzel pretends to be happy living in isolation under Gothel's strict, controlling parenting, Pascal refuses to hide his discontent. Meanwhile, Maximus and thief Flynn Rider share a bitter animosity; as a police horse, Maximus is determined to arrest Flynn Rider for stealing a crown. Seeking refuge from Maximus, Flynn hides in Gothel's tower where he is quickly incapacitated by Rapunzel, and he and Pascal immediately adopt a love-hate relationship. Determined to see the mysterious "floating lights" in time for her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel agrees to return Flynn's crown to him only after he escorts her to safely to the kingdom. Meanwhile, Maximus, who continues his search for Flynn, inadvertently tips off Gothel that Rapunzel, on whose magical hair she relies to stay alive, has left the tower accompanied by Flynn. With her life in danger, she desperately pursues them.
When Maximus eventually catches up with Rapunzel, Flynn and Pascal, the horse attempts to apprehend Flynn only to be charmed by Rapunzel, who convinces him to leave Flynn alone until they have arrived at their destination while Pascal ensures that the two maintain a healthy relationship. In the kingdom, Flynn, Rapunzel and Pascal embark on a canoe ride to see the floating lights, revealed to be lanterns, up-close, while Maximus is forced to wait ashore as there is not enough room for him. In a friendly gesture, Flynn gives him a bag of apples. Realizing that he is falling in love with Rapunzel, Flynn attempts to hand off the crown he was promised to the Stabbington brothers, two colleagues of his, only to be kidnapped and handed over to the police. Mistaking this for abandonment, Rapunzel is taken back to the tower by Gothel, who has caught up with them.
Maximus manages to help an imprisoned Flynn about to be hanged for his crimes and escape from the dungeon then gets him to Gothel's tower, where he is stabbed. However, Rapunzel eventually heals Flynn after he slices off her hair, which in turn destroys Gothel, and they live happily every after Pascal and Maximus move to Corona with them; Maximus is eventually knighted, becoming Captain of the Guards and eliminates crime in the kingdom.
Tangled Ever After Tangled Ever After takes place sometime after the events of the original movie. In the short, Pascal and Maximus are ring bearers at Rapunzel and Flynn Rider's wedding. When Maximus suffers a reaction from one of the flower petals Pascal is sprinkling along the aisle, Maximus sneezes and the rings are propelled off the pillow on which he is carrying the rings; the fly through a window in the chapel and into the city streets. Pascal and Maximus discreetly sneak out of the chapel to retrieve them in time for Rapunzel and Flynn to exchange them. Pascal and Maximus encounter several obstacles and hindrances in their attempt, eventually crashing into a tar factor upon retrieving the rings from a flock of flying doves. Completely soiled, Pascal and Maximus finally return to the chapel and return the rings, only to cause the wedding cake to roll out the door.
Tangled: Before Ever After Pascal is now living in the Castle of Corona with his longtime best friend and her boyfriend, Eugene. He later creates an illusion of Rapunzel to keep Eugene from finding out that she had gone out the walls of Corona.
Maximus is ridden by Eugene in a race against Rapunzel, riding Fidela, and the Guards. At night he accompanies Cassandra and Rapunzel on their sneaking out, and tries to cross the shattering stone bridge. He runs back to release Rapunzel's newly regrown blonde hair from the broken bridge.
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure