Eugene Fitzherbert is better known as Flynn Rider, the handsome thief and captain of the guard. He is the fictional character heartthrob of the Disney animated feature movie Tangled.
Some fans know his character as Eugene Fitzherbert, his birth name. He later changed his name to Eugene, finally settling on his famous name, Flynn Rider, for which he is best known today.
Rapunzel Meets Flynn Rider
Flynn Rider is an animated character in the Disney animated movie, Tangled from the Walt Disney Animation studio. Flynn uses his quick wits and con artist skills to loot unsuspecting foes until he falls for Rapunzel.
He first starred in the feature film Tangled. Next, he appeared in the short Tangled Ever After, a quick Frozen cameo, and then again in the animated series on television Tangled: Before Ever After.
Background
Flynn’s background is based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel’s remote tower. King Edmund and the Queen of the Dark Kingdom are blessed with a baby boy named Eugene Fitzherbert.
When a powerful opal threatens the kingdom, the king orders everyone to evacuate for their safety, and Eugene is taken to an orphanage where he would be safe.
Eugene’s favorite story to read growing up was “The Tales of Flynnigan Rider,” about a handsome and daring adventurer who always gets the girl.
Eugene was so fascinated with the book that he often imagined himself leaving the orphanage with his friend Arnwaldo Schnitz, a.k.a. Lance Strongbow, to chase his adventures.
Going by Flynn Rider, Eugene molds himself into a cunning and successful thief in and around the kingdom of Corona who even teams up with villains such as The Baron.
Later, Flynn is running for his safety after stealing a precious crown, and Mother Gothel keeps Rapunzel, a young girl, under lock and key to use her long, beautiful hair as her eternal life secret weapon.
After hitting bad boy Flynn over the head with a frying pan, Rapunzel convinces him to go with her to witness the floating lanterns of their kingdom, the festival of lights.
Rapunzel will be celebrating her 18th birthday outside for the first time, and she doesn’t want to miss the good part. She needs his help to broaden her life of adventure.
Flynn is now beginning to enjoy the company of the beautiful Rapunzel, and over time he has a new dream of falling in love with her.
The Disney princess and Flynn face challenges like the Stabbington brothers, palace guards, and snuggly duckling thugs in her kingdom of Corona. Still, these Disney Prince heroes answer the big question of the mysterious tower.
Flynn Rider Personality and Characteristics
Flynn’s personality and characteristics were shaped by directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno. After considering the imprisoned lost princess, Rapunzel would need a strong character as her security once she is out of the tower.
The vision was for him to be an iconic professional thief rather than a cookie-cutter Walt Disney World prince. The aim is to get a courageous and street-smart Disney character rather than the traditional prince.
He’s initially thought of as possibly being a farmer. As character development progressed, he became a highly daring thief from the inspiration of various characters like Errol Flynn, Indiana Jones, and Han Solo.
When Flynn is first introduced in Tangled, he is a selfish troublemaker just trying to get ahead like his fellow Disney heartthrob, Aladdin, but not as nice. Flynn steals for himself, and Aladdin would only steal to help others or to survive.
As Flynn and Rapunzel get to know each other, she sees his suave thief life as a cover-up to help protect himself. After she gets through his Flynn Rider layer and meets the honest Eugene, she finds a romantic and kind prince.
Flynn Rider’s best friend is Lance Strongbow, who is part of his ragtag crew. These two new heroes Disney fans have come to love.
Flynn Rider’s Physical Appearance
Flynn stands at an average male height of 5′ 9″ with an athletic build appearance, medium-length brown hair parted down the right side, a short goatee, and brown eyes.
Flynn is often shown wearing brown pants and boots, a long-sleeved white shirt, and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Over his white shirt, he wears a greenish-blue vest laced together up the middle and a brown belt.
In Tangled Ever After, Flynn is shown wearing a white wedding military-type uniform embossed in a gold paisley print with gold trim edges. He also wears a white and gold sash over his left shoulder with a large gold sunpin.
Flynn Rider Strengths and Abilities
Flynn’s strengths and abilities are similar to those of a college athlete. Although he doesn’t have superpowers, he is lean, swift, and athletic. Flynn can swing, climb, run fast, and ride his horse, Maximus which helps him get away and not be caught.
Flynn also uses his charm and smoldering good looks to sweet-talk the ladies. However, this doesn’t work well with Rapunzel.
Flynn Rider Criticism
While Flynn’s character receives praise from various film reviewers, he receives criticism in equal measures.
For instance, some audiences find the Flynn character to create a lot of refreshing humor, sarcasm, and rebelliousness compared to the previous Disney princes.
However, some consider his attitude to be quite distasteful and annoying. Additionally, Flynn is accused of working for Disney films as a marketing tool proxy to attract mainly the Tangled male audience.
All in all, Flynn’s romantic nature with Rapunzel, in addition to the fantastic vocal performance by Levi, has been highly praised.
Flynn Rider Pictures
Films, Shows, and Video Game Appearances
- Tangled
- Frozen (cameo)
- Tangled: Before Ever After
- Tangled Ever After (short film)
- Chibi Tiny Tales (short film)
- Tangled: The Series (tv show)
- At Home With Olaf
- Tangled (video game)
- Disney Princess Enchanting Storybooks (video game)
- Hidden Worlds (video game)
- Disney Magical World 2 (video game)
- Disney Crossy Road (video game)
- Disney Enchanted Tales (video game)
- Disney Magic Kingdoms (video game)
- Disney Emoji Blitz (video game)
- Kingdom Hearts III (video game)
- Disney Heroes: Battle Mode (video game)
- Dinsey Sorcerer’s Arena (video game)
Flynn Rider Trivia and Fun Facts
- Zachary Levi voices Flynn Rider in the Tangled movie. He’s an American actor who accepted the audition for the voicing role after learning that he would also be required to be the series’s singing voice.
- Zach gets the opportunity to sing a duet with Mandy Moore, “I See the Light,” which became his first professionally recorded song.
- How old is Flynn Rider? Flynn Rider’s age is likely 22. The directors and writers can not agree on his age, with some saying 22 and some saying 26. Flynn likely was 22 in the Tangled feature film and aged in follow-up appearances.
- Flynn was initially designed to be a British farmer named Bastian. However, this doesn’t come about until the voice actor is cast.
- Rider won the sexiest Walt Disney Pictures hero of all time from Vanity Fair voters, beating out Prince Eric by just a little bit, less than 1%.
- Flynn’s character is inspired by various actors, including Han Solo, Gene Kelly, and Errol Flynn. Greno admits that introducing Flynn’s character gives the series a fresh beginning.
- Flynn also helps compliment Rapunzel, who is currently imprisoned in the tower. Locking her away limits her world even though she is an intelligent girl. Flynn is the perfect addition to Rapunzel’s genuine ideals as her worldly guy.
- Introducing Flynn’s character in the film influences the title into a minor gender-sensitive title, the Rapunzel tradition to Tangled.
- Over time, Flynn’s character develops into a fan favorite which also begs for a title change since much of the film is about the two main characters, Flynn Rider and Rapunzel.
- The Greek meaning of Eugen means “born of nobility.”
- Eugene’s better-known nickname, Flynn Rider, is also used as his name in other books and media appearances.
- Rapunzel and Flynn Rider make cameo appearances in Frozen.
- Flynn was previously engaged to Stalyan before leaving her at the alter and later meeting Rapunzel.
- Eugene’s birthplace is The Dark Kingdom.
- Lost Legends The Rise of Flynn Rider features the prince at age 12 as he sharpens his skills as a young thief.
- Flynn Rider is often misspelled as Flynn Ryder.
Flynn Rider Quotes
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this is bad. This is very, very bad. This is really bad…They just can’t get my nose right!”
“And for that one moment, everything was perfect… And then that moment ended.”
“But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on her birthday the king and queen release thousands of lanterns into the sky, in hope that one day their lost princess would return.”
“Alone at last.”
“I know not who you are, or how I came to find you, but may I just say … hi. How ya doin’? The name’s Flynn Rider. How’s your day goin’, huh?”
“The only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it!… Literally!”
“Alright, listen, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder.”
“You broke my smolder.”
“Stay calm, it can probably smell fear.”
“I don’t know why, but overall it just smells like the color brown.”
“Oh mama, I have got to get me one of these!”
“I’ll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert, it’s a little bit of a… It’s a little bit of a downer.”
Check back often for news about the rise of Flynn Rider from the Tangled series and its lovable Disney characters. Could there be a live-action remake in the works? View more Flynn Rider on Pinterest.
Brandon Crombar
Editor In Chief / FounderBrandon is an animation enthusiast and animated film critic. He has been writing about animation since 2013 to celebrate animated movies, characters, and songs. His favorite animated movies include Finding Nemo, Aladdin, and The Lion King.