Years ago, we first heard rumors that Disney was producing an updated version of the fairy tale “Rapunzel.” Originally titled Rapunzel Unbraided, it would have been the story of two “romantically challenged, real-world teenagers” transformed into fairy tale characters by a disgruntled witch. (Sound familiar? Yeah, I think they might have used some of the discarded concepts for Enchanted, just in reverse.)

The film was to be an answer to Pixar’s increasing success, and proof that Disney was still the king of animation. But lead animator Glen Keane, who was also to direct Rapunzel Unbraided, felt that the film was going in a direction he didn’t like. He revamped it all, called for rewrites, and returned to the origins of the fairy tale.

Insisting that he felt no need to “apologize” for telling a traditional story, Keane revealed that it will be a classic story with a gallant prince, an evil witch, and a mysterious maiden. Recently, some of the new concept art has been released.

According to the artists, Rapunzel will be using CG in an entirely new way. Rather than attempting photorealism, the CG animation will give the appearance of a painting with three-dimensional depth. The film’s visual style will be based on the famous painting “The Swing,” by Fragonard.

Disney’s Rapunzel will premiere around Christmas of 2010. In the meantime, there’s plenty of Disney trivia yet to be played.

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