Covid-19 is the odd reason everyone's Googling Disney's 'Tangled' right now

Did Disney predict the coronavirus in their 2010 film Tangled?

That's what some social media conspiracy theorists are saying after noticing similarities between the movie — which is based on the classic fairytale Rapunzel — and the current pandemic.

One of the strongest arguments for their case is that the kingdom in which the story is set is called, wait for it – Corona! Something that seems so unbelievable that loads of people are turning to Google for verification.

In fact, AFP reported on Monday that the most-asked coronavirus-related question Americans had typed into the popular search engine over the past 24 hours was: “What was the name of the kingdom in Tangled?”

Then of course there's the fact that the long-locked heroine spent most of her life in self-isolation. She was imprisoned in a tower until she was a teen by the evil witch, Mother Gothel, who told her this enforced quarantine was for her own protection.

For South Africans about to be homebound for 21 days, Tangled also provides some helpful ideas of what you can do to pass the time in the song When Will Life Begin, like “papier-mâché, a bit of ballet and chess”.

Glenn Slater, who wrote the song, joked on Twitter that he'd update the lyrics for the 'Rona era by adding “compulsively check Twitter”, “stress-eat chocolate” and “wash and wash and wash and wash my hands”.