Even though Disney’s Tangled was released in 2010, viewers continue to enjoy following the romance between Princess Rapunzel and robber Flynn Rider. There are many adventures on their trip to see the lanterns for Rapunzel’s birthday, as well as a natural opponent. With the charming yet cunning song “Mother Knows Best,” audiences will undoubtedly remember the cruel and unforgiving Gothel who guilt-tripped her adoptive daughter the entire time.
Gothel had a bad parenting style and was capable of doing terrible things. She was a fantastic Disney villain because she was calculating, crafty, and self-centered. Gothel is a badass, and although audiences are aware of this, in some ways, she is still an underappreciated Disney villain.
Lynn Gibbs’ revision was made on July 28th, 2022: In the movie Tangled, did Mother Gothel really know what was best for Rapunzel? Gothel instilled dread in Rapunzel so that she wouldn’t leave the confines of their tower in order to control her into doing whatever she wanted for her own selfish gain. Gothel was aware that if Rapunzel left their tower, she would come to believe that she was a princess who had been taken advantage of because of the magical qualities in her hair. These are pretty sombre themes in Tangled, but it’s because of them that Gothel is one of the most sinister and underappreciated villains in all of Disney.
Table Of Content
- 1 She Continued To Get More Evil
- 2 She Detached From Everyone
- 3 She Doesn’t Have The Capacity To Love Someone Else
- 4 She Has No Remorse For Her Cold Actions
- 5 She’s Incredibly Selfish
- 6 She’s Intelligent
- 7 She’s Manipulative
- 8 She’s Realistic And Didn’t Need Superhuman Powers To Defeat Those Around Her
- 9 She’s Unpredictable
- 10 She Takes Dangerous Risks
- 11 She Was Never Capable Of Loving Rapunzel
She Continued To Get More Evil
Near the end of the movie, Gothel declares that she is now the “bad guy” and plans to lock Rapunzel up forever since she won’t let her use the healing properties of her hair ever again.
When Flynn arrives to save Rapunzel, Gothel stabs him, potentially murdering him. Gothel had no way of knowing that Rapunzel would still be able to save his life even after Flynn had chopped off her hair. Gothel had no qualms about being imprisoned or killing someone cold-blooded, and she probably would have only gotten worse with time. She is now more than just vicious. Disney should next make a live-action movie featuring Gothel’s evil deeds.
She Detached From Everyone
She takes advantage of everyone she meets. Gothel constantly exploited Rapunzel exclusively for her hair in order to manipulate her into doing what she wanted. She once more employed the Stabbington brothers to secure Rapunzel’s return and, as an added bonus, to care after Flynn Rider.
Whether or not Gothel kept her half of the bargain, as soon as she obtains what she wants, she’s done with people and leaves. She is unpredictable and cannot be trusted in any way, but this quality makes her a great antagonist. Sadly, she is so skilled at what she does that it takes Rapunzel some time to recognise Gothel’s actual motivations. Rapunzel had no choice but to stay with Gothel for such a long time, which several viewers found absurd.
She Doesn’t Have The Capacity To Love Someone Else
Rapunzel was only ever used by Gothel to further her own agenda; she never truly loved her. Even herself is not loved by her; neither is anything else. It makes natural that Gothel doesn’t love herself either, given that she is so dependent on her vanity and seems to despise herself when the healing powers wear off and reveal her true age.
She has no issues with her scheming and self-centered character, but she struggles greatly with her appearance. If she isn’t youthful and attractive, she absolutely collapses. Although it is sad, it explains a lot about Gothel. How could she ever love or even care for someone else if she couldn’t even love herself?
She Has No Remorse For Her Cold Actions
Gothel never exhibits even the slightest hint of regret for anything she has done. To preserve her youth and beauty indefinitely, she, among other things, treasured a flower’s enchanted healing properties. The flower’s power is transferred to Rapunzel when it is discovered by the kingdom and given to the ill queen as a treatment, and Gothel, not wanting to let the power of it go, abducts Rapunzel as a baby and hides her away in utter seclusion to preserve that magic to herself.
She never regrets holding onto the flower for such a prolonged period of time, harming not only Rapunzel but also the entire kingdom. She never questions her actions, and the fact that she never experiences regret is troubling. She believes that everyone owes her something instead. The evil tunes she sings throughout Tangled serve as evidence of this. She’s alright as long as she’s looked after.
She’s Incredibly Selfish
It’s all about Gothel. She sees herself as the centre of the universe. As long as she is content and pleased, she cares not who she exploits or harms along the road. In all honesty, if she doesn’t get her way, she spirals out of control and does whatever it takes to make the world right again—just for her.
She has been driven by selfishness for years and years. Gothel had become accustomed to her practises and was unable to recognise her fault due to her clouded judgement. A villain with this level of unadulterated self-interest is intriguing to see.
She’s Intelligent
Gothel must be extremely cunning or otherwise she would not have gotten away with concealing the magical flower that had healing properties. It’s a difficult assignment to enter the castle despite its strict security and kidnap Rapunzel, but Gothel made it seem simple.
She is skilled at formulating plans, particularly bad ones, and carrying them out to ensure that the outcomes are what she desires. She did a pretty good job of making herself look like the hero in Rapunzel’s eyes when she saved her from the Stabbington brothers. Because of her talent for persuasion, she is one of the smarter Disney villains. Unfortunately for her, the moment was short-lived because Rapunzel quickly realised Gothel’s deception.
She’s Manipulative
Gothel is frighteningly skilled at manipulating people’s minds to achieve her goals. Just consider how she handled Rapunzel in Tangled. She is skilled at breaking apart a person’s thoughts, exploiting their weaknesses and ambitions, and using them to her advantage in order to obtain what she desires for herself.
Rapunzel couldn’t see past the manipulation until she descended from the tower; Gothel is a master manipulator and has been for a very, very long time. Disney audiences would be appalled by Mother Gothel if they were frightened of villains like Ursula from The Little Mermaid.
She’s Realistic And Didn’t Need Superhuman Powers To Defeat Those Around Her
Mother Gothel’s realism is one of the factors that makes her so terrifying. Gothel is human and devoid of magical abilities, in contrast to Jafar from Aladdin and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. She is sly, clever, and incredibly shrewd. She will go to any lengths to stay young.
More terrifying than antagonists like Freddy Krueger, who viewers are aware isn’t real, are villains that can exist in real life outside of movies. Audiences would never want to meet Gothel since she is perilous in many different ways.
She’s Unpredictable
She’s Unpredictable In Tangled, Gothel uses whatever resources she has available to her to accomplish her objectives. Making the transaction with the Stabbington brothers is one of those cases. She sometimes makes snap judgments, as when she abducts Rapunzel after breaking into the castle with the intention of cutting off her hair for its curative properties.
Gothel initially only intended to sever a single piece of Rapunzel’s miraculous hair. She changed her mind and abducted Rapunzel to keep her to herself only after realising that the hair lost its magical properties when it was cut. She is risky because of her unstable temperament. She may be one of the few Disney villains without pals because of this.
She Takes Dangerous Risks
Gothel is unafraid of the repercussions of her choices. In that regard, she’s a little confident, believing that she could get away with anything indefinitely. In the movie, she abducts the princess, which is her first risky move. If she had been discovered, she might have been sentenced to prison or possibly killed.
Similar to how she endangered her life when she struck a bargain with the Stabbington brothers, who were extremely dangerous and vicious after being betrayed by Flynn Rider. Gothel didn’t appear to care about the consequences of her actions, thus it was still simply another workday for her. She’s a risk-taker, making her a Disney villain who shouldn’t be forgiven out of concern for what she might do next.
She Was Never Capable Of Loving Rapunzel
Gothel nurtured Rapunzel after stealing her and claimed to be her biological mother, thus it seems to reason that she would develop love for her fictitious child. It would be reasonable to suppose that since she raised Rapunzel for almost 16 years and taught her everything, she would consider Rapunzel to be her own child.
Surprisingly, Rapunzel had no nicknames, and all Gothel did with her was utilise her as a way to extend her life. In the end, Gothel’s disappointment over her “daughter” leaving their house was to be expected, but her concern about the magic overrode her love for Rapunzel.
Being a binge-watcher himself, finding Content to write about comes naturally to Divesh. From Anime to Trending Netflix Series and Celebrity News, he covers every detail and always find the right sources for his research.