Disney Villains

Tangled is the modern day version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, "Rapunzel".

 

There's a new Disney villain in town, and her villainy may end up being of the type we find most horrendous: that of a child abuser. Inside the famous story of Rapunzel, with it's gorgeous graphics and engaging songs lurks the mechanisms of how abusers control of their young victims.

 

The villain is Gothel (Mother Gothel in German means 'godmother'), the crone who finds a magic flower and seeks to keep it for herself. The flower is found by villagers seeking the cure for the beloved queen, who is suffering during childbirth. When the child is born, the magic healing powers of the flower manifest in the baby's hair. Gothel kidnaps the baby and keeps her hidden in a tower in order to keep the magic hair (her own fountain of youth) to herself.

 

Rapunzel grows up and believes that Gothel, is her mother. Rapunzel spends her days reading, singing, painting, cooking and playing hide and seek with her pet iguana Pascal. They both tire of this (by her 18th birthday) and seek to take a trip to the castle-village to see the lights which always appear on Rapunzel's birthday.

 

Gothel embodies vanity, most notably in a particular scene: as they are standing in front of a mirror together, Gothel says "I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady. And look, you're here, too!"

We are not sorry to see her go at the end, and her demise is remarkably like that of the Evil Queen's fall off a cliff in Snow White.

 

Mother Gothel is voiced by Donna Murphy.