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Mother Gothel- Disney’s Most Evil Villain

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My family loves to analyze Disney Movies. One day we were discussing which villain we thought was the evilest. My husband thinks Maleficent is the evilest. After much consideration, I would say it is Mother Gothel from Tangled. 

Mother Gothel- Disney’s Most Evilest Villain

Mother Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel and locked her away in a tower. She made Rapunzel believe she was her mother since she kidnapped her at such a young age and used her for her sinister purposes. To me that makes her the evilest villain even though some may disagree.

Mother Gothel Played with a Child’s Security

The first reason I think she is the evilest is that she played with the security of a child. A mother is the person we trust the most to look out for our best interests. Every mother tries to do her best to take care of their children and protect them. Though not every mother is perfect or even great, their end motive to is to love their child. Rapunzel lived in a lie her whole childhood, she thought she was in the protective care of a mother when in fact she was in the care of a self-serving kidnapper.  

Mother Gothel also kept the evil charade going on for Rapunzel’s whole childhood.  Maleficent, though evil, only disrupted a couple days of Aurora’s life. Even though Aurora was away from her parents, her parents knew, and she was in the loving care of the fairies. The same is true of Gaston, the Evil Sea Witch, and Snow White’s witch- they were all just temporary trials. Rapunzel has to deal with a lost childhood, lost self-confidence, and let’s not forget the trust issue.

Mother Gothel Mentally Abused Rapunzel

The second reason I think Mother Gothel is the evilest Disney villain is that her abuse was mental. At the beginning of the movie, Mother Gothal was putting Rapunzel down calling her chubby, clumsy, and ditzy. She also told Rapunzel that no man could love her and that the only reason Flynn Rider was sticking around was because he wanted the crown. It must have hurt Rapunzel to the core to think that she was unlovable.

Other than the putdowns and name calling Mother Gothel isolates Rapunzel. Rapunzel is denied normal friendships and other family relationships. You can tell she suffers from a little bit of depression from this when she goes through her day and is bored and lonely. She dreams of being where the people are and Mother Gothel denies her.

Another form of mental abuse Mother Gothel gives out is scapegoating.  She blames Rapunzel for any sort of conflict or unfortunate event that comes along, be it an argument or even someone’s death.

The Perfect Evil Persona

The last reason I think Mother Gothel is the evilest Disney villain is that she has the perfect evil persona. Her appearance is that of a witch in disguise. Was Mother Gothel a real witch? No, because witches have powers of their own. Mother Gothel only had Rapunzel’s powers.

You see glimpses of her evilness before Rapunzel sings to her and more throughout the movie when she is without Rapunzel and her magic hair. Her beady little eyes, evil grin, and inner ugliness come out in her appearance. Her laugh is quite evil sounding and her voice has that sultry evil sound to it.

We don’t see her evil persona all the time because Gothel presents herself with a theatrical flair, often flaunting her beauty and curvaceous appearance with much enthusiasm and dramatics. This ties into the fact that she is a phenomenal actress, a dangerous manipulator, and very intelligent. 

So, do you agree with me that Mother Gothel is Disney’s most evil villain? If not, who do you think is and why? I would love to hear what you think!

What Once Was Mine: A Twisted Tale

What Once Was Mine- A Twisted Tale is a young adult novel that tells a different story about Rapunzel. The book has the same characters and a similar (but not exact) series of events. What I love about the novel is that Rapunzel realizes the abuse she suffered much earlier in the story and does some healing work. Rapunzel gets to see a loving home before she even meets her birth parents.

Here are some other Disney Movie Posts I Think You May Enjoy!

Post Originally Published July 7th, 2013. 

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Dizel

Friday 30th of July 2021

Hello, I agree with you to some point but i think that lady Tremaine is more evil than mother gothel since she does pretty much every kind if abuse that mother gothel does plus physical abuse and labour. She also lets her daughters bully Cinderella as well which makes her feel unaccepted by her generation. And Repunzel had at least some basic needs ensured which Cinderella didn't, for example good clothing and save living environment, a good bed and so on. So yeah thats my opinion

Akhil Sharma

Monday 8th of July 2013

I just know least characters of Disney...ya i know this is a shocking statement but that's true :D

Amandajean

Monday 8th of July 2013

Totally Agree!! I am such a sucker for Disney Movies!!!!

Fina Jenny

Sunday 7th of July 2013

reading your post I would have to agree with you, breaking the bond of a mother and a child by force is something that is unforgivable.

Michele

Sunday 7th of July 2013

After reading your post I have to agree-Mother Gothal is the most evil villain of them all!!