History NightmareFuel / Tangled

** Though some NightmareRetardant is that she fails to cover the secret entrance to the tower, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain unwittingly allowing Maximus to find it when he transports Flynn there to rescue the Lost Princess]].

-->'''Gothel:''' How can you be so ungrateful\\

-->'''Gothel:''' So go ahead and leave if you want to\\

* Mother Gothel's death, [[NoImmortalInertia in which she rapidly ages and crumbles into a pile of dust.]] The concept art for that scene shows her death in ''even more'' [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AgeToDeath_2077.png graphic detail.]] Needless to say there's some good reason as to why that storyboard is the jotted trope's page image.

* Mother Gothel's death, [[NoImmortalInertia in which she rapidly ages and crumbles into a pile of dust.]] The concept art for that scene shows her death in ''even more'' [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AgeToDeath_2077.png graphic detail.]]

* The whole idea of psychological and emotional manipulation of Mother Gothel. For example, merely setting a foot outside causes Rapunzel to freak out and consider herself a "bad daughter" and an "ungrateful monster" (when she doesn't dance around happily at her new freedom anyway). The idea of a treatment that reduces an otherwise sunny and upbeat girl into a ball of neurosis and fear is nightmare fuel (and solid emotional manipulation) at its best.

[[caption-width-right:350: ''The world is dark, and selfish, and cruel.'']]

-->'''Gothel:''' How could you be so ungrateful\\

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney Judge Claude Frollo]]. Both characters emotionally abused their younger charges into staying locked up in a high tower away from the rest of civilization and human contact. However, Frollo's wicked nature [[ObviouslyEvil could be seen from a mile away,]] (except by Frollo himself) and he did nothing to sugarcoat his cruel rebukes to Quasimodo. Gothel, however, [[FauxAffablyEvil rarely drops her chipper demeanor when manipulating Rapunzel into doing her bidding]]. At first glance, she's warm, friendly, and many of the put-downs she throws Rapunzel's way can be misconstrued as good-natured ribbing, [[JustJokingJustification which she's very quick to assure Rapunzel is the case]]. It's much harder to [[CallingTheOldManOut call her out]] when her cruelties are cleverly hidden in what, on the surface, seem like well-meaning ground rules. Quasimodo, at least could eventually see Frollo for the monster he was and pick a fight with him. At the end, Rapunzel agrees to go quietly with Gothel if allowed to save Flynn's life. She's finally saved, not by her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice to ensure Rapunzel could escape from Gothel for good. That's right, Gothel is [[UpToEleven an even more effective abuser than]] ''Claude Frollo''. [[note]]Well, at least Gothel wasn't a deluded genocidal sociopath like Frollo was.[[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:350:AdultFear at its scariest.]]

** The scene where Gothel panics over Rapunzel missing. It's one of the few moments where Gothel is relatable, which makes her scarier that she's capable of compassion. Maximus startles her, mistaking her for Flynn, and she notes, it's just, "A palace horse...[[ExplainExplainOhCrap where's your rider]]? [[ProperlyParanoid Rapunzel]]!" She runs back to the tower, calling for her daughter, and [[AdultFear hears no answer]]. After using a secret entrance, she searches through the darkened rooms, fearing the worst when noticing how desolate everything is and tearing down a curtain. Gothel even looks in places where she knows her daughter won't be, such as beneath her bedsheets. Gothel doesn't know what happened: if someone took Rapunzel from the tower -- which would explain the palace horse-- or if she left and is out there in the world, far from her "mother". When it sinks in, she starts panicking and rummages through a satchel with a glinting tiara, which Rapunzel had hidden from Flynn, for any hint about what happened. She then gets a murderous DeathGlare and pulls a knife from her drawer. The stage musical has her outright say that she thinks Flynn Rider kidnapped her daughter given that she heard he has a reputation for seducing impressionable young girls.

* Just the idea of [[AdultFear an infant being abducted straight from their own home]]... ''[[AdultFear with her parents only a few feet away from her and being able to do nothing to save their child.]]''

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Judge Claude Frollo]]. Both characters emotionally abused their younger charges into staying locked up in a high tower away from the rest of civilization and human contact. However, Frollo's wicked nature [[ObviouslyEvil could be seen from a mile away,]] (except by Frollo himself) and he did nothing to sugarcoat his cruel rebukes to Quasimodo. Gothel, however, [[FauxAffablyEvil rarely drops her chipper demeanor when manipulating Rapunzel into doing her bidding]]. At first glance, she's warm, friendly, and many of the put-downs she throws Rapunzel's way can be misconstrued as good-natured ribbing, [[JustJokingJustification which she's very quick to assure Rapunzel is the case]]. It's much harder to [[CallingTheOldManOut call her out]] when her cruelties are cleverly hidden in what, on the surface, seem like well-meaning ground rules. Quasimodo, at least could eventually see Frollo for the monster he was and pick a fight with him. At the end, Rapunzel agrees to go quietly with Gothel if allowed to save Flynn's life. She's finally saved, not by her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice to ensure Rapunzel could escape from Gothel for good. That's right, Gothel is [[UpToEleven an even more effective abuser than]] ''Claude Frollo''. [[note]]Well, at least Gothel wasn't a deluded genocidal sociopath like Frollo was.[[/note]]

** What about the music that plays during this scene?
** Even the [[WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar penguins]] and [[WesternAnimation/EdEddnEddy Ed]] were freaked out in the crossover of ''WebVideo/TheUltimateEdChronicles'', ''All Tangled Up''!

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Judge Claude Frollo]]. Both characters emotionally abused their younger charges into staying locked up in a high tower away from the rest of civilization and human contact. However, Frollo's wicked nature [[ObviouslyEvil could be seen from a mile away,]] and he did nothing to sugarcoat his cruel rebukes to Quasimodo. Gothel, however, [[FauxAffablyEvil rarely drops her chipper demeanor when manipulating Rapunzel into doing her bidding]]. At first glance, she's warm, friendly, and many of the put-downs she throws Rapunzel's way can be misconstrued as good-natured ribbing, [[JustJokingJustification which she's very quick to assure Rapunzel is the case]]. It's much harder to [[CallingTheOldManOut call her out]] when her cruelties are cleverly hidden in what, on the surface, seem like well-meaning ground rules. Quasimodo, at least could eventually see Frollo for the monster he was and pick a fight with him. At the end, Rapunzel agrees to go quietly with Gothel if allowed to save Flynn's life. She's finally saved, not by her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice to ensure Rapunzel could escape from Gothel for good. That's right, Gothel is [[UpToEleven an even more effective abuser than]] ''Claude Frollo''. [[note]]Well, at least Gothel wasn't a genocidal sociopath like Frollo was.[[/note]]

** The scene where Gothel panics over Rapunzel missing. It's one of the few moments where Gothel is relatable, which makes her scarier that she's capable of compassion. Maximus startles her, mistaking her for Flynn, and she notes, it's just, "A palace horse...[[ExplainExplainOhCrap where's your rider? [[ProperlyParanoid Rapunzel]]!" She runs back to the tower, calling for her daughter, and [[AdultFear hears no answer]]. After using a secret entrance, she searches through the darkened rooms, fearing the worst when noticing how desolate everything is and tearing down a curtain. Gothel even looks in places where she knows her daughter won't be, such as beneath her bedsheets. Gothel doesn't know what happened: if someone took Rapunzel from the tower -- which would explain the palace horse-- or if she left and is out there in the world, far from her "mother". The stage musical has her outright say that she thinks Flynn Rider kidnapped her daughter given that she heard he has a reputation for seducing impressionable young girls.

** The scene where Gothel panics over Rapunzel missing.

* Trapped inside a small, dark cave with no way out is terrifying enough, but trapped inside a small, dark cave with no way out while you're ''drowning in water'' isn't a pretty sight. Had Rapunzel not used her powers, she and Flynn most likely would have drowned to death.
* Mother Gothel's a witch. She's used the flower and her own magic to remain alive for hundreds of years, and likely if she chose, she could force Rapunzel to use her healing powers on herself so that she, too, would be essentially immortal. So when Rapunzel promises to stay with Mother Gothel forever and never try to leave again if only she'll let her heal Flynn, she's essentially condemning herself to [[FateWorseThanDeath an eternity in the service of her abuser with no possibility of escape--not even through ''death'']].