History NightmareFuel / Tangled

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[Disney/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]]

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[Disney/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 she allows her to save Flynn's life, and is only saved not by any of her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice to ensure Rapunzel could escape from her. 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]]

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

* Flynn being stabbed InTheBack with pretty much no warning.
** Even worse, Rapunzel is helpless to warn him, because she's chained up and gagged. All she can do is give a muffled scream of name as she watches him be stabbed in horror.

** Even worse, Rapunzel is helpless to warn him, because she's chained up and gagged, and all she can do is scream his name before and after he's stabbed.

* 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 anyway). The idea of a treatment that reduces an otherwise sunny and upbeat girl into a ball of neurosis and fear is nightmare fuel at its best.

** It's made even worse that whenever Gothel expresses genuine affection or motherly instinct ''it's directed at the hair, not Rapunzel.''
** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[Disney/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 putdowns 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 she allows her to save Flynn's life, and is only saved not by any of her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice. 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]]

* Just the idea of [[AdultFear an infant being abducted]]... ''[[AdultFear with her parents only a few feet away from her.]]''
* Also, where did Mother Gothel get those chains and more importantly how ''long did she have them''? Did she have them in the tower ''this whole time'', expecting Rapunzel to figure out her plan and rebel?

* 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 would likely 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]].

* 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 an eternity in the service of her abuser with no possibility of escape--not even through death.

* Flynn [[spoiler:being stabbed InTheBack]] with pretty much no warning.
** Even worse, [[spoiler:Rapunzel is helpless to warn him, because she's chained up and gagged, and all she can do is scream his name before and after he's stabbed.]]
* [[spoiler:Mother Gothel's death, [[NoImmortalInertia in which she rapidly ages and crumbles into a pile of dust.]]]] The concept art for that scene shows [[spoiler: her death]] in ''even more'' [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AgeToDeath_2077.png graphic detail.]]

** Gothel's [[spoiler:"You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. ''Now I'm the bad guy''..." is creepy because she's still being passive-aggressive and not accepting responsibility. She is not acknowledging that Rapunzel doesn't "want [her] to be the bad guy", she flat out thinks Gothel ''is'' the bad guy. And, let's face it, she's entirely right too.]]
** Near the end of the film, Gothel [[spoiler: dragging Rapunzel in chains toward a trap door in the tower as the girl kicks and screams through her gag, boyfriend dying on the floor a few feet away.]]

* Trapped inside a small, dark cave with no way out is terrifying enough, but [[spoiler:trapped inside a small, dark cave with no way out while you're ''drowning in water'']] isn't a pretty sight. [[spoiler:Had Rapunzel not used her powers, she and Flynn would likely 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. [[spoiler: 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 an eternity in the service of her abuser with no possibility of escape--not even through death.]]

** ''[[Series/{{Gotham}} The best liars always tell the truth.]]''

* 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 anyway). The idea of a treatment that reduces an otherwise sunny and upbeat girl into a ball of neurosis and fear is a nightmare fuel at its best.

* Trapped inside a small, dark cave with no way out is terrifying enough, but [[spoiler:trapped inside a small, dark cave with no way out while you're ''drowning in water'']] isn't a pretty sight. [[spoiler:Had Rapunzel not use her powers, she and Flynn would likely drown to death]].

* Trapped inside rocks is terrifying enough, but [[spoiler:trapped inside rocks ''drowning in water'']] isn't a pretty sight. [[spoiler:Had Rapunzel not use her powers, she and Flynn would likely drown 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. [[Spoilers: 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 an eternity in the service of her abuser with no possibility of escape--not even through 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. [[Spoiler: 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 an eternity in the service of her abuser with no possibility of escape--not even through death.]]

* During the scene where Flynn and Rapunzel enters the bar, there's a guy with rats around his back who sports a terrifying SlasherSmile.

* During the scene where Flynn and Rapunzel enters the bar, there's that guy with rats around his back and sports a terrifying SlasherSmile

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[Disney/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 putdowns 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 she allows her to save Flynn's life, and is only saved not by any of her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice. 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[[/note]]

** Mother Gothel's abusive behavior has gotten her frequently compared to Disney's most heinous villain, [[Disney/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 putdowns 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 she allows her to save Flynn's life, and is only saved not by any of her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice. That's right, Gothel is [[UpToEleven an even more effective abuser than]] ''Claude Frollo''. [[note]]Well, at least Gothel wasn't a genocidal sociopath than Frollo[[/note]]

** 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 putdowns 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 she allows her to save Flynn's life, and is only saved not by any of her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice. That's right, Gothel is [[UpToEleven an even more effective abuser than]] ''Claude Frollo''. [[note]]Well, at least Gothel wasn't a genocidal sociopath than Frollo[[/note]]

-->"How much do you think people will pay to stay young and healthy forever?"

* Cassandra almost getting chopped alive by his boyfriend (revealed to be evil) in one episode of WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries.

* During the scene where Flynn and Rapunzel enters the Bar, there's that guy with Rats around his back and sports a Terrifying SlasherSmile

* Cassandra almost getting chopped alive by his Boyfriend (Revealed to be Evil) in one episode of WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries

** 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 putdowns 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 she allows her to save Flynn's life, and is only saved not by any of her own initiative, but by Flynn pulling a HeroicSacrifice. That's right, Gothel is [[UpToEleven an even more effective abuser than]] ''Claude Frollo''. [[note]]Well, at least Gothel Wasn't a Genocidal sociopath than Frollo[[/note]]

* Just the idea of [[AdultFear an infant being abducted]]....''[[AdultFear with her parents only a few feet away from her.]]''

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

* "If he's lying, don't come ''crying''...'''[[VillainSong Mother]]...[[DarkReprise knows best]]!'''" That's all. Most of the song is more on the mocking side, but that line just plunged several magnitutes into [[AbusiveParents creepy darkness]].

* Cassandra almost getting chopped alive by his Boyfriend (Revealed to be Evil) in WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries

* Cassandra almost getting chopped alive by his Boyfriend (Revealed to be Evil) in TangledTheSeries

* Also, where did Mother Gothel get those chains and more importantly how ''long did she have them''? Did she have them in the tower ''this whole time'', expecting Rapunzel to figure out her plan and rebel?