History YMMV / Tangled

* AssPull: Even with the HandWave of [[AWizardDidIt magic hair]], Rapunzel suddenly realizing her identity as the lost princess comes dangerously close to being a genuine DeusExMachina, seeing as her confrontation with Gothel that ends with [[spoiler:Eugene being stabbed]] wouldn't have happened if not for the revelation. It would've been significantly less contrived if she'd stumbled upon at least a few small hints as to who she really was while she was with Eugene, which would've allowed her to piece the clues together when she had time to reflect on them later on, but all we get is her briefly studying a mosaic of the infant princess before being distracted by some of the other festivities.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Love isn't enough to sustain a healthy relationship. There has to be some respect, compassion, and the willingness to put someone's needs over your own if the occasion demands it. The movie continually emphasizes this when contrasting Gothel's relationship with Rapunzel to the one she develops with Flynn Rider; Gothel will provide affectionate gestures, books, and paints but doesn't actually listen to what Rapunzel wants, to go outside and see the world. What's worse is the viewer knows that any genuine affection Gothel has for Rapunzel is marred by her SecretlySelfish desires to stay young and beautiful. In contrast, Flynn's first reaction when he accidentally gets Rapunzel in a dangerous situation is to try and protect her. He also waits until she's ready to tell him her secret about the hair, and expresses concern about her wanting to return to the tower without pushing his desires on her. In the end, [[spoiler:he sacrifices his life for her when it seems Gothel will imprison her forever]].

** Hans (from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'') and Gothel have their fans together. Gothel being at least ([[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld physically]]) in her forties while Hans is in his early twenties might {{squick}} some however others enjoy their similarities as [[spoiler:FauxAffablyEvil villains]].

** If you go to Fanfiction.net and look up ''Tangled'' in the crossovers section, you will find 3 ''Tangled''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' crossovers. All three of them ship Megamind/Rapunzel (or [[PortmanteauCoupleName Megapunzel]]).
** Not to mention the amount of shipping Rapunzel has with [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon Hiccup]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheLorax Young!Once-ler]].
** Possibly helped by the ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheBraveTangledDragons'' fandom, she is also often shipped with Jack from ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'', Elsa (and Anna) from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', and Merida from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}''.
** Pairing Merida from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' with Rapunzel is the most popular HoYayShipping in the fandom.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Mother Gothel has quite a committed fanbase, which can get rather over-enthusiastic in either downplaying or defending her actions throughout the movie and even giving her sympathetic origins or motives that are based on [[WildMassGuessing fan theorising]] and [[EpilepticTrees guesswork]] rather than what's presented in the movie proper. Even if those motives were true, this is still a character who kidnaps a child, spends 18 years {{gaslighting}} and emotionally crippling her and later ''chains her up'' and tries to kill her boyfriend, all in a vain and selfish effort to keep the child and her healing powers to herself.

* EvilIsSexy: Mother Gothel [[spoiler: without all of the wrinkles and age]].

** There are those who decry the king's "selfishness" in taking and destroying the flower by having it made into a tea, thus destroying its ability to heal. Said 'selfishness', it should be remembered (since these people don't seem to), is prompted by nothing less than ''trying to prevent his wife and unborn daughter from dying''.
** Relatedly, many would argue that, "selfish" or not, the King and Queen caused the entire movie's problems by destroying the flower rather than using it as intended by singing the healing song. However, it's entirely possible that the King and Queen did not ''know'' the flower could be used that way, and some would even argue that they may not have known Gothel even ''existed''.
** The Captain of the Guard often falls victim to this trope. In various fanfics, he turns from a relatively well-meaning (if not very competent) soldier to a sadistic asshole who kidnaps Rapunzel solely to spite Flynn.
* SignatureSong:
** The soundtrack overall is great, but special mention has to go to "I See The Light".
** "Mother Knows Best" also counts due to being a VillainSong.

** Mother Gothel's condemnation of the world, for many viewers, doesn't stray ''too'' far from truth.

** Though the above has to also be taken in consideration of the fact that, of all the characters in the movie, Mother Gothel herself is the only one who matches that particular description.
** When she catches up with Rapunzel outside the tower, her words probably sound familiar to anyone who's been worried that their child was getting mixed up in the wrong crowd. What's more, Gothel is right that Flynn is only staying with Rapunzel until she gives him the satchel with the tiara., initially She didn't anticipate that Flynn would stop caring about it and hand the satchel over to the Stabbington Brothers as an apology for getting them arrested.

* NeverLiveItDown: Many people who look too deep into things accuse Gothel of being "Jewcoded", "antisemetic", or "insulting" due to her "Jewish" appearance (mind you her appearance was based on Music/{{Cher}}, who is not Jewish) and kidnapping a child for her powers, and some will even try to make an excuse for their theories by using the often-cited claim that Walt hated Jewish people, or bringing up the fact that Rapunzel is blonde when she has long hair. People have done a similar thing for ''WesternAnimation/Barbie'' movies, liking to claim the same thing for Laverna's fungi being trolls, Preminger wanting to be rich, Wenlock turning his wives into trolls, and most famously, Rothbart (and to a lesser extent, Odile). Also, the fact that these movies get Hebrew dubs shows that many people don't care as it's just a cartoon and the creators are not antisemetic.
** Some people have pointed out that Disney has heroic confirmed Jews like Vanellope, a princess in Elena of Avalor, and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro.

* IdiosyncraticShipNaming: The ship of Rapunzel and Eugene is called called "New Dream," after his [[spoiler:DyingDeclarationOfLove, "You were my new dream."]]

* IdiosyncraticShipNaming: Rapunzel x Eugene is called called "New Dream," after his [[spoiler:DyingDeclarationOfLove, "You were my new dream."]]

* IAmNotShazam: Some kids think the Rapunzel's name is "[[ProtagonistTitle Tangled]]".

* AngstWhatAngst: Rapunzel is emotionally abused for 18 years, and the consequences seem to be over in a few days. At the end of the film, she has [[spoiler: realized that her life is a lie, found out that her maternal figure was exploiting her and possibly never loved her at all, and witnessed the {{Family Unfriendly Death}}s of two people close to her (though one of them at least got better).]] None of this trauma is even mentioned in the epilogue. In an [[WhatCouldHaveBeen earlier version of the script]] this was more averted as Rapunzel clearly had fears about the outside world, however eventually she was reworked into a PluckyGirl. [[WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries The TV show]] amends this a little by showing Rapunzel, while still a generally positive person, does have occasional nightmares about Mother Gothel, and when The "[[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS1E11PascalsStory Pascal's Story]]" episode finds her having to return to the tower she lived in with Gothel for 18 years, she is quite shaken.

* UnintentionallySympathetic:
** Mother Gothel to an extent; [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation if you believe that]] she only does the things she does in the movie because she is ''terrified of dying'', it makes her actions seem understandable. Her moment of selfishness in hiding the flower from the royal family seems to be born of centuries of doing it, even when ignoring she could win the king and queen's favor by saving Arianna's life if she sang the healing incantation. It obviously doesn't justify kidnapping, child abuse and [[spoiler:attempted murder]], but it's a reason. This is a matter of ''intense'' debate in the fandom, which many raising the question of whether it is so much Gothel fears dying or, more superficially, growing old and losing her looks.
** The Stabbington Brothers are crooks through and through, and just meant to be brutes, but they're obviously a team and loyal to one another. And they do get screwed over by both Flynn and Mother Gothel, making fans see them as {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s. At the least, they got a commuted sentence as opposed to execution, and were invited to the wedding.

** When she catches up with Rapunzel outside the tower, her words probably sound familiar to anyone who's been worried that their child was getting mixed up in the wrong crowd.

** Flynn and ''everyone''. Sometimes during the film, it seems Flynn and Maximus have more chemistry and UnresolvedSexualTension between them than Flynn and Rapunzel do.

*** In the prologue, Gothel only sneaks into the nursery with the intention of taking Rapunzel's hair, hoping to get the magic that way. It's only when she realizes the hair won't work if it's cut off that she kidnaps the child. A case of EvenEvilHasStandards? But on the other hand, it would have been much easier to steal a lock of hair as opposed to kidnapping a princess, not to mention having to raise and care for her so maybe this is just PragmaticVillainy.

** InUniverse, Eugene tried to manipulate Rapunzel into ending her "forbidden road trip" and going back home to her "overprotective mother" so he could claim his satchel. One can imagine what was going through his mind when he realized the context of Rapunzel being in that tower her entire life, and he almost convinced her to go back to what was essentially her prison.

* ParanoiaFuel: Your mother doesn't love you. In fact, she's not even your real mother. She's a woman who kidnapped you as a baby and raised you to be completely dependent on her. And she's willing to break your heart and kill your friends to control you. Love you, mom!

** Mother Gothel to an extent; [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation if you believe that]] she only does the things she does in the movie because she is ''terrified of dying'', it makes her actions seem understandable. It obviously doesn't justify kidnapping, child abuse and [[spoiler:attempted murder]], but it's a reason. This is a matter of ''intense'' debate in the fandom, which many raising the question of whether it is so much Gothel fears dying or, more superficially, growing old and losing her looks.
** The Stabbington Brothers are crooks through and through, and just meant to be brutes, but they're obviously a team and loyal to one another. And they do get screwed over by both Flynn and Mother Gothel, making fans see them as {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s.

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** Another is that Rapunzel is essentially [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia Hungary]] with a wig. Must be her FryingPanOfDoom.

** After Jeffery Tambour was fired from ''Series/{{Transparent}}'' for sexual harassment, his thug character singing about making a "love connection" comes off as a lot skiver.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Mother Gothel gets a lot of this.
** Did she only care about Rapunzel's hair and just pretended to be a doting mother, or did she come to genuinely love her in the 18 years she raised her? [[spoiler: Rapunzel's hair is more important in the end]], but Gothel does small things that make one think twice like her "I love you" "I love you more" "I love you most" game and her surprising Rapunzel by cooking her favorite food. Fans are still debating. However if you pay attention, when she says "I love you most" she kisses her forehead. This could be taken that she loves her hair most. Or she's just ''that'' good of an actress to fool the audience with a rather convincing performance. It helps that she happens to have a lot of ''very'' subtle hints.
** Some believe that Gothel's actions are motivated by her [[MortalityPhobia fear of dying]] and not just vanity, even though she's never shown being afraid of ''dying'' per se, [[VainSorceress merely aging]]. She's shown to be obsessed with youth, constantly checking the mirror for any signs of age or imperfection, has Rapunzel sing for her even when she's the least bit "run-down," and even puts Rapunzel down to compliment her own looks. [[spoiler: Even when Eugene cuts Rapunzel's hair, Gothel seems most upset by the irreversible appearance of wrinkles. First thing she does after realizing the hair is gone is to check her reflection in the mirror, and then pull her hood over her face in shame and horror at her withered appearance]]. While fear of aging is also a very relatable motive, Gothel's complete obsession with it can come across as... a bit petty and shallow.
--->'''Gothel''': Rapunzel, look in that mirror. You know what I see? I see a strong, confident, ''beautiful'' young lady.\\

** Flynn's opening narration says that Gothel is a witch. Other than activating the magic in the flower, and later Rapunzel's hair, she displays no obvious signs of having powers. She accomplishes lots of her villainy through quick thinking and deception, so it's left open whether she is a witch with milder magic (she had to have figured out how to activate the flower somehow) or just a well-accomplished BadassNormal.
** In the prologue, Gothel only sneaks into the nursery with the intention of taking Rapunzel's hair, hoping to get the magic that way. It's only when she realizes the hair won't work if it's cut off that she kidnaps the child. A case of EvenEvilHasStandards? But on the other hand, it would have been much easier to steal a lock of hair as opposed to kidnapping a princess, not to mention having to raise and care for her so maybe this is just PragmaticVillainy.

** More recently, [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/525/237/777.jpg this image]] of Flynn with several swords pointing at him has become a meme used for controversial opinions.

** Mother Gothel to an extent; [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation if you believe that]] she only does the things she does in the movie because she is ''terrified of dying'', it makes her actions seem understandable. It obviously doesn't justify kidnapping, child abuse and [[spoiler:attempted murder]], but it's a reason. As noted above, this is a matter of ''intense'' debate in the fandom, which many raising the question of whether it is so much Gothel fears dying or, more superficially, growing old and losing her looks.

* WhatAnIdiot: Why did Rapunzel not run away immediately after she realized that she might be the lost princess, instead of telling Mother Goethel about her revelation?

** There are those who decry the king's "selfishness" in taking and destroying the flower by having it made into a tea, thus destroying its ability to heal. Said 'selfishness', it should be remembered (since these people don't seem to), is prompted by nothing less than ''trying to prevent his wife and unborn daughter from dying''.

* UnfortunateImplications: As pointed out in this Tumblr chain: (https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/154992689002/so-many-miles-to-go-aworldinneedofmagic) Gothel bares more than a striking resemblance to the GreedyJew stereotype complete with SinisterSchnoz and black curly hair. Though it has been stated her design was redone to be based off her voice actress Creator/DonnaMurphy and Music/{{Cher}}.