Mother Knows Best (song) songs. While the majority of "Tangled"'s music was inspired by the work of Canadian musician Joni Mitchell, Menken envisioned Gothel's song as "classic" Broadway. Before writing "Mother Knows Best", Menken and Slater researched appropriate moments in the film during which its main characters could potentially perform, ultimately determining that "Mother Knows Best" "flows directly out of the conflict between" Mother Gothel and Rapunzel. Menken observed similarities between Gothel and Claude Frollo, another Disney villain for whom he had written songs while working as a composer on "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996). Menken described Gothel as "a scary piece of
Mother Gothel a Disney villain as a "juicy" experience, Murphy explained that this is because these characters are "not bound by ethics or moral codes or concern for what someone thinks or how it might hurt someone else", providing actors with more freedom. Upon her first session, Murphy appreciated the directors for exposing her to early concepts and ideas about Gothel. However, Murphy was not provided with a complete script because "They’re very protective about that." Murphy was directed to lower the pitch of her voice in favor of demonstrating a rather "flat" sound. Although Murphy did not base her own performance