Mother Knows Best (song) siren motif" for Gothel's appearance and personality. A "big" musical number, "Mother Knows Best" begins within the first fifteen minutes of "Tangled" during the film's first act when, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel finally summons enough courage to ask Gothel for permission to travel and see the floating lanterns in person. Gothel, whose eternal youth and beauty solely relies on the safety and protection of Rapunzel's magical hair, denies this request by sarcastically reminding her that "mother knows best," warning her ward that "the world is full of wicked people who want to steal her hair's magic,"
Mother Gothel to heal the kingdom's ailing queen, its powers are inherited by the king and the queen's daughter Rapunzel, removing Gothel's access. With her life suddenly endangered, Gothel kidnaps the infant, imprisoning the princess in an isolated tower for eighteen years while posing as her mother in order to exploit her powers. Inspired by classic Disney villainesses such as the Evil Queen and Lady Tremaine from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) and "Cinderella" (1950), respectively, Gothel was developed by directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard into a more original, complex villain than the witch upon whom she is based