Mother Knows Best (song) own gains. Falco continued, "The audience knows what Gothel wants with Rapunzel, but the fact that we are unable to protect the naïve princess results in further hatred for the witch." Falco also concluded that Gothel's "sinister reprise at the end of "Tangled" allows for these horrifying undertones to emerge, which makes 'Mother Knows Best' one of the most sinister villain songs in the Disney library." Similarly, Elissa Smith of Paper Droids wrote that while the audience is fully aware of Gothel's evil intentions, Rapunzel is denied "the outsider's point of view." Glen Chapman of Den of Geek wrote that
Mother Knows Best (song) can continue exploiting her hair's regenerating abilities to remain youthful. "Mother Knows Best" is eventually reprised in a more sinister, vengeful manner by Gothel after Rapunzel, having left the tower, openly defies her for the first time. Menken and Slater deliberately wrote "Mother Knows Best" in the style of an old-fashioned Broadway musical number after directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno specifically asked that they provide the film with one. Musically, "Mother Knows Best" directly contrasts with the more pop-oriented singer-songwriter style of Rapunzel's songs, which are performed by pop singer Mandy Moore. A Tony Award-winning Broadway performer, Murphy recorded