The Secret of Mother Gothel

I saw Tangled, Walt Disney's retelling of the fairy tale of Rapunzel, at the Movies when it first came out here in NZ and last week I watched it again on DVD with Karate Lamb Chops. And I saw something interesting:

The above is a screenshot of Old Mother Gothel glaring as she steals baby Rapunzel from the castle. Does she remind you of someone from the past?

And here is 3D-ish  picture of Snow-White's stepmother with her old apple. Creepy.

Here are pictures of them in their youthful forms:

You can't tell much but I think they look kind of similar. Their personalities are pretty similar too: Vain, evil, vain, selfish. Did I mention vain?

We know about how Snow-White's stepmother wanted her stepdaughter killed so she could be the fairest in the land. And Mother Gothel?

Checking herself out in front of the mirror

Her vanity is pretty much the driving force of the film.

My contention is that Queen Grimhilde and Mother Gothel are the same people. You remember how the Queen changed herself into an ugly old hag to give Snow-White the poisonous apple? I believe that after getting chased by the Seven Dwarves and falling off the cliff, the old hag survived. She just broke off a part of her banana-shaped nose and wandered around lost and injured for a while. By the time she found her way back to the palace, Snow-White and Prince Gorgeous were living happily ever after. With the help of the dwarves, the new queen, Snow-White had found and sealed the witch's secret laboratory. So there was no way for the old hag to get back into the palace and change herself back.

So for years she wandered around the towns and villages, mortified by her ugliness. Then one day she found the magic flower from the sun that we see in the opening of Tangled. Because of her background in witchery, she knew the incantation that would work on the flower and restored her former looks again. So most days she would party around the towns and villages looking young and beautiful, coming back to the flower every now and then for a dose of its magic. This time round, though, she wasn't so much interested in being the most beautiful. Her time was now invested in retaining her youth and beauty. 

And centuries passed and the flower was taken to heal the queen of the land who was ill. Then came the birth of the cute little princess with the long golden hair. Gothel stole the baby, raised it in a tower and we know the rest. By 'we', I mean those of us who have seen the movie since Disney's version differs drastically from the fairy tale.

About the link between Mother Gothel and Queen Grimhilde, Walt Disney would probably deny it, but what do they know? Or there is a conspiracy going on. Like all the Disney villains are still alive and hiding somewhere. Probably in a secret bunker underground with Hitler. Maybe we'll soon see a villain who looks eerily like Gaston. Somebody alert the President!

Fine, I made the whole thing up. But it works, don't you think?

Anyway, if you haven't seen Tangled yet, I'd totally recommend it. It is just awesomebulous!