page_title: Mother Knows Best (song)
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Mother Knows Best (song) / Reception
caption_attribution_description: Donna Murphy at the Drama League Benefit Gala Honoring Angela Lansbury, February 8, 2010. The Pierre, New York City.
context_page_description: "Mother Knows Best" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater for Walt Disney Pictures' 50th animated feature film Tangled. Included on the film's official soundtrack, "Mother Knows Best" is a musical theatre-inspired pop and jazz ballad performed by American actress and singer Donna Murphy in her animated role as Mother Gothel, the film's villain. Incorporating a series of passive-aggressive insults into its lyrics, the song serves as Gothel's attempt to frighten Rapunzel into remaining in their secluded tower despite her constant requests to see the floating lanterns so that she 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.
context_section_description: "Mother Knows Best" has garnered universal acclaim from both film and music critics, several of whom admitted to enjoying the song despite being unimpressed with the majority of Tangled's music. Writing for The Blade, Kirk Baird opined that most of the film's songs "aren't particularly memorable" except for "Mother Knows Best". Likewise, Lindsey Ward of Canoe.ca wrote, "the musical numbers aren't the best things in Tangled – the exception being 'Mother Knows Best', a brash track that scene-stealing Tony-winner Murphy alone turns into a giant spectacle with her voice". Acknowledging that "The songs ... don't sound on first hearing like top-drawer Menken", Richard Corliss of Time described "Mother Knows Best" as "a pot of poisoned honey." Similarly, Anthony Quinn of The Independent wrote, "The songs are no great shakes ... apart from 'Mother Knows Best'." Michael Smith, writing for the Tulsa World, felt that the song's darkness "remind[s] of the nasty bits of the original Grimm's fairy tale and give[s] Tangled a bitter balance for the sugar and spice moments." Mal Vincent of The Virginian-Pilot described the song as "a good villain entry." Critics have continuously cited "Mother Knows Best" as the film's best song. The Scotsman hailed it as Tangled's "finest song." Similarly, Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times acknowledged "Mother Knows Best" as one of Tangled's "best tunes," while Georgie Hobbs of Little White Lies identified it as the film's "standout", deeming it "worthy of the very best of [Stephen] Sondheim's crazed heroines." Likewise, Ken Hanke of the Mountain Xpress highlighted "Mother Knows Best" as the "standout" song surrounded by "passable ones." Calling the song one of the film's "potential Broadway showstoppers", Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times described "Mother Knows Best" as "a knockout." Also singling out the track as the film's "finest number", Dan Kois of The Village Voice called it "a Mama Rose–worthy tune." Similarly, Andrea Gronvall of the Chicago Tribune felt that "Mother Knows Best" was one of the more memorable songs of the film, calling it "show-stopping", and feeling that "Murphy channel[ed] all the monstrous smothering power of Mama Rose in Gypsy."
  Murphy's "scene-stealing" vocal performance has been met with largely enthusiastic reviews, which Filmtracks.com felt was "more accomplished" than Mandy Moore's. Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers hailed it as "comic bliss with a sting in its tail." 7x7's Rossiter Drake called the actress' "vocal prowess ... a welcome revelation," while Hannah Goodwin of Christian Broadcasting Network described it as "wonderful." The Austin Chronicle's Marjorie Baumgarten praised Murphy for "bring[ing] stage showmanship to her musical interludes as Mother Gothel." Tom Charity of CNN complimented the actress for "seiz[ing] Menken's grand, theatrical number 'Mother Knows Best' for the showstopper it deserves to be." Writing for CNN's iReport, Julie Ellerton simply described her performance as "exceptional." GamesRadar's Jonathan Crocker wrote, "Donna Murphy's vocal performance as the vain, villainous fake-matriarch is marvellous [sic]", continuing, "her belted-out rendition of 'Mother Knows Best' is easily the film's top musical number." Opining that "Mother Knows Best" is "belted out wonderfully by Murphy", Linda Cook of the Quad-City Times concluded that the actress "makes the purchase of the soundtrack worthwhile by itself." Christian Blauvelt of Slant Magazine wrote, "If a couple of Menken's songs feel less than soaring, it's due only to the limited pop-star vocals of Mandy Moore as Rapunzel", concluding, "when Broadway vet Murphy takes to scaling Menken's octave-climbing melodies like a vocal escalator, it's a different story." Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media wrote that Murphy's vocals are "on fabulous display in the amazing number 'Mother Knows Best'." William Goss of Moviefone said, "Mother Knows Best" is "belted out perfectly" by Murphy. In review of the film's soundtrack, AllMusic critic James Christopher Monger observed that both Murphy an
caption: Actress and singer Donna Murphy has garnered rave reviews for her vocal performance on "Mother Knows Best".
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