Curly girls have been a rarity in Disney movies. So the fact that one of the stars of Disney’s new movie “Tangled” is curly is a major step forward – even if she’s evil. Really evil.

Mother Gothel is the main antagonist of the upcoming CGI animated film, “Tangled.” The Queen of a nearby kingdom was near death and had her guards search for this magical plant to heal her. They find it and the Queen heals, soon giving birth to Rapunzel. The flower’s abilities are in Rapunzel’s magical glowing hair that gives eternal youth. Mother Gothel acquires Rapunzel as a child, stealing her from the royal nursery and hiding her in an inaccessible tower. Gothel lies to Rapunzel about the outside world and everyone in it, imprisoning her in a tower to keep access to the youth-restoring qualities of her hair. The problem is, now Rapunzel’s all grown up, wants out and mama’s not going to have it.

But while Mother Gothel may have her issues, she does have great curls – beautiful black ringlets. The character is voiced by television actress and singer Donna Murphy. According to Pixarplanet.com, creating her long, curly hair wasn’t easy. They had to create and develop special techniques to create her 3b curls.

Maybe Disney’s next curly character will be the heroine. Baby steps.