Mother Gothel always about ... who’s best for the part". Film critic James Berardinelli of "ReelViews "observed that this decision echoed "Disney's approach during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when big name stars where often bypassed in favor of lesser known talents." An additional asset was that the actor be able to perform well both independently and collaboratively. Mother Gothel is voiced by American actress and singer Donna Murphy, a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress who was informed about the casting call for "Tangled "by her agent. Having never voiced an animated character before, the actress decided to audition for the role
Mother Knows Best (song) Gothel as an abusive mother, writing, "she is manipulative, dishonest, and dedicated to undermining her daughter's independence. This is shown consistently through all her appearances in the film, but comes out clearly very early indeed, with the song 'Mother Knows Best'. Critics have often identified the sequence as one of the film's darkest and edgiest moments. Acknowledging the song's "extremely dark undertone", Anthony Falco of Film Class Junkies wrote, "This song rues in the fact that a child is impressionable; Rapunzel believes that Mother Gothel has the best intentions, but obviously, the evil witch is using the princess for her