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 Gothel have warmth". Greno believes that Gothel is particularly scary because she is not a witch, explaining, "She's a real-world-type villain." Considered "one of the [film's] hardest characters to crack" by Greno, he and Howard wanted Gothel to be depicted as a conniving villain who is likeable and charismatic enough that audiences would be convinced by her and Rapunzel's unconventional relationship. Greno explained, "if Mother Gothel was a mean villainess, and looked like a villainess and acted scary, you'd be like, 'Why is Rapunzel staying in the tower?'" In early drafts, Gothel was inspired by Ursula from "The Little Mermaid "(1989),