Mother Gothel Mother Gothel Mother Gothel is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 50th animated feature film "Tangled "(2010). The character is voiced by actress and singer Donna Murphy in her voice acting debut; Murphy auditioned for the role spontaneously upon learning from her agent that Disney was auditioning actresses for the film's villainous role. Loosely based on Dame Gothel in the German fairy tale "Rapunzel", Mother Gothel is a vain old woman who hoards the healing powers of a magical flower in order to remain young and beautiful for several years. When the flower is harvested in order
Mother Gothel Gothel warns her daughter "all about the evils out to get Rapunzel," and "Mother Knows Best (Reprise)," both written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. While making Rapunzel's music more modern in the vein of a singer-songwriter, "young and contemporary and fresh," Menken decided to make Gothel's songs "more classic Broadway," described as more of "a big stage diva type" of music. Critics have observed similarities between "Mother Knows Best" and "Out There" from Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame "(1996), on which Menken also served as a composer. Musically, the filmmakers "were open ... to ideas that