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 "comic bliss". Linda Cook of the "Quad-City Times" penned that the song was "belted out wonderfully by Murphy and makes the purchase of the soundtrack worthwhile". Marjorie Baumgarten of "The Austin Chronicle" opined, "Murphy brings stage showmanship to her musical interludes as Mother Gothel, which drip with sarcasm and biting wit." "Slant Magazine"s Christian Blauvelt, who felt that the film's songs lacked as a result of Moore's "pop-star vocals", happened to very much enjoy Gothel's performances, writing, "when Broadway vet Murphy takes to scaling Menken's octave-climbing melodies like a vocal escalator, it's a different story". Calling Gothel "one of the