Donna Murphy, Tangled’s original Mother Gothel, is “thrilled” Kathryn Hahn is taking on the role in the new live-action movie.
The actress, singer and theatre star voiced the antagonist in the 2010 animated Disney movie, and knows that Kathryn will “kill” the part in the upcoming adaptation.
Donna told People: “We did a pilot years ago with Jeff Goldblum, and I’ve just been a fan of hers since. And when she got the gig ... well, I saw her shortly before it was official, and then I was thrilled to be able to congratulate her. She’s a rockstar. She’s going to kill it.”
In Tangled, Gothel is the manipulative mother of Rapunzel who keeps the princess locked away in a tower so that her magical hair can continue to grant her eternal youth.
But asked if she gave Kathryn any advice ahead of taking on the part, Donna insisted she “doesn’t need any”.
She said: “Kathryn was sort of doing the ‘I am not worthy’ [thing], and I was like, ‘Don’t even kid yourself, woman. You have got everything you need for the Mother’ … and Mother knows best.”
After being cast as Mother Gothel, Kathryn opened up about starring in the film, as she admitted she “never thought” she’d be in a movie musical.
She told People: “I’m just telling people that it feels like I’m in Fame right now. I’m rehearsing in Spain. They’re shooting, and I’ve been rehearsing.
“I’ve been singing and dancing. It’s so fun. Never thought at this stage in the game that that’s what I would do.”
Kathryn added: “She’s such a fabulous part, Mother Gothel. It’s all things I never thought I would be able to say I did in my life.”
Tangled is due for release in cinemas in March 2028, and stars Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim as Rapunzel and her love interest Flynn Rider.
Michael Gracey - who helmed Better Man and The Greatest Showman - is directing, with the film said to include lots of “big musical elements” like the original.