Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle in Disney’s original Beauty and the Beast, has shared some stories from her time playing the iconic princess. Disney princesses are a staple of the company, as the Disney renaissance made them inseparable from the brand. Belle was one of the earliest princesses to become reimagined by Disney, quickly making herself and Beauty and the Beast an instant classic. After its incredible success, it was inevitable that Disney would remake Beauty and the Beast, so fans were graced by Emma Watson’s version of this character in 2017.
Beauty and the Beast managed to round up four different Oscar nominations upon its debut. While seeing animation nominated for Oscars is not unusual nowadays, back when Beauty and the Beast was first released it became the first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Although it didn’t win for Best Picture, Beauty and the Beast did grab the Oscar for its mesmerizing soundtrack.
THR recently spoke with some of the cast and crew of Beauty and the Beast (1991), allowing them to reflect on the experience. Since the release of the film, they’ve all had the chance to see the impact their movie has made. Not having your face often associated with your work is a common thing for voice actors, however many of this cast still hasn’t had a problem being recognized. O’Hara found herself in the presence of a starstruck young fan while out shopping. Read about the star’s experience below:
A little boy in the grocery store once came up to me and said, “Are you Belle?” I’m like, “Yes, how did you know?” He said, “I know. I watch it all the time.”
O’Hara’s list of acting credits is full of her rendition of her Beauty and the Beast character. Her Belle has been featured again and again in multiple different Disney projects, including various video games like Kingdom Hearts II, and Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey. With such a long list history voicing Belle it’s difficult to separate O’Hara from the role. The actor is suited to the Princess archetype, as she has almost only been seen in regal roles such as Princess Aleta in Prince Valiant, and her Disney Easter egg appearance in Enchanted.
The incredible casting was not the only unique aspect of Beauty and the Beast as an unusual technique was used to record their voices. Ordinarily, the dialogue would be recorded by the actors in separate booths, however, the actors stood next to one another this time around in order to fully capture Belle and the Beast’s romance. The creatives at Disney put in an unbelievable amount of work to ensure that the movies are of the best possible standard, giving even old media like Beauty and the Beast their rewatchable quality.
