who talks for belle in beauty and the beast
Paige O'Hara
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
American actress and singer Paige O'Hara was performing on Broadway when she first read about Disney's then-upcoming animated project "Beauty and the Beast" in an article in "The New York Times". Upon discovering that the studio was holding auditions for the lead role of Belle and, at the behest of lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, specifically recruiting Broadway performers, O'Hara immediately insisted that her agent get her an audition. Familiar with O'Hara's Broadway stint as Ellie May Chipley in the musical "Show Boat"; Ashman had already been eyeing O'Hara for the part. O'Hara auditioned for the role five times, competing against approximately 500 other actresses. First auditioning solely for casting director Albert Taveres, O'Hara's next two auditions simply required the actress to mail audio recordings of her voice to the studio in Los Angeles. Required to perform a song of her choice, O'Hara sang "Heaven Help My Heart" from the musical "Chess". At her first legit
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Belle (Beauty and the Beast) [SEP] Voice
Disney had originally considered casting actress Jodi Benson, who famously voiced Ariel in "The Little Mermaid", as Belle, but ultimately felt that she sounded "too American" and young, opting for a "more classical ... womanly" voice instead. Describing the character as "a woman that was ahead of her time," the filmmakers wanted Belle to sound "more like a woman than a girl." However, Benson voiced Belle in a few episodes of Disney's "House of Mouse". Director Kirk Wise was particularly interested in casting an actress capable of "creat[ing] a character completely with her voice", envisioning a voice similar to that of American entertainer Judy Garland.