Disney Legend Mark Henn’s princess animations have shaped some of the most beloved Disney characters. As the supervising animator behind Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, and Tiana, Henn played a key role in defining the modern Disney Princess.
At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the voice actresses behind these princesses—Jodi Benson (Ariel), Paige O’Hara (Belle), Linda Larkin (Jasmine), Ming-Na Wen (Mulan), and Anika Noni Rose (Tiana)—shared their first reactions to seeing Mark Henn’s princess animations bring their characters to life.
From Paige O’Hara’s amazement at Belle’s transformation to Anika Noni Rose’s emotional reaction when she saw Tiana’s resemblance, these actresses reflected on the impact of Henn’s artistry. His ability to capture real-life expressions and personalities helped create some of the most iconic Disney Princesses in history.
For more details, read the full recap on D23’s official website.
Disney Princess Voices Meet Their Animations for the First Time
Below, Henn’s muses muse on how it felt to see their animated characters for the first time:
“Mark is absolutely wonderful. He is one of our most brilliant animators in the world.”
“Mark’s initial drawings looked almost perfect, like Angelina Jolie. And then he quirked her up a little bit. She’s still beautiful, but a little quirkier. On the wall, the animators had photos of all these famous, beautiful women like Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn—and then my funny-looking little picture was down at the bottom!”
“Oh, I thought she was so beautiful. And I was really, really proud to be a part of creating that character with him.”
“Mark is an incredible, expressive artist. He captures each character with such nuance. He can be very quiet and still, because he’s always observing you. He’s always capturing those special little things about the people who are portraying the characters, and that allows him to create these amazing beings that have such a positive and everlasting effect.”
“When they showed me Princess Tiana for the first time, she was in black and white. They told me they needed me to look at something and see how I felt about it; I didn’t know it was going to be her. And when they revealed it, I broke down. I had no idea she was going to look as much like me as she did. Even now, it’s very, very moving to me. It’s amazing. There’s nothing like it… Mark honestly made my dreams come true.”
