Thirty-five years after Beauty and the Beast changed Disney Animation, some of the people who helped make it happen came together at D23 2026. And the stories were even better than I expected.
Paige O’Hara, Alan Menken, Don Hahn, Mark Henn, Susan Egan, and Kyra Belle Johnson filled the Premiere Stage with Disney history during Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time. Ashley Eckstein moderated the celebration, which looked back at the animated classic, its move to Broadway, and the legacy that continues today.
We heard how Disney threw away an early version of the movie, how Paige O’Hara became Belle, wonderful memories of Angela Lansbury and Mrs. Potts, and an emotional Alan Menken remembering Howard Ashman.
I recorded the entire panel. You can watch the full session below, or keep reading for eight moments you don’t want to miss.
TL;DR: 8 Moments You Don’t Want to Miss
- Disney scrapped an early version of Beauty and the Beast and started over.
- Paige O’Hara shared the story of becoming Belle.
- Mark Henn explained how animators turned a voice performance into a character.
- Rare behind-the-scenes footage showed the movie coming together.
- Alan Menken remembered Howard Ashman and his impact on the film.
- A wonderful Angela Lansbury story explained how Mrs. Potts finally clicked.
- Susan Egan looked back at bringing Belle to Broadway.
- Three generations of Belle shared the stage before a special closing performance.
Now, let’s take a closer look.
1. Disney Threw Away the Original Version
It is hard to imagine Beauty and the Beast without “Belle,” “Be Our Guest,” and the enchanted castle we know today. However, the movie almost looked very different.
Producer Don Hahn recalled an early version developed under director Richard Purdum in London. The filmmakers spent months working on the project and created roughly 20 minutes of material. There was only one problem. It wasn’t working.
Instead of forcing that version forward, Disney made the difficult decision to start again. That reset opened the door for Howard Ashman and Alan Menken to become central to the project.
Beauty and the Beast began becoming the musical we know today. It is an incredible reminder that even a Disney classic can begin with a version that simply doesn’t work.
2. Paige O’Hara Knew She Wanted to Be Belle
Paige O’Hara didn’t casually stumble into the role of Belle. She wanted it. O’Hara remembered hearing about the project and pushing for the opportunity to audition. Disney considered hundreds of performers, with O’Hara recalling a process that involved about 500 actresses. The filmmakers were also looking for something very specific.
They didn’t just want a singer. They wanted an actor who could sing. That distinction helped define Belle. She needed to sound intelligent, independent, curious, frustrated, compassionate, and eventually vulnerable. O’Hara could deliver all of it. Thirty-five years later, it is difficult to imagine anyone else as Belle.
3. Mark Henn Turned Paige O’Hara Into Belle
Once Paige O’Hara recorded Belle, animator Mark Henn had to bring that performance to the screen. Henn described animation as a form of acting. Instead of simply matching Belle’s mouth to O’Hara’s dialogue, he listened for emotion, timing, phrasing, and personality. Those details helped shape the expressions and movements audiences ultimately saw.
There is also a great Walt Disney World connection. Henn worked on Belle from Disney’s animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. while, other members of the team worked in California. Today, artists can instantly collaborate across the country. In the early 1990s, that wasn’t so easy.
Still, the performances had to feel like they existed in the same room. The finished movie makes it look effortless.
4. Rare Footage Showed How the Movie Came Together
Some of my favorite moments involved material most fans never get to see. The panel included rare behind-the-scenes footage from the production of Beauty and the Beast. We saw Paige O’Hara recording Belle, including multiple takes as the filmmakers worked to find exactly the right performance.
There was also rough animation showing how scenes evolved before reaching the finished movie. Then came an especially fascinating piece of Disney history: footage of Roger Allers pitching “Be Our Guest” using storyboards.
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Watching someone physically perform a sequence while flipping through drawings gives you a completely different appreciation for animation. Before Lumière danced across the screen, someone had to stand in a room and sell the idea.
5. Alan Menken Remembers Howard Ashman
The emotional heart of the panel belonged to Howard Ashman. His influence is everywhere in Beauty and the Beast. Ashman understood that a song shouldn’t stop the movie. Instead, music could reveal character, move the story forward, and tell us things dialogue alone could not.
Paige O’Hara shared a great example involving “Something There.” She was struggling with how to deliver part of the song. Ashman gave her one simple piece of direction: Streisand. That was all she needed.
Alan Menken became emotional while remembering his friend and creative partner. Ashman died in March 1991, months before Beauty and the Beast reached theaters. More than three decades later, his presence could still be felt throughout the room.
6. The Story Behind Angela Lansbury and Mrs. Potts
Another wonderful memory involved Angela Lansbury. Today, Lansbury and Mrs. Potts seem inseparable. Her performance of “Beauty and the Beast” is one of the defining moments of the movie. Yet Lansbury initially wasn’t sure the role was right for her.
Alan Menken recalled that she heard an early demo and didn’t connect with Mrs. Potts. Eventually, she heard Howard Ashman’s version of the song. Then it clicked. She understood the character. The result became one of the most recognizable performances in Disney Animation history.
When Mrs. Potts begins singing as Belle and Beast enter the ballroom, everything comes together — the animation, the music, the characters, and the emotion. It is hard to imagine that scene with anyone else behind the microphone.
7. Beauty and the Beast Helped Change Broadway
The story didn’t stop when the movie reached theaters in 1991. Three years later, Beauty and the Beast arrived on Broadway. Susan Egan originated the role of Belle and joined the D23 panel to talk about bringing the animated character to the stage.
That transition created a new challenge. Animation can move the camera close to Beast’s face and show an audience exactly what he is feeling. A Broadway audience may be sitting hundreds of feet away.
So the stage production needed another kind of close-up. Music could provide it. Additional songs gave the characters room to reveal thoughts and emotions that animation could communicate visually. More importantly, Beauty and the Beast helped prove that Disney could become a major force on Broadway. The production opened in 1994 and became the foundation for decades of Disney theatrical productions that followed.
8. Three Generations of Belle Share One Stage
The perfect ending brought the entire story together. Kyra Belle Johnson, who plays Belle in the current North American touring production, joined Paige O’Hara and Susan Egan on stage. Think about that for a moment.
Paige O’Hara gave Belle her animated voice. Susan Egan brought Belle to Broadway. Now Kyra Belle Johnson is introducing Belle to another generation of theater audiences. Three Belles. Three eras. One character.
Then Susan Egan and Kyra Belle Johnson closed the session by performing “Beauty and the Beast.”
After an hour of stories about animation, music, Howard Ashman, Angela Lansbury, Broadway, and the people who brought this movie to life, there really wasn’t a better way to end it.
Sam’s Disney Diary Take
There are Disney movies that are successful, and then there are Disney movies that change what comes next. Beauty and the Beast did that.
It became the first animated feature nominated for Best Picture, helped define the Disney Renaissance, and later helped establish Disney on Broadway. But what made this D23 panel special were the stories behind those milestones — starting over when the movie wasn’t working, finding the right Belle, turning pencil lines into believable characters, and hearing how Howard Ashman, Alan Menken, and Angela Lansbury helped shape moments we still remember today.
Thirty-five years later, all of those pieces still come together every time Belle steps into that ballroom.
And now another generation is discovering the same tale.
