Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements at D23 2026 brought more than four decades of Disney Animation history to the Walt Disney Archives Stage, from Ariel and Genie to Tiana and Moana.
Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements started as a conversation with film historian Leonard Maltin about Ron’s incredible career and his new book, Making Disney Magic . . . from a Mermaid to Moana.
But it quickly became something much bigger. As Leonard and Ron moved from movie to movie, the people who helped make those films started walking onto the stage. Jodi Benson. Eric Goldberg. Susan Egan. Roy Conli. Mark Henn. Jim Cummings. Anika Noni Rose. Auliʻi Cravalho.
Each surprise guest added another story, turning the session into a trip through some of the most important films in modern Disney Animation.
Before Ariel: Ron Clements Finds Disney Animation
Long before The Little Mermaid, Ron Clements was a kid inspired by Pinocchio. That fascination eventually led him to Disney in 1974, where he had the opportunity to learn from artists whose careers stretched back to Walt Disney himself. Among them was legendary animator Frank Thomas, one of Walt’s Nine Old Men, whom Ron apprenticed under for two years.
Ron worked his way through films including The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon, and The Fox and the Hound. Eventually, he became one of the directors of The Great Mouse Detective.
There was a wonderful full-circle connection to that movie. Growing up in Iowa, Ron had created his own short Sherlock Holmes-inspired animated film. Years later, he was directing Disney’s mouse-sized take on the famous detective.
The Great Mouse Detective may not have become the biggest Disney movie of its era, but it helped move Ron toward the films that would help change Disney Animation.
Jodi Benson and The Little Mermaid That Changed Everything
When Leonard Maltin moved the Making Disney Magic conversation to The Little Mermaid, the first surprise guest arrived: Jodi Benson.
Ron and longtime filmmaking partner John Musker had pitched the idea during Disney’s internal pitch process, which Ron remembered as something resembling the studio’s own version of The Gong Show. Filmmakers brought ideas to executives and hoped something survived.
The Little Mermaid did.
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken eventually became central to the film, helping transform the Hans Christian Andersen story into a Disney musical. Then the filmmakers needed Ariel.
Benson had been performing in Howard Ashman’s Broadway musical Smile. When the production closed, Ashman encouraged performers to audition for a new Disney animated project. Jodi did, joking at D23 that she essentially auditioned on her way to the unemployment line.
Instead, she became Ariel. That audition changed her life. It also helped give Disney one of its most recognizable characters as The Little Mermaid launched the creative run we now know as the Disney Renaissance.
Eric Goldberg, Robin Williams and the Genie Test
Next came Aladdin and another surprise guest: Eric Goldberg. Disney wanted Robin Williams to voice Genie. However, wanting Robin Williams and actually convincing him to become an animated character were two different things. Goldberg helped bridge that gap.
Before Williams had committed to the movie, Goldberg created animation tests using audio from Williams’ comedy material. The goal was to demonstrate what animation could do with his rapid-fire impressions, improvisation, and constantly changing characters.
Williams saw the tests. He loved them. And one of Disney Animation’s most unforgettable performances followed. Goldberg also talked about caricaturist Al Hirschfeld as an important influence on Genie’s design. Hirschfeld’s flowing lines helped inspire a character who could stretch, transform, and become almost anything as quickly as Williams could imagine it.
Today, Robin Williams and Genie seem inseparable. Hearing how that combination came together was one of my favorite stories from Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements.
Susan Egan Has a Different Way of Looking at Meg
When the conversation reached Hercules, Susan Egan walked onto the Archives Stage. Egan already had an important place in Disney history before becoming Megara. She originated Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, then went from a classic Disney heroine to one of the studio’s most sarcastic and complicated animated characters.
Her take on Meg was especially interesting. On the surface, Meg may seem like the opposite of Belle. However, Egan sees a stronger connection between Meg and the Beast. Both characters have been hurt. Both have built emotional walls. Most importantly, both have to learn how to trust someone enough to let those walls come down. It is a great way to look at Meg’s story.
She wasn’t waiting for a prince to rescue her. In fact, she already had plenty of reasons not to trust one.
Treasure Planet Finds Its Audience
Then Roy Conli joined Ron for one of the most interesting chapters of his career: Treasure Planet. The idea had been with Clements for years — take Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and move the adventure into space. Eventually, Disney let him do it.
The finished movie mixed traditional character animation with emerging digital tools and environments. As a result, Treasure Planet still looks unlike almost anything else Disney Animation has produced. However, it arrived at a difficult moment.
The animation industry was changing quickly, while Disney was moving away from the traditional hand-drawn production model that had defined the studio for generations. For some of the artists working on the movie, there was real uncertainty about what would happen once production ended.
That adds another layer when watching the finished film today. Ron also acknowledged something many Disney fans have come to believe: maybe 2002 simply wasn’t the right time for Treasure Planet. It wasn’t a major hit when it opened. Over the years, however, the movie found a passionate following. Sometimes a Disney movie just needs time to find its audience.
Tiana, Ray and a Return to Hand-Drawn Disney
The Princess and the Frog brought the biggest group of surprise guests. Mark Henn, Jim Cummings, and Anika Noni Rose all joined Ron as the conversation headed to New Orleans. Each brought a completely different part of the movie’s story.
Mark Henn had already helped animate Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, young Simba, and other major Disney characters when he became the supervising animator for Tiana.
This time, though, there was an unusual challenge. Tiana spends much of the movie as a frog. Henn had to make her feel like the same character in two very different forms while keeping her personality recognizable throughout the story.
The conversation also touched on whether animators can become typecast, much like actors. Experience can make an artist the obvious choice for a certain kind of character. At the same time, it can make getting the opportunity to do something completely different more difficult.
Jim Cummings Had a Real New Orleans Connection
Jim Cummings brought his own unexpected connection to Ray. Long before becoming one of Disney’s most recognizable voice performers, Cummings had worked as a deckhand in New Orleans. Because of that experience, the sounds and rhythms of the region weren’t completely foreign when it came time to create the Cajun firefly.
Ray also drew inspiration from a frog-hunting guide the filmmakers encountered while researching the movie. Put those pieces together and you get one of the funniest, warmest, and ultimately most emotional characters in The Princess and the Frog. And, of course, Evangeline.
Anika Noni Rose Had Two Requests for Tiana
Then Anika Noni Rose delivered one of the biggest laughs of the afternoon. Rose described becoming Tiana as bigger than her biggest dream coming true. She was one of the first performers to audition and immediately felt a connection to the character. She did, however, have two requests.
Tiana should be left-handed. And Tiana needed a little booty. Both requests made it into the movie.
The story was funny, but it also showed how personally Anika approached Tiana. Disney was creating its first Black princess, and those small details mattered. Years later, Tiana has grown well beyond the original film and become an even larger part of Disney, including a major presence in the parks.
Auliʻi Cravalho Brings the Story to Moana
The final surprise guest brought Making Disney Magic almost to the present day. Auliʻi Cravalho joined Ron for Moana. Her casting story was almost the opposite of Anika Noni Rose’s. Rose was one of the first performers to audition for Tiana. Auliʻi was the last actress to audition for Moana.
The filmmakers had been searching for someone who could sing, act, match the character’s age, and authentically represent the Pacific Islands. Then they found Auliʻi.
She was still a teenager when she landed the role and suddenly had a life-changing secret she couldn’t share.
Interestingly, Moana’s visual design was already largely established before Auliʻi was cast. The character wasn’t designed around her appearance. Still, her personality and voice became inseparable from Moana.
It was the perfect final guest for the session.
Ron’s story started with a young boy inspired by Pinocchio. Decades later, he was helping introduce another generation to a completely new Disney heroine.
Making Disney Magic . . . from a Mermaid to Moana
All of those stories help explain why Ron’s new book is much more than a traditional autobiography. Making Disney Magic . . . from a Mermaid to Moana looks back at 45 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, from Ron’s early days at Disney through The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog, and Moana.
The 496-page book contains more than 1,000 pieces of archival artwork and photographs. Ron also shares stories about casting, animation, research trips, story development, early screenings, technical innovations, and the people who helped create the movies.
Even the corners of the pages become a flip-book celebrating decades of Disney animation. John Musker, Ron’s longtime filmmaking partner, wrote the foreword. D23 guests also had the opportunity to purchase first-to-market copies ahead of the wider October 13, 2026 release.
After watching Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements, it is easy to understand why the book needed nearly 500 pages.
There are a lot of stories to tell.
Sam’s Disney Diary Take
The session was called Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements, but what made it special was watching that Disney magic physically walk onto the stage.
Jodi Benson brought us back to Ariel. Eric Goldberg told the story behind Genie. Susan Egan offered a different way to look at Meg. Roy Conli revisited Treasure Planet. Mark Henn, Jim Cummings, and Anika Noni Rose took us back to New Orleans. Then Auliʻi Cravalho brought the journey to Moana.
Together, they covered an incredible stretch of Disney Animation history.
But there was another message running through the entire Ron Clements D23 2026 conversation.
Ron didn’t make those movies alone.
Directors, animators, actors, musicians, writers, and artists all brought something different to each film. Ron helped bring those people and ideas together, creating characters and stories that continue to connect with audiences decades later.
More than 40 years later, we’re still singing the songs, quoting the characters, visiting their worlds in the parks, and introducing the movies to another generation.
That is a pretty remarkable legacy.
Watch the Full Making Disney Magic D23 2026 Panel
There are plenty more stories in the complete session.
Watch Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements from the Walt Disney Archives Stage at D23 2026 below, including all of the surprise appearances from Jodi Benson, Eric Goldberg, Susan Egan, Roy Conli, Mark Henn, Jim Cummings, Anika Noni Rose, and Auliʻi Cravalho.
