LISTEN: Jodi Benson as Belle? Audition Posted Online

Imagine if two Disney princesses in a row had the same voice? It almost happened.

Ariel voice actor Jodi Benson was in consideration for Belle in Beauty and the Beast, apparently coming down to the final two. YouTube channel “Disney Ashman Demos: An Ashman & Menken Archive” has posted previously unheard audio tape of the auditions.

The channel has endless surprises, from Ashman’s brief but deep career.

Jodi reads the scenes at the bookseller, and bargaining with the Beast over her father’s imprisonment. The channel also synchronizes selections from the song “Belle” with the final animation.

In 2019, Benson discussed her audition for the role with Collider, saying that she was thrilled when her friend Paige O’Hara received the role. Howard Ashman broke the news to her, saying that they realized that they should have “two different people representing two different princesses.”

Benson voiced Belle for Disney’s House of Mouse, a series set in a nightclub owned by Mickey Mouse.

Lead image is photographed by Super Festivals, 2023. Licensed Creative Commons-By Attribution-2.0.