The Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time panel at 2026 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event reunited several noteworthy talents who worked on the original animated classic for a truly special and unforgettable discussion. The panel also touched on the iconic Broadway musical with a special performance.

Here’s a look at what we got to see during Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time panel at 2026 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event (formerly D23 Expo) taking place from August 14 – 16, 2026.

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Commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1991 animated film, the panel was moderated by Ashley Eckstein, the special conversation featured panelists that included Paige O’Hara (original voice of Belle in the animated film), Alan Menken (Academy Award-winning composer and songwriter), Don Hahn (Producer of the animated film); Mark Henn (Supervising Animator for Belle), Susan Egan (original Broadway Belle and voice of Megara in Hercules), and Kyra Belle Johnson (current Belle in the North American touring production).

Here’s a look some of the highlights from the panel.

The Animated Legacy

  • The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, becoming the first animated feature nominated for Best Picture, and winning Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
  • The film took three and a half years to produce, involving nearly 600 artists, animators, and technologists, with significant animation work completed at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
  • The production team searched in New York for “actors who can sing” rather than just singers. They auditioning over 500 actresses for Belle before casting Paige O’Hara they said due to her acting range and Judy Garland-like vocal tone.
  • Howard Ashman drew on classic theatrical archetypes (such as comparing Gaston to the classical stock character Miles Gloriosus) and pushed Menken to compose full film scores starting with The Little Mermaid.
  • Ashman had attended the joint recording session of “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast” with Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach while seriously ill, and later provided remote line direction to O’Hara over the phone from bed — famously including the note of emphasizing “alarming” in “Something There” with the simple note “Streisand.”
  • Mark Henn animated Belle in Florida while Andreas Deja animated Gaston in California they prioritized trading scene leads depending on which character drove the physical action.
  • Animators recorded videotapes of the voice cast purely for facial expressions and comedic timing, including O’Hara delivering the line “Gaston, you are positively primeval” which she noted was inspired by the stylings of Carol Burnett and Imogene Coca.

On Broadway

  • The show ran for 13 years in its original run, received nine Tony Award nominations, reached over 38 million people worldwide, and proved that family audiences and film IP could sustain long-term commercial Broadway success.
  • Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner originally resisted taking the show to Broadway but greenlit the 1994 stage production after critic Frank Rich’s review named the animated movie the best musical score of the year.
  • Susan Egan recounted being nicknamed the “bag lady” by Michael Eisner because Belle was the only character on stage with usable hands and a basket to pick up dropped props from actors wearing restrictive object costumes.
  • As a special treat, Susan Egan and Kyra Belle Johnson concluded the panel with a live duet performance of “Beauty and the Beast.”

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See it for Yourself

D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event took place in Anaheim from August 14 – 16, 2026.

MORE INFO: Check out all MouseInfo coverage for D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event at MouseInfo.com/D23

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