paige o'hara played belle in beauty and the beast cartoon.
paige o'hara played belle in beauty and the beast cartoon.
who plays belle in beauty and the beast cartoon?
paige o'hara
belle (beauty and the beast)









































belle is a fictional character who appears in walt disney pictures' 30th animated feature film "beauty and the beast" (1991). originally voiced by american actress and singer paige o'hara, belle is the non-conforming daughter of an inventor who yearns to abandon her predictable village life in return for adventure. when her father maurice is imprisoned by a cold-hearted beast, belle offers him her own freedom in exchange for her father's, and eventually learns to love the beast despite his unsightly outward appearance.
belle (beauty and the beast)
belle has garnered widespread acclaim from film critics, several of whom voiced their preference for the character over her predecessor, ariel from "the little mermaid". hal hinson of "the washington post" described belle as a "compelling" character who is "more mature, more womanly and less blandly asexual" than ariel, as well as "a more worldly girl", describing her as "a bookworm, with gumption and a mind of her own." similarly comparing belle to ariel, john hartl of "the seattle times" wrote that, in "beauty and the beast", "there's rarely a sense of deja vu, perhaps because the heroine is so different from 'mermaid's' dependent ariel, and her dilemma is more poignant," while "boxoffice "scribed, "undoubtedly in response to criticism that the cute little 'mermaid' ariel was nothing more than a precocious sexpot, the idea-people behind this beauty—aptly named belle ... chose to make her an icon of self-reliance and a voracious reader with a curiosity and love for everything around her." jennie punter of "the globe and mail "extolled belle as a "smart, courageous ... 'take-charge kind of gal'," while crowning her the "main attraction of "beauty and the beast"." emma cochrane of "empire" hailed belle as "a feminist heroine who [is] more rounded than previous disney characters", while "paste's" annlee ellingson similarly enjoyed the character's "feminist kick." stephen hunter of "the baltimore sun "wrote that "belle ... is no passive fairy tale princess, but a real live girl, with a spunky personality and her own private agenda." "tv guide "wrote that "the familiar narrative is strengthened by the independent, self-assured character of belle," concluding, "unlike disney heroines from snow white through ariel, belle is smart, knows what she wants, and doesn't spend her time pining away for the love of a handsome prince." marc bernardin of "entertainment weekly "praised belle's heroism, dubbing her "the hero" of "beauty and the beast", while "entertainment weekly's" christian blauvelt opined, "unlike previous disney heroines who needed to be rescued by a prince themselves, belle not only saves the beast's life, she saves his soul." tlc's vicki arkoff received belle as a "smart" and "sharp-tongued" heroine, crediting the character for "break[ing] disney's passive-princess mold." about.com's david nusair described belle as an "admirable" heroine. allmovie's don kaye and perry seibert echoed each other's reviews of the character, with kaye describing both belle and the beast as "three-dimensional ... complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story," and seibert calling belle a "strong female character" who "sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding disney heroines." common sense media hailed belle as "one of disney's smartest, most independent heroines."
belle (beauty and the beast)