Broadway starlet Paige O'Hara auditioned with 500 others for the part of Belle and booked the gig after the fifth audition, on her birthday. The animators squeezed some of O'Hara's mannerisms into Belle's character, like the way she brushes her hair out of her eyes.

O'Hara signed with Disney Fine Art two years ago to paint "Beauty and the Beast"-inspired art. She also starred in Las Vegas' long-running "Menopause the Musical."