“I always dreamed of being a voice in a Disney movie, but even in those dreams, I never once dreamed of being a princess. I just wanted to be a voice.” —Anika Noni Rose

Walt once admitted to Ilene she was his favorite of the Disney heroines. She recalled, “Once I went into his office and he said to me, ‘You’re my favorite heroine, you know.’ I said, ‘You mean Cinderella?’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘there’s something about that story I associate with.’

“I was talking to some third graders… A little boy raised his hand and asked, ‘How do you hold your breath that long under water?’ You see, the magic is what they want to hold onto—and that brings me tremendous joy.” —Jodi Benson

“The challenge in doing these songs is to capture all of their feelings and emotions in just a few minutes. You’ve got to remember that moment will last forever and ever on film, and you have to really do your best in that one shot.” —Lea Salonga

“I think being the voice of Princess Jasmine has given me an extra advantage in getting some of the jobs I’ve had—although sometimes they find out about me being Princess Jasmine after they’ve hired me, and that’s always fun!” —Linda Larkin

“I ended up auditioning five times for Belle, but from the very beginning I felt very confident, because I knew this was my part. It was just one of those things you know.” —Paige O’Hara

“At the time, Pinocchio was just a job. Who knew it would turn out to be the classic that it is today? I count my lucky stars that I had a part in it.”—Disney Legend Dickie Jones

“His casting as the voice of Jiminy Cricket has granted him a kind of immortality; what man, woman or child hasn’t heard him sing ‘When You Wish Upon a Star?’”—Leonard Maltin

The lyric soprano, with an agile coloratura range, won the role of Sleeping Beauty; her graceful voice helped make “I Wonder” and “Once Upon A Dream” Disney music classics.