Disney Was Failing, Then It Finally Decided To Break Walt’s Rule

Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, recently shared that a surprise press tour made her realize just how much was riding on The Little Mermaid (1989), and how permanently the animated film would change Disney forever.

The Disney Legend appeared on a spotlight panel at C2E2 in Chicago over the weekend, reflecting on everything from the film’s production to its 2023 live-action remake, and the deeply personal ways it has resonated with LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent fans across generations.

A Studio With Everything to Prove

When Benson stepped into the recording booth as Ariel, she had no idea she was helping rescue a studio on the brink. The animation department had been moved off the main lot, something she noticed firsthand during visits with animators Glen Keane and Mark Henn.

“When we started working on Mermaid, we didn’t have an idea of where the studio was,” Benson said. “I did know that all the animators were moved off the lot because when I would go and meet Glen Keane and Mark Henn, they were in trailers on Flower Street in Burbank, so I did know that when the animation department was moved off the lot, that this was kind of…There was a lot riding on our film.”

Breaking Walt’s Golden Rule

Walt Disney had long upheld a policy of keeping voice actors anonymous, stretching back to classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), so Benson initially expected to stay out of the spotlight.

“We were going to remain anonymous so that no one would know we were involved with it,” she explained. “So I didn’t feel that sheer weight because I knew no one would know who I was, so I didn’t have to bear that responsibility. But in September, I got a call to go on a press tour for 22 cities in 20 days to represent the film, and that’s when we knew something was changing…Walt’s design was to always maintain anonymity for the voices…That’s the way it was going to be until our film was just about to come out.”

The momentum only grew from there.

“In November, we started to get a sense that something was different about this,” she continued. “It was by Christmastime that we realized that it was going to change the face of animation forever, and this was our second golden age of animation. And at that point, my life took a whole different turn…something I never expected.”

That pivot proved to be the launch of the Disney Renaissance: a ten-year creative boom that produced Beauty and the Beast (1991), Hercules (1997), The Lion King (1994), and more, with Tarzan (1999) widely considered the era’s final landmark film.

Passing the Torch to Halle Bailey

Benson spoke warmly about her involvement in the 2023 live-action remake, in which she made a cameo as a market vendor — handing Bailey’s Ariel a fork, or as fans know it, a “dinglehopper” — a symbolic passing of the torch to the film’s new lead.

Getting to that moment wasn’t simple. The production was filmed in the U.K. during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Benson spent more than a month in quarantine just to appear on screen for a few seconds. The cast also endured typhoon-strength storms and freezing conditions while shooting what was supposed to look like a sun-soaked Caribbean beach.

“It was the craziest experience,” Benson said. “…I was locked down, and I was tested every day. I was allowed to go outside the hotel to walk Hyde Park for two hours a day to get fresh air and then lock back into my hotel…They patrolled and made sure that I stayed either in my room or outside at Hyde Park. I never broke the rules. I obeyed.”

Still, she had nothing but love for Bailey and the production.

“In July of 2019, I got an email from my friends, who happened to be the director and the producer, Rob Marshall and John DeLuca, for our live-action Mermaid,” Benson recalled. “With our casting of Halle, I was over-the-moon thrilled…I was all on board…She’s so sweet, and the whole cast is so talented.”

Finding Your Voice

Benson also spoke about the film’s lasting impact on LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent communities — groups who have long identified with Ariel’s longing to be understood.

“The beautiful [LGBTQIA+] community really made that connection, and for me to be able to connect with them, I would say probably in the mid-90s, where there was the freedom to be able to be heard, and to express yourself, and to find your voice,” Benson recalled. “I was in the business during our AIDS crisis, and of course have lost many friends and family, so that was always kind of hush-hush, kept every quiet, which never really made any sense to me…It was just kind of forbidden and quiet, which was horrible.”

She described the messages and personal encounters she’s had with fans over the years:

“Every encounter that I have, so many in that beautiful community, that share their story with me, whether it’s through a direct message or in person, just really touches my heart, the fact that they can feel seen, heard, valued, and loved.”

Benson closed the panel with a live performance of “Part of Your World” — phones away, by her request — leaving few dry eyes in the room.

What do you think of what Jodi Benson had to say about The Little Mermaid? Disney Dining would love to hear from you in the comments!