LITTLE MERMAID Jodi Benson Panel – Baltimore Comic Con 2022

a heart in 25 seconds." I think that's not going to happen. I'm just going to let you know right now that that's not going to happen and that morning I had prayed and I had this

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Post-It note and God brought like 50 names to my mind and I just wrote their names and that's what I said when I came out was that I'm a proud member of the Disney cast, but I can't stand on this stage and receive this award without recognizing all of these people who made it possible for me to be here. today, so that was the most comfortable way for me to accept something that I actually still have bosses of mine that haven't received it and I know they will but I just felt like it was hard for me to accept it before the people I worked for got the yours, so I'm very honored and it's a great gift, so when did you know that we're going to ask questions?

So think. Really, you're going to ask questions, so think of some really good ones. When did you know that this Is it what you wanted to do with your life? Yeah, I started singing probably when I was three or four, my mom said. and I was probably eight years old when I told him that I would really like to sing, dance, act and make a living to pay my bills. I didn't want to be famous and I didn't want to be rich. I just wanted to do this for the rest of my life, I had never seen a Broadway show.

He probably hadn't seen any local community theater at the time, so I don't really know where he came up with this idea for I Want to Sing and Dance. and acting, but that has been my passion since I was eight years old and I can honestly say that I am very old, so I can say for all these years that I have only worked in the industry doing what I absolutely love, so I feel very very blessed, well we're glad you made that decision, let's have some questions, I'm sure you have very good questions, amazing generations and more recently, before, yes, I'm curious what an experience it is, yes, yes, we had a lot of fun, so your question is basically you.

I've been able to express Ariel for 35 years in all these different areas, areas, movies, games and ancillary products. You know how that evolves and how it happens, so my answer is that my job is to allow you to remember where you were. The first time you saw the movie and the first time you heard the song. So my job is to maintain the integrity of the character. The originality of the character. Loyalty to her. I am very protective of her. I know her better than anyone besides me. two animators Glenn and Mark Markhen and Glenn Keane, so we're very protective of her and for Disney that's my job, my job is to keep her stable and not waver or shift too much to the left or right. so for any and all ancillary products, you know, last week I was doing a game and now I'm doing all of our Christmas products that I'm recording next week, I'll be recording stuff for the park, so every time you hear She is me and my job is to make sure she can trigger the memory of the original movie in you.

I mean, that's what I need to do for that, so when we like when we did the original, she was 16 when To do the sequel, she's a young mother with Tara as Melody, so I had to make sure to make her older. a

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bit and then when we did the next one, the beginning of Ariel, she starts to be 14 years old. So my job is to make sure I take those couple of years off, so that's really believable, yeah, it's a big question, yeah, but I'm in the studio all the time, she's my full-time character.

I do other characters for other companies, as well as ours as my company with Disney, but Ariel is my girl, yes, I love her, I love her, she is an incredible character. I'll let you call people because I can't choose, okay, the blue one, yeah, I have those same ears. I wore them to work on Mondays and Tuesdays, yes, I love it. I don't think we have them in the parks anymore. I think we replaced them and updated them with new off-white ones with pearls that I didn't buy but will come back to later. week to work, so I'm going to pick up that pair Barbie is in again, amazing and very strange story.

I didn't even audition for it. I got a call from my agent saying, "You know, Pixar is making Toy Story 2." and they would like you to be the voice of Barbie and I said, well, I would love to come and audition. They said no, it's not necessary, you already got the job. I say, well, how is that possible? that's weird um and they said well you heard Ariel and you know Barbie lives there somewhere. I'm like, okay, so right after Mermaid came out, this was kind of fun, so I'm in the recording studio for Toy Story. 2.

And I'm there with the directors and the producers and they bring in a box of Barbie dolls and they were all clothed, not naked, which when I grew up there, half of my Barbies were naked because it was impossible. to put those shoes and clothes on them, but this was a box of Barbie clothes that we ended up playing with to create her voice, so we came up with the voice, they're happy with it. I'm starting to record and the executive comes in. from Mattel she's in a suit, she's very stern, she doesn't smile, so she walks in and they say this is the executive from The Tell and she needs to have a conversation with you.

I'm like, yeah, ma'am, okay, so I'm a little stressed and she's like, Let me explain something to you: at Mattel we've never allowed Barbie to have a voice and this is very important. Well, remember that Pixar had invited Mattel to have Barbie be part of the original but they said oh no that's Barbie Barbie alone is not going to be in a movie with other characters because this is the iconic Barbie and then they saw the ticket sales hahaha and They saw what a huge hit Toy Story was and then suddenly Toy Story 2 came out and Mattel was like, well, we're okay with that, so she makes this whole speech and basically says, Get it?

And I say, yes, ma'am, and then slowly. I raised my hand and she said yes and I told her I didn't mean to be disrespectful at all but I just did your claymation training video last year as the voice of Barbie and she looked at me like I had four eyes I want I mean, she literally. She looked at me and turned white. She's like what I said. I was actually Barbie's first voice on a different project. Would you like that voice for this movie so it sounds the same? Needless to say, no one at Pixar knew that. um I don't even have it, it's a VHS workout video um, like a Barbie claymation box, she's like, you know, hey, everyone, let's work out, you know, I mean, she's like that, so yeah You got it, it's hysterical, you can find it on YouTube and I.

I think there's a couple of, I mean, a couple of stars that are dancing in it when they were kids, you know, back in '89 or whatever, but um, yeah, that's my Barbie journey again, like the thing stranger, but we had It's so much fun to play with these Barbie dolls every day and make that up and of course that script isn't really a script. I mean, a lot of it is improvised by the directors on the spot, so all the outtakes at the end. That's all improvised by the producers and directors and we're having fun playing in the studio, so we're having a great time, that's great.

Come back here, this silver, everything possible, yes, yes, that's great, he said, did you ever guess in a million years that all the Disney princesses would be together on the album Ralph Yes, we actually recorded all of us for separate, but we reunited for the preview at d23 and we reunited for our Red Carpet Premier at El Capitan in Hollywood, we still have We didn't meet everyone ever, not everyone, that hasn't happened yet, we missed a couple at d23 and I think that we didn't have three of us, three of us were missing from the premiere, but that was really a smart project because we had to get each of us out of our Kingdoms from our movies, but we had to maintain the integrity of the character, it was really important and when you do that, that's where the comedy comes in, I mean, because of course Ariel talks about it. you know what this thing is called, it's a shirt, I mean, she never had a shirt, but we had to make sure that each character could be taken out of their world, no pun intended, but taken out of their world, but still keeping who are they.

You don't make fun of them or make fun of them, but you make them real and genuine, and that's where the humor comes from. You know, when you have Merida come in and do everything and then you have Anna saying that she's from the other studio. because we're all like what she just said, but you know, we read it brilliantly written. I think it was a very fun and funny scene, everything the princesses did in that movie, but you know, we had to stop. And to think this is a huge leap for the guest to be able to see us all backstage in a dressing room still being who we are, but together it was complicated and I think there was a little anxiety about how this is going to be. received so it was important that we didn't make fun of them or make fun of ourselves making fun of the different nuances that each of us had um but it was a very fun project to work on very fun I still see Maleficent friend Maleficent she I got to my table and just dissected his costume, right?

I was wondering where you got this from and what this is like and I can, oh, how come your head is so heavy? And then she told me about her dress and then she added the lace and she added the feathers and it was so fabulous this costume that she reconstructed and put together. I'm so awesome and I see Ariel right next to you. Hey girl, you look amazing. Do you have a queue and everything comes? Get up, I want to see you, oh my God, look at your hair, come on, Hallie will love it. Come on, you look beautiful.

I really want to see the whole thing because it's just stunning and how excited we are for the movie, huh? We are excited, you look absolutely beautiful and she looks at her bag, she has the flounder bag. Listen, we're very excited about our live-action movie. Thank you so much for standing up and your hair is stunning. Yes, we are Beyond Robbie, uh, Robbie and John Robbie. Marshall is director John DeLuca, her husband, they are both producers, so Robbie and I have been friends for 43 years and I couldn't be more excited about what Robbie and John have created in this film.

I have had many previews and listens and I am very excited, our cast is brilliant, every one of them you will be amazed by the glorious visuals of this film and the performances of Robbie and John and this incredible cast of characters. We are really excited. Everyone go see it, we're doing great right here. I love it when we point and then someone says what's going on and we say: no, you don't care until that point and it was 30 years, yeah. They got the job, how did they get there, Consultants? You mean the new princesses are joining our club or you're talking about Ariel, right?

Yes, I see what you're saying. You're asking about our Disney princesses journey as we begin with Snow White sleeping. The Beautiful Cinderella in 1961, I think 1961-57 and then we jump to Ariel um and I had no idea that she was going to be in this long line of glorious ladies and what that was going to mean. Really new to the whole experience and we had a big jump between Sleeping Beauty and Ariel, we really did and I think in the beginning you know there's a little bit of how this is going to go. She's a little rebellious, she has a you.

I know some challenges with her father at times with her independence and her fiery spirit and her tenacity, but she's also incredibly loving and curious and cheerful and independent and you know, living outside the box, um, but it was a natural progression and because 30 The years have passed between those two, there will be a big leap, but now, from Ariel and to our new princess of Raya, we have just seen our princesses grow in leadership and independence, strength and power, how are they? on their own, I mean, it's really a beautiful trip to see our Disney Princesses and, you know, I'm honored to be in our club.

I really am, it's great, the green shirt, oh the night before last, her legacy awards at Disney World, yeah, right. They are speaking for our company um every two years we have what is called Disney Legacy Awards, we have them at Walt Disney World and we have them at Disneyland and with the pandemic we had been delayed a little, but I have been the surprise guest of the last two in Walt Disney World and the last one at Disneyland is a very special award and you receive it as a cast member when you are nominated, voted for and supported by your colleagues, your coworkers and your peers. cast members, it is a great honor to have you change your name tag from white to blue, so every time you see a blue name tag in any of our parks, you will know that you are a Disney Legacy Award winner, you are there to dream, They are there to create and they are there to inspire and it is a wonderful celebration.

We had close to 500 recipients the night before last when I did the concert at Walt Disney World in the Fantasia Ballroom at the Contemporary near Magic Kingdom and it's a really special night to honor our cast members. because they are the ones creating the magic, so yeah, it was a really special night, one of my favorite things to be a part of. Let's go over, you know, yeah, that's Valenti, she said she knows a lot of people have grown up. up looking towards Ariel and having that relationshipspecial and what princess I grew up with and I grew up with Cinderella, yes, Cinderella's dress and Ariel on top, there it goes, yes, it's mixing them up, but I loved Cinderella.

I loved her story. from a smaller town in Illinois and just wanted to dream big and think outside the box. I could really relate to her because I wanted a completely different experience than what I was having. I love music. I love magic. I used to watch Walt Disney. on sunday night the wonderful world of disney and when i was born it was black and white it was amazing seeing tinkerbell with walt and then when the color came oh my god you know the world exploded just an amazing show on sunday night i used to look forward to it, so yeah.

Cinderella, she was my girl growing up, that's amazing here, yeah, he's asking if you miss watching The Wonderful World of Disney, right, yeah, he was saying, Do you miss watching The Wonderful World? Disney World? And I miss Walt, you know we miss, we miss hearing his voice. I miss seeing him on Sunday night because he really is Disney, I mean, he's Walt Disney, but he's also the magic of why what we love about our company comes from him. I miss him so desperately, um, the shirt here, the black one. shirt, you look, yes, um, yes, she was asking in addition to expressing Ariel, are there other princesses?

Actually, you know I love all princesses. um for a specific creative project for Disney when I started with the company, I had been asked to voice Sleeping Beauty again. for a test project, it was a lot of fun, it's called additional dialogue recording ADR, it's where you look at the screen and the beeps go off and they bring out Mary Costa's voice and they put my voice on me imitating Mary, it was a test for you. I know how we can do this and replace other voices as needed, so I did Sleeping Beauty. I love Anna and Elsa.

I love singing that music and concerts. Yes, I love you all. I love you all. They are great. Let's go with our ears. um so she says when you're in the car what kind of music do you listen to and here's my answer and I know it's very strange when I'm alone in the car it's quiet I enjoy the silence I travel a lot um I I travel a lot and I'm only home a couple of days and between my husband and adult children and catching up with friends. I have those minutes in the car where it's quiet and it's a great moment for me.

I can usually pray and talk out loud to God, that's what I do, but as a family we listen to pretty much anything and then of course once the holidays start. It's Christmas music all the time, which we love, okay, we gotta finish this. upstairs because we have a very special deal uh yeah for you you have your questions I tell you what if I'm going to be at my table until six and then I'll be at my table all day tomorrow if you want to come I sign up for an autograph, a video, a photo or whatever.

Wait for your questions and you can share them with me. Then it would be great. Thank you so much for having me, so I just want to say that Disney is very lucky. I have an ambassador, oh and you, because you just are, I appreciate Chris being so sweet, thank you, so thank you, here you go, you're going to love this, so, yeah, I like it when it comes to content, no I know if I'm going to stand up if I get up that's going to damage the camera no, it's okay to get up with the camera okay? okay, sorry, let me do my lawn here for a second, um, yeah, when I do these wonderful conventions and I get so you know meet with all of you.

I like to share our song, not necessarily because I want you to hear me sing and know that I need to sing. I do it because you are the audience that cares about being liked. You are the reason why we. Everything you know is here because you are wonderful fans and wonderful guests who enjoy our movies and enjoy our characters and we really appreciate it, so I like to share some singing because it's an opportunity for all of you to have that trigger, that memory from where you were who you were with what you were wearing you know it's a beautiful special memory for you um okay so I haven't had a sound check so I might listen to the track for a second oh oh there they are. there I just want to listen a little so I can see that you are part of my sound check, it is not that easy.

We are very professional here, well you guys were already in the room, so when I came because I was late, so anyway, anyway, yeah, so I'll share it here, come on, it's not here, yeah, I'm happy to do it. Look at things, isn't it great? Don't you think my collection is complete? Don't you think? the girl the girl who likes everything oh look at this hidden treasure, untold how many wonders a cave can contain looking around here you think she has everything I have gadgets and gizmos a plane I have who it is and what's in abundance I want thingamabobs I'm 20 but who cares it's not a big deal I want my foreigner let's look forward to the camp where they walk to where they run where they stay all day if I could live off these daughters but young women look for a sewing ready to stand up and go to find out what the people who ask my questions and get some answers know.

Who wishes they could be a part of that. Thank you very much for inviting me today. I'll see you at my table. Thank you. Hello, I'm Alex Malare Jr and you. you're watching Phantom Spotlight, make sure to hit the like, share and subscribe button. Your Emperor orders it, thank you for watching the foreigner.