<Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> As Disney heroines go, Belle was an iconoclast . Her strong - willed, independent personality feels invigorating in a medium where most damsels are in distress . That was definitely true 20 years ago when Beauty was released, and it's still half - true today . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="3">--Boxoffice's Todd Gilchrist explaining the way in which Belle altered Disney heroines for the 20th and 21st centuries . </Td> </Tr> <P> Belle is considered to be among Disney's most beloved animated heroines . According to Scott Huver of People, the character's "popularity remains a force to be reckoned with" even 25 years after the film's release . Belle was the only animated heroine nominated for the American Film Institute's greatest heroes in film ranking; only eight women were included on the final list . CNN ranked Belle among "Merida and other animated heroines", a list recognizing some of Disney's greatest heroines . According to the Daily Mirror, Belle is Disney's second most iconic character, behind only Mickey and Minnie Mouse, describing her as a "portrait of bravery, teaching us to look beyond appearances and stand up for what we believe in ." Meanwhile, PopMatters ranked Belle Disney's second best hero . Considered to be both a sex symbol and fashion icon, Belle has garnered accolades for both her appearance and costumes . The character was ranked 64th on UGO's list of the most attractive female cartoon characters, while being ranked 14th on Complex's "25 Hottest Cartoon Women of All Time". E! ranked Belle the second best - dressed Disney Princess, crowning her "the most couture of all the Disney princesses ." Author Emily Popp went on to praise the character's ballgown for being "off the Oscar de la Renta runway," while Vogue included it among the "Most Famous Dresses", with author Sarah Karmali dubbing it "One of the most instantly recognizable dresses in Disney history ." Revered as iconic, the dress is currently among the most famous in film history 25 years after its debut . Belle appeared on BuzzFeed's "Definitive Ranking Of 72 Disney Princess Outfits" four times, ranking the character's green, blue, pink and yellow dresses 51st, 37th, 31st and 15th, respectively . Similarly, Belle's blue, pink, yellow and green costumes were ranked 18th, 10th, ninth and fourth by Official Disney Blogs, whose author believes that the character's ballgown "went down in the history books ." Belle appeared on Stylist's list of the "Best beauty looks in Disney" twice, both for the character's hairstyles . Entertainment Weekly ranked Belle's hair fifth in the magazine's "Disney Princesses: Ranking Their Hairdos--and Don'ts!" </P> <P> Belle helped establish Woolverton as a "legendary screenwriter"; the writer continues to be commended for her dedication to creating strong female characters; ever since Belle, the majority of Woolverton's female characters have been headstrong, independent women, namely Nala in The Lion King (1994), Mulan in Mulan (1998), Alice in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Maleficent in Maleficent (2014). Susan Wloszczyna of Indiewire wrote that "Woolverton set a new standard for fully fleshed - out fairy - tale heroines...with Belle", in turn paving the way for The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen, and Frozen's Anna and Elsa (2013). Woolverton remains protective of Belle, explaining, "(she) was my first - born child, so there's a little bit of possessiveness, which really I had to let it go". Beauty and the Beast, Belle performs the film's opening number, "Belle", which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992 . In 1998, O'Hara was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production for reprising her role as Belle in the second of Beauty and the Beast's three direct - to - video sequels, Belle's Magical World . To commemorate her work on Beauty and the Beast and various contributions to Disney, O'Hara was honored with a Disney Legends award on August 19, 2011 . Disney hired Spanish actress Penélope Cruz to pose as Belle in photographer Annie Leibovitz's Disney Dream Portrait Series, while actor Jeff Bridges posed as the Beast . The Daily Mail described the image as Cruz "wearing Belle's gorgeous yellow gown and being lifted high into the air by her prince," accompanied by the phrase "Where a moment of beauty lasts forever ." </P>

Belle's middle name from beauty and the beast