Quotes from Jodi Benson

I have a studio at my house, and there is a sister studio for Disney which is about 45 minutes away, and we haven't dropped a beat. In the art of animation and voiceover work, you can pretty much work from anywhere.

I think God must have had something in mind for me that was not on my radar when I first started out in New York. Back then, doing animated voices meant your career was done - it was looked down upon.

What we try to do at Disney and through Disney character voices is really maintain the integrity of our classic characters at all costs. So Ariel needs to be me for every project, and if there are any other Ariels floating around out there, it's not necessarily Disney.

I can't sing, perform, do anything apart from Christ. I have no power or strength of my own.

I am blessed to perform in the studio and on the concert stage.

I want to live outside of the box, and I definitely don't want to put God in a box, so I want to be able to dream big and kind of let that go of my small-mindedness.

I grew up with 'Cinderella.' So that was my go-to Disney film, definitely. It was princess-related, and coming from a smaller area in Illinois and wanting to do something greater than myself in Broadway, that was a film that I could really relate to.

I think God calls and encourages us to dream big, but sometimes we put God in a box in a very small way, when God wants us to look outside the box.

For me, I was able to make that statement of faith early on when my career began, so there weren't really a lot of surprises. People around me knew where my husband Ray and I stood as far as my faith went.

Anything that has to do with Disney and Pixar, I am on board with. That is where my heart and family are. So when they call, I jump.

I am a follower of Jesus. My husband really brought me to the Lord when I was 18 and I am so lucky to have a platform through the studio.

I love working with talented young performers.

I love working for Disney! They are my family.

Connecting with the kids is a great joy for me. I love meeting them backstage or at a signing event. I am overwhelmed when I meet kids who struggle with terminal illnesses.

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job, experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving.

I pretty much came out of the womb singing. I think I sang all the time.

My husband has a gift for reaching out to people in need. I always look over and see him connecting to someone who needs to talk or needs some support.

I homeschool, so the start of the day is reading Bible scripture, memorization, and prayer.

Homeschooling has given us some wonderful flexibility and some great life experiences, especially with our son.

I was the original voice of Mattel's Barbie for an '80s claymation workout video.

I really like worship music. It settles my soul. Gets me back on track. The lyrics are almost like a prayer, so it's my go-to.

I remember when John Lasseter called me back in the late 1990s to personally invite me to come be the voice of Barbie in 'Toy Story 2.'

We had put our son into a little preschool in Los Angeles, and it was just not going well, so we brought him back home. We had every intention of putting him back into a traditional school setting, but we just really couldn't find the right match for him. And then we moved to Georgia and again couldn't find the right match.

Ever since the kids were babies, we have treated them with respect. We are the mom and dad for sure, but we look for opportunities for us to sit down and say, 'How are things going for you? Is there anything that we can do as parents to help you? Let's all come up with a solution together.' We work better as a team.