Belle is a fictional character in Disney's Beauty and the Beast franchise, first appearing in the 1991 animated film of the same name. Voiced by actress and singer Paige O'Hara, Belle is the book-loving daughter of an inventor, who yearns for adventure. When her father, Maurice, is imprisoned by an unkind beast in his enchanted castle, Belle offers her own freedom in exchange for his. Despite his outward appearance, she gradually befriends the Beast, who softens towards her and others in return.

Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg commissioned Beauty and the Beast as an animated musical with a strong heroine, for which he hired first-time screenwriter Linda Woolverton. Basing her on the heroine of the fairy tale of the same name, Woolverton adapted Belle into a more proactive character for the film, deliberately conceiving her as a feminist to curtail criticisms Disney had long received for purportedly portraying female characters as victims. Inspired by the women's rights movement and actress Katharine Hepburn's performance in the film Little Women (1933), Woolverton created Belle as a unique departure from previous Disney heroines, particularly The Little Mermaid's Ariel. However, some story artists often contested Woolverton's liberated vision for the character. Animated by James Baxter and Mark Henn, the former of whom based the character's graceful gait on those of impressionist Edgar Degas' ballerinas, Belle's European facial features were inspired by those of British actresses Vivien Leigh and Audrey Hepburn. Several additional Hollywood actresses inspired Belle's appearance, including Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor, and Grace Kelly. Disney auditioned 500 candidates for the role, before casting O'Hara based on her mature-sounding voice and Broadway experience.

Belle has garnered widespread acclaim from film critics who appreciated the character's bravery, intelligence, and independence. Reception towards her feminism, however, has been more mixed, with commentators accusing the character's actions of being romance-oriented. The fifth Disney Princess, Belle is often ranked among the franchise's best members. Highly regarded as one of Disney's strongest examples of a feminist character, critics agree that Belle helped spearhead a generation of independent film heroines while changing the reputation of a Disney princess. Also one of Disney's most iconic characters, Belle was the only animated heroine nominated for the American Film Institute's greatest heroes in film ranking. The character also appears in the film's several sequels and spin-offs, as well as her own live-action television series. American actress Susan Egan originated the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Emma Watson played Belle in the 2017 live-action adaptation of the film.

Following the success of Disney's first feature-length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney himself had attempted to adapt the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale into one of the studio's earliest animated films several times, notably during the 1930s and 1950s. The project was repeatedly shelved due to the fairy tale's "static" main characters and plot, with Walt Disney expressing particular concern over depicting Belle's imprisonment. Inspired by the success of 1989's The Little Mermaid, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg green-lit another attempt at adapting the fairy tale under director Richard Purdum. However, Katzenberg was dissatisfied with Purdum's dark, somber interpretation, and ultimately ordered that it be completely reworked into a musical film starring a strong heroine, similar to The Little Mermaid. Largely in retaliation to critics' negative response towards The Little Mermaid's Ariel regarding her overall character and motivations, Disney opted for a "feminist twist" on the original Beauty and the Beast story, with Katzenberg hiring first-time screenwriter Linda Woolverton to write its screenplay.

Disney traditionally portrayed its female characters as victims prior to Beauty and the Beast, with Belle's lack of empowerment in earlier drafts of the film proving contentious among its writers. While the studio wanted Beauty and the Beast to resemble an old-fashioned film, the writers envisioned Belle as "a woman that was ahead of her time". As the first woman to write a feature-length animated film for Disney, Woolverton decided to use Belle as an opportunity to create a female character who would ultimately be better received than Disney's previous animated heroines, specially Ariel. Aware of the task's daunting nature due to the mermaid's popularity, Woolverton fought relentlessly to create "a new kind of Disney heroine". Inspired by the women's rights movement Woolverton herself had experienced, the screenwriter conceived Belle as a headstrong feminist to avoid creating another "insipid" Disney princess. Woolverton strongly believed contemporary audiences would not identify with Belle unless she was updated appropriately, and thus evolved the character into "a woman of the '90s". Refusing to watch Jean Cocteau's 1946 film adaptation of the fairy tale, Woolverton instead based Belle on actress Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Jo March in the 1933 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's book Little Women. Similarly, story artist Brenda Chapman drew influence from Hepburn's on-screen bickering with actor Spencer Tracy for certain scenes with the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast's story department was predominantly male. Woolverton often argued with the more traditional story artists over Belle's role and personality, but continued to be supported by Katzenberg and lyricist Howard Ashman, the latter of whom also lobbied for "a thinker and a reader" who "wasn't a victim". Woolverton claims the story team challenged virtually everything she wrote for the character, on one occasion replacing what Woolverton had scripted as Belle indicating where she wishes to travel on a map with the character baking a cake. Arguing that the liberated Belle would not even know how to bake, Woolverton compromised by having the character read a book instead, which ironically some writers considered too passive an activity. To resolve this, Woolverton ultimately scripted Belle walking while reading, an activity in which she herself partook in as a child. Despite constant re-writes she found "regressive", Woolverton's overall vision for Belle generally remained intact.

In the original fairy tale, Belle has two selfish sisters who have their own love interests, all of whom Woolverton omitted to focus on Belle's dynamic with Gaston. The writer also eliminated the subplot surrounding Belle asking her father for a rose. Supporting characters from Purdum's treatment, such as Belle's younger sister Clarice and cruel Aunt Marguerite, were also discarded, the former to emphasize Belle's loneliness, and the latter replaced by Gaston as the film's villain. In Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's fairy tale, Belle is essentially forced to replace her father as the Beast's prisoner. To emphasize the character's independence, Woolverton re-wrote Belle to willingly venture to the castle in search of her father, where she confronts the Beast and ultimately trades her own freedom in return for Maurice's. To demonstrate that the character is not perfect, Woolverton described "a little wisp of hair that keeps falling in her face," which was the only direction she used to describe Belle's physical appearance. During Gaston's climactic fight with the Beast, the character's line "Time to die!", which had already been animated, was changed to "Belle is mine!" to refocus the story on Belle.

Disney auditioned approximately 500 actresses for the role of Belle. They originally considered re-hiring Ariel's voice actress Jodi Benson, but ultimately decided she sounded too young and American for the character they had created. The filmmakers wanted Belle to sound closer to a woman than a girl, citing actress Judy Garland as an inspiration. Actress and singer Paige O'Hara was performing on Broadway when she first read about Disney's then-upcoming animated film Beauty and the Beast in The New York Times. O'Hara immediately booked an audition once she learned the studio was recruiting Broadway talent for its female lead. Familiar with O'Hara's work in the Broadway musical Show Boat, Ashman had already been considering her for the role. O'Hara auditioned five times over the span of two weeks, first solely for casting director Albert Taveres. For her next two auditions, she mailed recordings of herself singing "Heaven Help My Heart" from the musical Chess to Disney in Los Angeles. At her first in-person audition, O'Hara originally spoke and sang in a higher register to mimic Snow White, but the filmmaker's preferred her natural voice. In addition to Katzenberg and Ashman, O'Hara's last few auditions were attended by directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, producer Don Hahn, and composer Alan Menken. The songwriters initially listened with their eyes closed to avoid being influenced by her physical appearance. An hour after her fifth and final audition, Disney telephoned O'Hara to inform her she had been cast, which coincidentally occurred on her birthday. The actress was fairly confident she had been cast before it was official, for which she credits Ashman.

Already 30 years-old by her audition, O'Hara naturally imbued Belle's voice with maturity despite her character's young age, reflecting Woolverton's vision. In addition to sharing Belle's love of reading, O'Hara empathized with her character being ostracized by her peers due to her unconventional interests, explaining, "I was into musical theater ... while people were going to Led Zeppelin concerts ... I had a one-track mind, and I think that Belle was like that a lot". The actress worked on the film on-and-off for over two years, and completed the entire script during her first day of recording. She identified the scene where Belle is gifted the Beast's library among the fastest she recorded due to her own love of books, "so all I had to imagine was that my husband gave me that library".

She initially found it challenging to soften her voice during recording sessions due to having been trained to project as a stage performer. Despite its costliness, O'Hara and actor Robby Benson, voice of the Beast, were granted permission from Disney to record in the same booth as opposed to separately, becoming some of the few voice actors to do so for Disney. O'Hara credited these intimate recording sessions with helping Belle and the Beast's relationship sound more convincing. Although the actress would occasionally ad-lib per the directors' encouragement, none of her improvisation was included in the final film. Despite her successful stage career, O'Hara was virtually unknown to Hollywood when she was cast in Beauty and the Beast; she was one of the last obscure actors to be cast in a feature-length Disney animated film before the studio began casting better-known talent in subsequent animated projects.

Since the film's 1991 release, O'Hara has reprised the role in a variety of follow-up films, tie-in media, and merchandise, including its direct-to-video sequels Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Belle's Magical World (1998), and Belle's Tales of Friendship (1999). Additionally, O'Hara performed the song "Belle" at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992, where it had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2012, O'Hara described Disney as her "main employer for 20 years". In 2011, O'Hara was officially replaced by actress Julie Nathanson, who first voiced Belle in the video game Kinect: Disneyland Adventures (2011). O'Hara revealed to the that news of her replacement greatly upset her to the point that she re-recorded much of Belle's dialogue to prove she is still capable of voicing the character. She did admit, however, that maintaining the proper pitch required more effort compared to 20 years ago. Regardless, she voiced Belle again in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet, as well as the 2023 short Once Upon a Studio.

According to producer Don Hahn, Beaumont's Belle is an "incredibly passive" character, the personality of whom he likened to those of Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Cinderella, as well as American actress Doris Day, describing them as women who are "capable, but filling a role that women might fill in the 1950s and 1960s". The filmmakers painstakingly reworked Belle into a more three-dimensional character by providing her with goals and aspirations beyond romance and marriage, while expanding her passive role into that of a more inquisitive heroine. Determined to have Belle resemble "an unusual Disney heroine", Woolverton deliberately molded her into an independent character who is not a princess, enjoys books and has little interest in marriage, and worked closely with Ashman to create a proactive heroine "who was a thinker and a reader and she wasn't about what she looked like and she wasn't a victim". Although Belle being well-read is mentioned in the original fairy tale, it is hardly important to its plot. Thus, Belle's passion for reading was vastly expanded upon, borrowing from both the Little Women character Jo March and Woolverton's own love of reading to further demonstrate the character's intelligence and open mind.

Both Woolverton and O'Hara encouraged the filmmakers to emphasize the intelligent and book-loving aspects of Belle's personality. However, at times the animators struggled to fulfill Woolverton's vision. Originally, Belle was depicted constantly crying throughout her imprisonment; Woolverton resented this, arguing that the character was much more likely to be either searching for an escape or simply "be intrigued that she was living in an enchanted castle" than crying. "Once everybody realized she wasn't going to be this typical Disney female, they would go to the extreme ... She became bitchy"; the screenwriter argued that Belle would be "too smart" to act this way. O'Hara considers Belle to be the first Disney heroine of her kind in many ways, being not actively searching for romance, seeking adventure, older, liberated, and very intelligent.

A few years older than The Little Mermaid's Ariel, Belle's love of reading makes the character more worldly and mature than her predecessor. Belle is believed by Henn to be "probably" the oldest of Disney's princesses. Although multiple sources have claimed over the years that the character is 17, Henn estimated Belle to be in her early 20's. In an interview for Vanity Fair, Paige O'Hara stated to believe that Belle was the only Disney princess to be in her 20's. The official Disney Princesses (which Belle is part of), however, are estimated to be not older than 19, with Cinderella and Tiana being the oldest members in the official Disney Princesses lineup and franchise, being both estimated to be 19.

Belle's supervising animators were James Baxter and Mark Henn. Wanting Belle to look more European than Ariel, the animators drew her with fuller lips, narrower eyes, and darker eyebrows, all of which were inspired by British actress Vivien Leigh. Appearing more statuesque than traditional Disney princesses, Belle was also inspired by teen idols Jennie Garth and Alyssa Milano. Belle was also inspired by actress Judy Garland's role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Julie Andrews' performance as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965).

Belle was the second Disney heroine Henn worked on, after Ariel. He worked on specific scenes out of the studio's Florida division, and has since animated several Disney princesses since Beauty and the Beast. Henn observed that, unlike Ariel, Belle does not immediately fall in love; instead, "there's an actual relationship you see grow". Henn decorated his studio using photographs of famous women for reference, specifically classic Hollywood actresses Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn. Henn said Belle's appearance started to finalize once he heard O'Hara's voice for the first time, from which point they married her performance with the designs they had already been conceiving. O'Hara found herself intimated by the photographs of "all these beautiful women", but animator Lorna Cook reassured her that they would reference her own photo as well. While working on Beauty and the Beast, Henn hardly met O'Hara apart from rare occasions when he would travel to California for production meetings. Meanwhile, the animators dissuaded O'Hara from seeing drawings of the character until much later into production, encouraging the actress to simply let the animators draw her.

Baxter based Belle's animation on the sketches story artists Roger Allers and Brenda Chapman had already done for the character, deciding to draw Belle with a rounder face in addition to making her more European-looking. They decided the character should be a brunette, a hair color Disney had rarely used for their princesses since Snow White. Baxter studied the art of French impressionist Edgar Degas, a painter known for his ballerina portraits, whose work inspired the animator to incorporate "graceful, swan-like movements" into Belle's movement. Belle's ball gown was inspired by a costume Audrey Hepburn wore in the romantic comedy Roman Holiday (1953). Hahn and a team of male filmmakers designed the gown while consuming pizza and alcohol. Originally, the film's marketing department wanted the dress to be pink to cater to female audiences, but art director Brian McEntee lobbied for a gold dress to differentiate Belle from other Disney princesses. McEntee also suggested that Belle be the only character in her village wearing blue to emphasize that she is an outcast. The colors Belle wears throughout the film also mirror her emotions, blue being associated with sadness and loneliness. Blue was also used to symbolize Belle's goodness, while Gaston's red wardrobe represents evil.

Animators videotaped O'Hara's recording sessions to incorporate her mannerisms, expressions, and gestures into her character's design. O'Hara claims some of her family members immediately recognized her physical traits in Belle upon watching the film. Actress and writer Sherri Stoner served as the performance model for Belle, providing live-action reference for the animators. Belle's tendency to constantly brush her hair away from her face was inspired by both Stoner and O'Hara. The animators also borrowed from O'Hara's eyes, cheekbones, and eyebrows. O'Hara felt that Belle originally looked "too perfect", comparing her to actress Angelina Jolie. O'Hara initially feared children would not be able to relate to her until the animators made her appear less perfect. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Charles Solomon observed inconsistencies in Belle's appearance, stating, "The prettiest and liveliest Belle waltzes with Beast in his marble ballroom and weeps over his body before he's transformed into the Prince" while "The Belle who receives the library from Beast has wider-set eyes and a more prominent mouth than the noticeably slimmer Belle who sings 'Something There.'"

Woolverton created Belle as part of "her self-directed mandate to move women and girls forward." The Express-Times described the character as an intelligent young woman who "sings songs about reading and wanting to gain knowledge, rather than falling in love." Woolverton credits Belle's knowledge and love of books with providing the character with a "point of view of her life and that doesn't necessarily involve a man getting her there." One of the film's main themes, Belle is considered an outsider because her love of reading provides her with knowledge of the outside world as opposed to her "narrow-minded" village peers. Writing for Wired.com, Matt Blum dubbed Belle "the geekiest heroine of any Disney animated film", exemplified by an opening number that demonstrates just how much she does not fit in with her peers due to her intelligence and active imagination. Similarly, Boxoffice's Amy Nicholson coined the character "Disney's Smartest Heroine", while Rob Burch of The Hollywood News observed that the character "comes across as arrogant at times" because she "spends much of the first act complaining." In her book Sex, Love and Abuse: Discourses on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, author Sharon Hayes described Belle as "the quintessential beautiful young ingénue." Comparing Belle's personality to that of the princess in the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale "The Frog Prince", The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook author Jerry Griswold described the character as a similarly "feisty and outspoken" heroine. Writing for St. Francis Xavier University, Dawn Elizabeth England observed that Belle possesses equally as many traditionally feminine as she does masculine traits, citing her bravery, independence and assertiveness as masculine, and her sensitivity and fearfulness as feminine. According to Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era author Susan Jeffords, "Belle's credentials as heroine are established ... when she is the only one of the town's single women not to swoon over Gaston," while the character's love of reading is essentially manipulated "to mark her as better than the rest of the townspeople." Writing for The Statesman, David O'Connor cited Belle's intelligence and bibliophilia as "in stark opposition to the insensitive and significantly dim-witted Gaston." Critics continue to debate over whether Belle or the Beast is the film's protagonist. Susan Jeffords, author of Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era, felt that although Belle appears to be the protagonist in Beaumont's original fairy tale, the character becomes "less the focus of the narrative" in Disney's adaptation and more of a "mechanism for solving the Beast's 'dilemma.'" In her article "The Tangled Evolution of the Disney Princess," Noelle Buffam felt that Belle arrived just in time when Disney's heroines were "in a dire need for some change," awarding her "the red stamp of approval" for her intelligence and spirit.

Analyzing ways in which Disney's heroines have evolved over time due to "the approach to the characterization of the princesses chang[ing]" as the characters gradually transformed from passive young women into heroines who "had ambitions and desires aside from finding true love," critics often divide the Disney Princesses into three separate categories and rank Belle among the middle of the timeline, with Kit Steinkellner of HelloGiggles.com observing that the character improved upon "the Disney princess archetype" by simultaneously serving as both a "dreamer" and a "doer" in her film, as opposed to exclusively the former. Film historian Paula Sigman Lowery explained to the Daily Express that Belle's personality is a combination of Ariel's spirit and burgeoning independence, and Pocahontas' maturity, while Belle is "a little older [than Ariel] and a little further along in their journey towards independence." About.com's David Nusair believes that Belle belongs to a category of Disney Princesses known as "The Lady Vanishes", in which the heroines, in spite of being brave, outspoken and independent, nonetheless "are forced to behave passively as others help them achieve their respective goals." Michelle Munro, writing for Durham College, felt that even though Belle shares several traits with her more passive predecessors, the character introduced "new possibilities for princesses." Girls in Capes wrote that Belle pioneered a generation of princesses who taught "about ambition, self-discovery and the pursuit of what we want." Additionally, Belle remains Disney's first and only princess to have hazel eyes.

Belle debuted in Beauty and the Beast (1991) as a beautiful bibliophile who, although praised by her fellow villagers for her unrivaled beauty, is at the same time ridiculed for her intelligence and non-conformity. Having grown weary of her uneventful provincial life, in which she is relentlessly romantically pursued by an arrogant hunter named Gaston, Belle longs for adventure. After her father's horse returns without its rider, she willingly ventures into the woods in search of her father. She persuades the Beast that she will trade her own freedom in return for her father's, since her father is ill in the dungeon, promising to remain with the Beast in his castle among his staff of enchanted objects forever. Belle's curiosity leads her to the forbidden west wing where she discovers an enchanted rose without realizing that it is tied to the Beast's fate; and the Beast's rage at her trespassing causes her to flee the castle on horseback. Belle is pursued by wolves in the woods but they are driven off by the Beast, afterwards Belle helps the injured Beast back to the castle and nurses him back to health. Although she initially dislikes her captor, Belle gradually learns to accept the Beast in spite of his appearance and eventually befriends him. Belle and the Beast's strong bond greatly envies Gaston to the point of which he storms the castle and mortally wounds the Beast, though Gaston falls to his own death in the process. However, Belle breaks down and confesses her love for the Beast just in time to break the spell under which he had been placed by an enchantress as punishment for his selfish ways, and the Beast ultimately transforms back into a handsome prince.

In Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Belle attempts to reignite the castle's waning spirit by reintroducing and celebrating Christmas, in spite of the Beast's strong resentment towards the holiday. Meanwhile, a solemn pipe organ named Forte grows determined to sabotage Belle and the Beast's burgeoning friendship because he longs to maintain his co-dependent relationship with his master. Tricked by Forte into retrieving a large Christmas tree from a frozen pond, Belle nearly drowns, only to be rescued by the Beast. The Beast, however, having been misinformed by Forte, wrongly accuses Belle of trying to escape again, and locks her in the dungeon as punishment. When the Beast finally discovers the truth, they forgive each other, and Belle helps him thwart Forte's plan to destroy the castle. Belle's Magical World (1998), depicts Belle as she interacts with both the Beast and his enchanted servants in various segments, exploring themes such as forgiveness, friendship, cooperation and respect.

In Belle's Tales of Friendship (1999), a spin-off of the film series, Belle owns a bookshop in which she teaches valuable lessons to children by reading and retelling well-known stories and fairy tales, narrating four Disney animated shorts: The Three Little Pigs (1933), Peter and the Wolf (1946), The Wise Little Hen (1934), and Morris the Midget Moose (1950). For the first time, Belle appears as both animated and live-action versions of herself, voiced and portrayed by actresses Paige O'Hara and Lynsey McLeod, respectively. In the television series Sing Me a Story with Belle (1995–97), Belle, in a role reprised by McLeod, runs her own music and bookshop, where she is visited by children to whom she tells and sings stories.

Belle has received largely positive reviews from film critics, who praised her bravery, intelligence, independence, and maturity. Jennie Punter of The Globe and Mail described Belle as a "smart, courageous ... 'take-charge kind of gal'", crowning her the film's "main attraction". Both Emma Cochrane of Empire and Annlee Ellingson of Paste enjoyed the character's feminism, with the former hailing Belle as "more rounded than previous Disney characters". According to Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun, Belle is "no passive fairy tale princess, but a real live girl, with a spunky personality and her own private agenda". A reviewer for TV Guide felt the film's familiar plot was improved by Belle's confidence and independence, concluding, "Unlike Disney heroines ... Belle is smart, knows what she wants, and doesn't spend her time pining away for the love of a handsome prince". Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly dubbed Belle "the hero" of Beauty and the Beast, while the same publication's Christian Blauvelt opined, "Unlike previous Disney heroines who needed to be rescued by a prince themselves, Belle not only saves the Beast's life, she saves his soul". TLC's Vicki Arkoff reviewed Belle a "smart" and "sharp-tongued", crediting the character with "break[ing] Disney's passive-princess mold". About.com's David Nusair described Belle as an "admirable" heroine. AllMovie's Don Kaye and Perry Seibert echoed each other's reviews of the character, with Kaye describing both Belle and the Beast as "three-dimensional ... complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story", and Seibert calling Belle a "strong female character" who "sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding Disney heroines". Common Sense Media hailed Belle as "one of Disney's smartest, most independent heroines". In 2022, Matthew Stewart and Paul Sheehan of Gold Derby ranked Belle as the second best Disney Princess writing, "Belle is one of the smartest, bravest, and most tender-hearted characters the Disney company has ever created, and her story becomes more and more relevant all the time. By daring to improve her mind even when ridiculed for it, fortifying herself against Gaston's oafish advances, and making her own choice when it comes to love, she serves as a source of inspiration for all women."

Several critics also voiced their preference for the character over her immediate predecessor, Ariel. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post described Belle as a "compelling" character who is "more mature, more womanly and less blandly asexual" than Ariel, as well as "a more worldly girl", describing her as "a bookworm, with gumption and a mind of her own". Similarly comparing Belle to Ariel, John Hartl of The Seattle Times wrote that, in Beauty and the Beast, "there's rarely a sense of déjà vu, perhaps because the heroine is so different from 'Mermaid's' dependent Ariel, and her dilemma is more poignant", while Boxoffice scribed, "Undoubtedly in response to criticism that the cute little 'Mermaid' Ariel was nothing more than a precocious sexpot, the idea-people behind this beauty—aptly named Belle ... chose to make her an icon of self-reliance and a voracious reader with a curiosity and love for everything around her".

Meanwhile, Belle's relationship with the Beast has also been met with positive reviews. About.com's David Nusair wrote that "the palpable chemistry between Belle and The Beast ensur[es] that Beauty and the Beast lives up to its reputation as one of the most memorable romances of all time." Describing it as an "unconventional romance", Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times opined, "The idea of a young woman learning to love a gentle heart hidden beneath a baleful exterior represented a major break with tradition." Likewise, critics enjoyed O'Hara's performance. According to Variety, Belle was "magnificently voiced by O'Hara." The Star-Ledger's Stephen Whitty enjoyed O'Hara's "pretty soprano". John Hartl of The Seattle Times wrote, "O'Hara does a spirited job of investing the character with warmth, intuition and maturity," while the Sun-Sentinel's Candice Russel felt that O'Hara "does a good job of creating Belle as intellectual, wisely feminine and disarmed by the stirrings of her heart."

One of the character's few negative reviews was written by Ethan Alter of Television Without Pity, who opined:

[T]he movie ... present[ed] audiences with a willful female protagonist that was firmly in control of her romantic destiny and regularly placed reading books above chasing after boys. And it's true that in that respect at least, Belle stood in stark contrast to past Disney heroines ... Still, the filmmakers didn't do the character any favors by swapping out that boy crazy trait for a pronounced maternalistic streak that comes across as a little creepy. Besides being utterly devoted to her father, Belle's relationship with the Beast possesses a distinctly mother/toddler dynamic ... Their romance also lacks spark because – due to the fundamental set-up of the narrative ... it's always clear that he needs her far more than she needs him. Particularly when compared to some of the dynamic animated heroines that came after her ... today Belle can't help but seem ... bland.

— Television Without Pity's Ethan Alter's mixed analysis of Belle.

Emma Watson's portrayal as Belle in the 2017 film was generally well received by critics. A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that Watson "perfectly embodies Belle's compassion and intelligence." The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday complimented Watson's performance, describing it as "alert and solemn" while noting her singing ability as "serviceable enough to get the job done." Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times also lauded Watson's performance writing that she "is all pluck and spunk and sass and smarts and fierce independence as Belle." Stephen Whitty of the New York Daily News described Watson's portrayal of Belle as "breakthrough". While Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph did not find Watson to be "a flawless Belle", he did overall say that "she's good: that girl-next-door winsomeness and a sweet, clear singing voice see her through." He also remarked her portrayal of Belle as "dazzles" and "ideal". For her performance as Belle, Watson won the MTV Movie Award for Best Performance as well as the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Sci-Fi/Fantasy. She also received nominations for the Empire Award for Best Actress, the Saturn Award for Best Actress, and the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress.

Disney has deliberately marketed Belle as a feminist since 1991, but feminist critics have long debated if the character is a positive depiction of feminism, arguing about whether she is "feminist enough". According to Kathi Maio of New Internationalist, the studio convinced most critics by highlighting Belle's feminist traits in their marketing campaign, although she argued that the character's love of reading is her only feminist quality. Jezebel said Belle "is often held up as the standard of the 'feminist' Disney princess", and Stylist ranked Belle among the most feminist Disney characters, describing her as an "incredibly intelligent" woman who "doesn't stand for a man who considers her as just a piece of meat ... she wants someone who loves her for her mind too". In his book Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies, author Timothy B. Cargal agreed that the character indicated Disney's "efforts to reshape their heroines for a more feminist age". According to Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia author Claudia Mitchell, Belle's feminism was influenced by third-wave feminism and the relatively new concept of Girl power during the 1990s.

Although Beauty and the Beast was initially praised for starring a forward-thinking, feminist heroine, some critics agree that the film remains a romance about a girl searching for her "ideal man", despite Belle's open resentment towards Gaston. Twilight and History author Nancy Reagin felt Belle still perpetuates the idea of "fulfillment through marriage", despite being a significant departure from her homemaking predecessors. Kathleen Maher of The Austin Chronicle cited Belle as an example of "pseudo-feminism" because she only rejects one man in favor of another, a prince. While commending Belle for "seeing past the beast's appearance", Judith Welikala of The Independent ultimately accused the character of "melting back into the role of wife when he turns back into a handsome prince". Fairy Tale author Andrew Teverson referred to Belle as Disney's attempt to address "feminist criticism of its representation of women in earlier films," but ultimately criticized the character's curiosity for "extend[ing] only to romance," additionally accusing her of being "a zealous individualist with a pathological hostility to common men and women". Acknowledging the character's "feminist longings", Daniel Eigen, author of America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, cited Belle as Disney's "modern-day corrective to Snow White". Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works author Phyllis Frus said what remote feminism Beauty and the Beast had achieved via Belle was ultimately reversed by inducting her into the Disney Princess franchise. In Refinery29's "Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses As Feminist Role Models," author Vanessa Golembewski ranked the character eighth but described her personality and ambitions as "confusing". Complex's Tara Aquino described Belle as "a kinda feminist ... who's well-read, self-sufficient, and with standards high enough that she doesn't fall for the town's brain-dead pretty boy."

Critics have generally reacted more negatively towards Belle's relationship with the film's male characters, particularly the Beast, questioning its morality. Writing for the University of Central Florida, Faith Dickens felt that Belle becomes little more than "a vehicle for exploring the Beast's dilemmas", with her thirst for adventure being replaced by romance, and criticized her lack of reformation in comparison to the Beast. Anna E. Altmann, author of Tales, Then and Now: More Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults, disliked Belle for appearing to share a motherly relationship with both the Beast and Maurice, and her interest in reading being limited to fairy tales. Scholar and culture critic Henry A. Giroux felt that Belle serves as little more than "a prop for resolving the Beast's problems". Sonia Saraiya of Nerve ranked Belle the sixth-most feminist Disney Princess, writing that, unlike Ariel, "Belle's sass doesn't come from teenage rebellion, but rather from intellectual acuity." Saraiya commended Belle for resisting "her village's expectations of what her life should look like," crediting her with being "the first princess to express some skepticism about married life." While calling Belle's sacrifice "brave", the author also labeled it "not much of a step for womankind," in the end accusing her of falling "for a domineering man." Similarly, Kit Steinkellner of HelloGiggles.com expressed concerns over the "abusive undercurrents running through Belle and Beast's relationship" despite her proactivity. Bustle's Mary Grace Garis also commended Belle's aspirations and love of reading, but criticized her relationship with the Beast.

Deemed an "iconoclast" by Boxoffice Pro, Belle has been cemented as a cultural icon for her role in Beauty and the Beast. According to Time and Harper's Bazaar, the character holds the distinction of being Disney's first feminist princess. Commentators believe the character's reputation as one of Disney's first strong female characters is responsible for changing the way in which women would be depicted in subsequent animated films. According to Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast, before Belle "being a Disney princess meant singing songs about how much you love combing your hair with a fork and giving away your voice if it meant you got to marry the guy with that dreamy chiseled jaw." Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times considers Belle to be among four Disney Princesses responsible for breaking "the bonds of convention". About.com's David Nusair agreed that Belle successfully "updated the princess formula for an entirely new generation". The Atlantic's Lindsay Lowe echoed Nusair's sentiment, citing Belle as the character responsible for ending Disney's "history of ... docile heroines". Cathy Schmidt of The Daily Campus recognized Belle and Ariel as "the beginnings of the more modern Disney princesses". Writing for Virgin Media, Limara Salt believes that the character "proved that audiences could fall in love with a brown-haired intellectual". A survey conducted by Disney after the film's release determined that Belle's love of books inspired young women to read. Justin Humphreys of The Hook expressed, "Belle remains a most successful princess because people can relate" to her. Elina Bolokhova of Parenting believes that Belle's "bravery and independence helped redefine the meaning of a Disney princess". According to Emily Rome of Uproxx, "Belle became an immediate favorite for any girl who, like Belle, would rather have her nose stuck in a book than doing just about anything else".

Belle is the fifth member of the Disney Princess franchise, and one of its most popular and celebrated characters. According to Tyler B. Searle of Collider, who ranked the character the second best protagonist of the Disney Renaissance, Belle is often considered to be "one of if not the best Disney princesses". According to Justine McGrath of Teen Vogue, Belle has "become one of the most popular classic Disney princesses of all time". According to a 2020 poll conducted by PlayLikeMum, as reported by Marie Claire, Belle was voted the most popular Disney Princess in nine countries. Commending her intelligence and humility, the character was placed at number one on E!'s ranking of the Disney Princesses, while Cosmopolitan ranked her fourth. In the magazine's "Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses", Seventeen ranked Belle fifth. Similarly, BuzzFeed also ranked the character fifth, praising her love of reading. A reader poll conducted by BuzzFeed also determined that Belle is the most popular Disney Princess, having garnered 18% of votes. A similar poll conducted by ComingSoon.net also ranked Belle as the best Disney Princess, with 17% of the vote. Belle is the fifth most successful Disney Princess in terms of box office revenue, with Beauty and the Beast having grossed over $350 million. However, Belle was the lowest-selling Disney Princess on eBay in 2013, with sales of less than $7,000 despite the fact that she is often cited as a customer favorite.

Belle is considered to be one of Disney's most beloved animated heroines and princesses. In 2023, The A.V. Club ranked Belle the 10th greatest animated Disney character of all time. Chhavi Puri of Pinkvilla reported that Belle "is often regarded as one of the best female Disney characters". Business Insider readers voted Belle the 15th most iconic female film character of all time. In 2016, Scott Huver of People said the character's "popularity remains a force to be reckoned with" over 25 years after the film's release. Belle was the only animated heroine nominated for the American Film Institute's greatest film heroes ranking, from which only eight female characters were included on the final list. CNN ranked Belle one 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, 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". Belle's golden ball gown is widely considered to be one of the most famous dresses in film history. Belle appeared on Stylist's list of the "Best beauty looks in Disney" twice, both for the character's hairstyles. As of 2022, Entertainment Weekly ranked Belle's hair seventh in the magazine's "Disney Princesses: Ranking Their Hairdos – and Don'ts!"

Belle helped establish Woolverton as a prolific screenwriter, who has since been 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 from The Lion King (1994), Mulan from Mulan (1998), Alice from Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Maleficent from Maleficent (2014). Susan Wloszczyna of IndieWire wrote that Woolverton's Belle "set a new standard for fully fleshed-out fairy-tale heroines", in turn paving the way for Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series, and Anna and Elsa from Frozen (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". In 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 Achievement for Voice Acting in a 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.

In 1994, Susan Egan originated the role of Belle on Broadway in the stage adaptation of the film. Egan's manager insisted that she audition despite the actress initially thinking staging a cartoon on Broadway "was a terrible idea". She ultimately turned down callbacks for My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Grease because she had always wanted to originate a Broadway role. Egan had never watched Beauty and the Beast prior to auditioning, instead relying on her "creative instincts" to avoid imitating O'Hara's work. Her performance received critical praise and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 48th Tony Awards. More than 20 actresses played Belle on Broadway until the show closed in 2007, with Anneliese van der Pol in the role. Sarah Litzsinger remains Broadway's longest-running Belle, while Christy Carlson Romano was the character's youngest performer, at the age of 19. Singer Toni Braxton was the only Black woman to play Belle on Broadway. The ballad "A Change in Me" was written specifically for Braxton when she joined the show in 1998, and has been retained since her departure.

Emma Watson plays Belle in the 2017 live-action adaptation of the film. Watson suggested several changes to modernize the character's personality and costumes, including refusing to wear a corset and incorporating riding boots to retain her mobility. In this version of the film, Belle is also an inventor like her father, and uses her inventions to grant herself more time to read. Her mother is revealed to have died when she was a baby, resulting in Maurice overprotecting his daughter. Watson won MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards for her performance. In 2022, H.E.R. portrayed Belle in a musical television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of the animated film, making her the first Afro-Filipina person to play the role onscreen. She also played a custom-made electric guitar during the performance.

Belle was also the main character in various comic books based on the film, including one set during Belle's stay at the castle published by Marvel Comics, and a prequel set several years before the film distributed by Disney Comics. In the former, the storylines generally have the servants trying to coax Belle into doing something with the Beast, only for it to backfire and nearly ruin their friendship before they make up. In the latter serial, Belle ends up locked up in a cellar by village children after reluctantly playing pirates with them, and later nearly goes down the path leading to Beast's castle. The latter serial also implies that she holds misandric views and refuses to associate herself with the village children, especially the males, due to their not being as well-versed in literature as she is.

Belle and the other characters from the first film appear in the stage show, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. Belle also appears in a meet-and-greet attraction at Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland called Enchanted Tales with Belle, along with meet-and-greets in all of the other parks worldwide.

In 1992, Belle presented the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 64th Academy Awards, alongside the Beast and Chip. She has a cameo in Disney's animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) during Quasimodo's performance of the song "Out There". The character is briefly shown from above walking while reading a book in a setting similar to her hometown from Beauty and the Beast. Belle appeared on the animated television series House of Mouse, and its direct-to-video films Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001) and Mickey's House of Villains (2002). Jodi Benson voices her in the television series, while O'Hara reprised the role in Magical Christmas. The series Sofia the First features a guest appearance from Belle in the episode "The Amulet and the Anthem". Emilie de Ravin portrays Belle on the television series Once Upon a Time as the love interest of Rumplestiltskin, the show's version of the Beast. Keegan Connor Tracy plays the character in the Descendants film series (2017–2019), in which she is the Queen of the United States of Auradon, and shares a son, Ben, with the Beast. Belle, alongside the other Disney Princesses, appeared in a scene from the film Ralph Breaks the Internet, with O'Hara returning to voice her character after several years. Belle appears in the short film Once Upon a Studio, she starts singing with the Beast and is seen in the group photo.

Belle has appeared in various video games. Belle is featured throughout the Kingdom Hearts video game series as one of the Princesses of Heart, seven female characters whose hearts lack any darkness or potential for corruption, and thus pose a danger to the games' antagonists. Belle appears as a playable character to unlock for a limited time in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms. An alternate version of Belle appears as a playable character in the video game Disney Mirrorverse. She is also featured as a character the player meets during their adventures in Disney Dreamlight Valley alongside Beast and Gaston. In the kart racing game Disney Speedstorm (2023), Belle is a playable racer who can use her enchanted mirror to a variety of effects, including summoning obstacles in front of opponents. Game Rant ranked her one of the best characters in the game.

• Belle at Disney.com