‘Alamat’

(A Disney Legend Award)

I got the idea for that title from Gerard, who, after I received the Disney Legend Award on Friday morning, left this message on Facebook: “Isa ka nang alamat!”

Joking aside, the Disney Legend Award is given to men and women who have made lasting contributions to the Walt Disney Co. via its films, TV shows, corporate leadership, theme parks, hotels and even merchandise. Past honorees include Julie Andrews, Sir Elton John, Robin Williams, composer Alan Menken and lyricist Sir Tim Rice.

This year, there are 12: five Disney Princesses (Jodi Benson, Paige O’Hara, Linda Larkin, Anika Noni Rose, and yours truly); two Disneyland Hotel pioneers (Jack and Bonita Wrather); one past Walt Disney Productions chair (Raymond Watson); one TV personality (Regis Philbin); one Zorro (Guy Williams); one merchandise guru (Bo Boyd); and one beloved Muppeteer (the truly legendary Jim Henson).

Singing ‘Princesses’

I spent the day before the ceremony shuttling between Disneyland and my aunt’s home in the South Bay area. I had a rehearsal with the other Disney Princesses—we were going to sing. There were no Los Angeles locals among us: Jodi (Ariel in “The Little Mermaid”) flew in from Georgia with her family; Paige (Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”) came in from Las Vegas with her husband; Linda (speaking voice of Princess Jasmine in “Aladdin”) and Anika (Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog”) both flew in from New York. By the way, Linda’s husband, Yul Vasquez, is one of the actors in John Sayles’ film, “Amigo.”

Early Friday morning, while my husband and daughter were still catching some Z’s at the Grand Californian Hotel on the Disneyland property, I got dressed in my Rajo Laurel ensemble (black and white top, black trousers) and headed to the lobby and took a shuttle to the Anaheim Convention Center. After a brief sound check, I headed to the green room where I got my face touched up and my hair done by the makeup team from the hit show “Brothers and Sisters.” The rest of my family would follow an hour later, guided by an official Disney escort, a lovely young lady named Danielle. Nicole and her cousin Christopher were enchanted by her, and held her hand whenever they could.

The ceremony would kick off the D23 (official Disney fans club) Convention, a weekend where all things Disney were under one roof. Thousands had flocked to Anaheim this year.

The show started with a videotaped message from Walt Disney Co. chair Bob Iger (who couldn’t be there due to a previously planned family vacation). Our host was Tom Bergeron (famous for “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”), who was quick on the draw with ad libs and quips.

A lovely list

Us Princesses were the first to be honored—what a lovely list it was to be a part of! Tom would do a two-minute intro for each of us, then we’d head up to the stage escorted by a character from the movie we’d worked on (it was Aladdin for me), then led to the podium to give a short speech. We were then led backstage to get ready for our songs. Paige did snippets from “Beauty and the Beast,” I performed “Reflection,” Anika belted out “Almost There,” and Jodi beautifully rendered “Part of Your World.” Then we sang a final song together, “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” from “Cinderella.” The crowd was on its feet … it was overwhelming, all those fans expressing such support and love. (All the speeches and performances are now on YouTube.)

My favorite part of the show has to be when Jim Henson was cited. After Jim’s daughter Lisa spoke about her father, and after film clips showing bits of pieces of his illustrious career, there was a live Muppet performance. It was the piece that Jim had created when he was 21, a wickedly funny “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face” performed by Jim’s son Brian, with another Muppeteer. Brian then stepped up to the mic to speak. Then Kermit the Frog and Rolf the Dog were wheeled on stage to perform “Rainbow Connection.” The audience sang along.

Mommy mode

At the Legends luncheon, my daughter (who loves the Princesses) asked me to help her collect autographs. Mommy mode on, I went up to each Princess. Then we met more voice talents (Bill Farmer, who voices Goofy, and Russi Taylor who voices Minnie Mouse) and got their autographs as well. My family and I then headed to Disneyland for the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening.

The statue given each awardee has three parts: the spiral, which represents an idea; the hand, for discipline; and the wand, for magic. All three together create something special, which I believe represents the Walt Disney Co. Thank you for this wonderful honor, and for the chance to lend my voice to two of my favorite Disney heroines, both headstrong, brave and proud.