Disney's cartoon princesses gather in real life

From left: Paige O'Hara (Belle in Beauty and the Beast), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), Mandy Moore (Rapunzel in Tangled), Auli'i Cravalho (Moana), Sarah Silverman (Vanellope von Schweetz in Wreck-It Ralph), Kristen Bell (Anna in Frozen), Kelly Macdonald (Merida in Brave), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana in The Princess And The Frog), Linda Larkin (Jasmine in Aladdin), and Jodi Benson (Ariel in The Little Mermaid)

As proof that you can be a princess when you grow up, the voices behind 10 of Disney's cartoon princesses have gathered at a US event for fans.

The women have voiced heroines spanning nearly three decades of films, from The Little Mermaid (1989) to 2016's Moana.

Snow White and Cinderella were absent, but Disney claimed it was the largest gathering of its "royals" in one place.

They are resuming their roles for a new film which Disney said would "break down" the princess stereotype.

Next year's release, Wreck-It Ralph 2, will feature all the Disney princesses in a scene where they wear T-shirts - not dresses - and discuss the "challenges of being perfect".

John Lasseter, Disney and Pixar's chief creative officer, said at Sunday's Disney expo in California: "These characters are really strong... We love to think of them way beyond just the movie that was made."

The princesses in their own words

Disney fans dressed up for the expo in California

• "I would change who I am, change the sea for the sand just to stand with you" - Ariel from The Little Mermaid

• "What I love most about rivers is you can't step in the same river twice. The water's always changing, always flowing" - Pocahontas

• "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere! I want it more than I can tell!" - Beauty and the Beast's Belle

• "Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore!" - Elsa from Frozen

• "Okay, first, I am not a princess. I'm the daughter of the chief" - Moana

Source: Walt Disney Studios

Irene Bedard, who played Pocahontas in 1995, said the princesses would be moving with the times.

She told Variety magazine: "We can say this is the story that was told - but now we have a chance to take it into our hands again and have princesses with a twist.

• Disney characters pictured as if they lived in 2017

"For me, being a princess means really being able to know to listen to your heart and have that voice - and speak out when we all should have that chance."

Disney, which has faced questions over the impact its princesses might have on young girls' ideas of perfection, has more recently attempted to rework its on-screen heroines.

Moana featured a princess with an "average" body type, while this year's Beauty and the Beast portrayed Belle as an inventor.

The princesses gathered backstage at the expo for a selfie