But it doesn't explain why a voice actor's performance would do it.
That is the unusual part of the story.
A voice actor has to reproduce a sound that listeners instinctively recognize as meaningful.
The goal isn't simply volume.
A convincing infant cry contains subtle changes in pitch, rhythm, breath, intensity, tension, and emotional urgency.
A fake cry that sounds too obviously theatrical may register as a performance.
A highly realistic cry can sound different.
The brain may process it more like the signal it is designed to recognize: a distressed infant.
Strong's ability to reproduce those characteristics was apparently convincing enough to fool at least one person in the studio into having a physical response associated with breastfeeding.
That doesn't mean her voice literally “controlled” the woman's body.
Rather, her performance may have functioned as an auditory cue that happened to resemble one of the signals capable of triggering an already conditioned physiological response.
That distinction makes the story even more fascinating.
The Actor Herself Thought She Had Failed
Perhaps the funniest part of the story is Strong's initial reaction.
When the recording suddenly stopped, she didn't assume she had just delivered the performance of her career.
She assumed the opposite.
She thought the producers might have decided that her performance wasn't working.
That is a familiar experience for performers.
A pause from a director can mean almost anything.
Maybe the microphone isn't working.
Maybe the line needs to be changed.
Maybe the timing is wrong.
Maybe another take is required.
Or maybe someone in the studio has just experienced an unexpected biological response.
For Strong, it turned out to be the last one.
And instead of losing the role, she reportedly gained it.
From Temporary Voice to Iconic Character
The moment had consequences beyond the recording booth.
Strong ultimately became closely associated with Dil Pickles, one of the most recognizable additions to the Rugrats universe.
Her performance helped establish Dil's personality through sounds rather than conventional dialogue.
The character's identity depended heavily on physical comedy and vocal expression.
Dil could be chaotic, loud, demanding, curious, mischievous, and unpredictable without needing elaborate speeches.
That made the voice performance particularly important.
In traditional animation, audiences may focus on the visual design.
But characters such as Dil demonstrate how much personality can be communicated entirely through sound.
A single cry can suggest fear.
A squeal can communicate excitement.
A grunt can suggest frustration.
A giggle can change the emotional tone of an entire scene.
And a well-timed scream can become part of a character's identity.
Why Women Often Voice Young Boys
Strong's work on Dil also illustrates a longstanding feature of animation: young boys are frequently voiced by adult women.
There are practical reasons for this.
Children's voices change as they grow. A young boy who sounds perfect at the beginning of a production may sound noticeably different months or years later.
An adult voice actor can maintain a consistent performance over a much longer production period.
Strong herself has discussed this advantage when talking about animation voice acting. She explained that female performers can often provide convincing young-boy voices without the production concerns associated with a real child's changing voice and school schedule.
It is one of the reasons audiences can become emotionally attached to animated characters without necessarily realizing how old the performers actually are.