Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the 1756 fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, while also containing ideas from the 1946 French film also of the same name directed by Jean Cocteau. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton.
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright, lyricist and stage director. He is most widely known for his work on feature films for Walt Disney Animation Studios, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Alan Menken composed the music. Ashman has been credited as being a main driving force behind the Disney Renaissance. His work included songs for Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Tim Rice took over to write the rest of the songs for the latter film after Ashman's death in 1991.
Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer, pianist, music director, and record producer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman, a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of nineteen people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
Beauty and the Beast is a Disney stage musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. Adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' Academy Award-winning 1991 animated feature musical film of the same name – which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont – Beauty and the Beast tells the story of an unkind prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature as punishment for his selfish ways. To revert into his true human form, the Beast must learn to love a bright, beautiful young lady who he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle before it is too late.
King David: A World Premiere Concert Event is a 1997 oratorio, co-produced by The Walt Disney Company and Andre Djaoui, and written by Alan Menken (music) and Tim Rice (libretto). Originally conceived by Djaoui as a grand musical performed in Jerusalem to celebrate the 3000th anniversary of the city's founding, it was eventually staged as a concert in the first production at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater after Disney's restoration. Opening on May 18, 1997, the show ran for six performances closing May 23.
"Be Our Guest" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Recorded by American actor Jerry Orbach and English actress Angela Lansbury as Lumière and Mrs. Potts, respectively, "Be Our Guest" is a large-scale Broadway-inspired musical number that takes place during the first half of Beauty and the Beast, performed by the castle's staff of enchanted objects in an elaborate attempt to welcome Belle. Menken initially intended for the melody of "Be Our Guest" to be temporary but was ultimately unable to compose a satisfying one with which to replace it. The song had originally been intended for Belle's father Maurice. However, "Be Our Guest" had to be entirely re-written as the story evolved in order to return its focus to Belle.
"A Change in Me" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical Beauty and the Beast, a stage adaptation of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name. The song was written specifically for American singer Toni Braxton when she joined the production to play the role of Belle in 1998, four years into the musical's run. Menken and Rice wrote "A Change in Me" to appease Braxton after Rice promised the singer, who was hesitant to sign her contract, that he would write an entirely new song for her to perform in the musical on the condition that she finally agree to play Belle.
Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the 1992 Disney animated feature film, Aladdin. The album was released by Walt Disney Records on CD and cassette tape on October 27, 1992. The soundtrack was intertwined with demos, work tapes and unreleased masters, as well as original scores in 1994 in a four-disc box set entitled The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice. A remastered reissue with altered lyrics and new artwork was released on March 27, 2001. A special edition reissue featuring two previously released demos and new artwork was released on September 28, 2004. The Legacy Collection: Aladdin was released on September 9, 2022, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Aladdin.
The Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. It contains the songs from the film written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as the film's score composed by Alan Menken. The score was orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri. The album has achieved multi-platinum sales and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. The album includes recordings of the music that won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official soundtrack album to the 1991 Disney animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast. Originally released on October 22, 1991, by Walt Disney Records, the album's first half – tracks 2 to 9 – generally contains the film's musical numbers, all of which were written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, while its latter half – tracks 10 to 14 – features its musical score, composed solely by Menken. While the majority of the album's content remains within the musical theatre genre, its songs have also been influenced by French, classical, pop and Broadway music. Credited to Various Artists, Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features performances by the film's main cast – Paige O'Hara, Richard White, Jesse Corti, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Robby Benson and David Ogden Stiers – in order of appearance. Additionally, the album features recording artists Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, who perform a pop rendition of the film's theme song of the same name, which simultaneously serves as the soundtrack's only single.
The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice is a four-disc box set highlighting the creative evolution behind the music of Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Released on November 22, 1994 on Walt Disney Records, the set includes work tape recordings, demos, previously released final recordings, and unreleased master recordings of songs and score cues.
"Belle" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Originally recorded by American actress and singer Paige O'Hara and American actor Richard White, "Belle", a mid-tempo French and classical music-inspired song, incorporates both Broadway and musical theatre elements. The film's first song and opening number, "Belle" appears during Beauty and the Beast as a large scale operetta-style production number that introduces the film's heroine Belle, considered a book-loving nonconformist by the townspeople of the village, who has grown weary of the provincial life in which she is supposed to live, and Gaston, the film's narcissistic villain who wishes to desire her hand in marriage despite Belle's repeated rejections.
"Human Again" is a song originally written for and later restored to the 1991 Disney animated musical Beauty and the Beast. With music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, "Human Again" was replaced during production of the original 1991 version of the film by "Something There", but retained and revised by Menken and new lyricist Tim Rice for the 1994 stage musical adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. A newly produced sequence featuring "Human Again" was added to the Beauty and the Beast animated film for its 2002 IMAX Special Edition and subsequent DVD, VHS, and Blu-ray home releases.
"Something There" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Sung by the majority of the film's main cast, the song was recorded by American actors Paige O'Hara as Belle and Robby Benson as the Beast via voice over, featuring actors Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury and David Ogden Stiers as Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth, respectively. The only song performed by the Beast, "Something There" is heard midway through Beauty and the Beast during a scene in which Belle and the Beast finally begin to acknowledge their feelings for each other.
"Proud of Your Boy" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. Originally intended for Disney's animated film Aladdin (1992), the song was omitted when Aladdin's mother was written out of the story. After being discarded, "Proud of Your Boy" remained largely undiscovered by audiences until Walt Disney Records released Ashman and Menken's demo on a compilation album in 1994, after which it gradually gained popularity. The song was eventually restored for the film's stage musical adaptation in 2011, originally performed and recorded by American actor Adam Jacobs. Lyrically, "Proud of Your Boy" is about a young man promising his mother that he will change his mischievous ways and ultimately make her proud.
"If I Can't Love Her" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical Beauty and the Beast (1994), a stage adaptation of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name. Sung by the Beast after he frightens Belle away from the castle, "If I Can't Love Her" details the characters' struggles to love her. The song was first performed by American actor Terrence Mann, who both originated the role of the Beast on Broadway and recorded it for the show's original cast album.
Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection is a compilation album series produced and released by Walt Disney Records.
"How Does a Moment Last Forever" is a song written by lyricist Tim Rice and composer Alan Menken for the Disney live action film Beauty and the Beast (2017), a remake of the animated musical of the same name. This Broadway-inspired ballad is performed in the movie by American actor Kevin Kline in his role as Maurice. It describes the relationship between his character and that of his wife, Belle's deceased mother. Later in the film, Belle performs the song as she discovers the truth about her mother's fate. "How Does a Moment Last Forever" was also recorded by Canadian pop singer Celine Dion, whose version was also included on the film's soundtrack, released on March 10, 2017. Her version plays over the ending credits of the film.
"Evermore" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical fantasy film Beauty and the Beast (2017), a live-action remake of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name. Originally recorded for the film by English actor Dan Stevens, who performs the song in his starring role as the eponymous Beast, "Evermore" was first released as a single by American singer Josh Groban on March 3, 2017. Stevens' version became available on March 10, 2017 when the film's soundtrack was released online, while Groban's cover is played during the film's closing credits.
Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration is the soundtrack to the 2022 ABC television special of the same name. It featured all the songs performed in the television special, which included songs from the 1991 animated film as well as one from the 2017 live-action remake. New scores for the special were also composed for the special as well. The album was released on December 16, 2022 by Walt Disney Records.
