"Beauty and the Beast" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for the Disney animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991). The film's theme song, the Broadway-inspired ballad was first recorded by British-American actress Angela Lansbury in her role as the voice of the character Mrs. Potts, and essentially describes the relationship between its two main characters Belle and the Beast, specifically how the couple has learned to accept their differences and in turn change each other for the better. Additionally, the song's lyrics imply that the feeling of love is as timeless and ageless as a "tale as old as time". Lansbury's rendition is heard during the famous ballroom sequence between Belle and the Beast, while a shortened chorale version plays in the closing scenes of the film, and the song's motif features frequently in other pieces of Menken's film score. Lansbury was initially hesitant to record "Beauty and the Beast" because she felt that it was not suitable for her aging singing voice, but ultimately completed the song in one take.
"Beauty and the Beast" was subsequently recorded as a pop duet by Canadian singer Celine Dion and American singer Peabo Bryson, and released as the only single from the film's soundtrack on November 25, 1991. Disney first recruited solely Dion to record a radio-friendly version of it in order to promote the film. However, the studio was concerned that the then-newcomer would not attract a large enough audience in the United States on her own, so they hired the more prominent Bryson to be her duet partner. At first Dion was also hesitant to record "Beauty and the Beast" because she had just recently been fired from recording the theme song of the animated film An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991). First heard during the film's end credits, the single was produced by Walter Afanasieff who also arranged it with Robbie Buchanan, and included on Dion's self-titled album (1992) and Bryson's album, Through the Fire (1994). The single was accompanied by a music video. Directed by Dominic Orlando, it combined footage of the singers recording the song at The Power Station with excerpts from the film.
Both versions of "Beauty and the Beast" were very successful, garnering both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for Visual Media and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The single was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Lansbury's performance has been universally lauded by both film and music critics. While the Dion-Bryson version received mixed reviews from critics who felt that it was not as good as Lansbury's original, the single became a commercial success, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the better-known of the two renditions. In addition to returning Disney songs to the pop charts after a thirty-year absence, the success of "Beauty and the Beast" also boosted Dion's career and established her as a bankable recording artist. After "Beauty and the Beast" became the first Disney song to undergo a complete pop transformation, several contemporary artists were inspired to release their own radio-friendly renditions of Disney songs throughout the decade. Considered to be among Disney's best and most popular songs, "Beauty and the Beast" has since been covered by numerous artists. In 2004, the American Film Institute ranked "Beauty and the Beast" at number 62 on their list of the greatest songs in American film history.
The song is also featured in the 2017 live-action adaptation; sung by Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts during the film and also as a duet cover version by Ariana Grande and John Legend during the end credits.[1][2][3] Grande and Legend's version of the song is an homage to the cover performed by Dion and Bryson for the 1991 film.[4][5] The song was also performed by Shania Twain in the 2022 television special Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration, and as a duet with H.E.R. and Josh Groban.[6][7]
"Beauty and the Beast" was written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken in 1990.[8] Intending for the song to be "the height of simplicity",[9] the songwriters drew much of its influence from Broadway music.[10] Due to Ashman's failing health, some of Beauty and the Beast's pre-production was relocated to a hotel in Fishkill, New York, near Ashman's residence.[11] Of the songs he wrote for Beauty and the Beast, Menken devoted the most time to the title song.[9] The track was first recorded by British-American actress Angela Lansbury, who voices the character Mrs. Potts, an enchanted teapot. The songwriters first introduced "Beauty and the Beast" to Lansbury as a demo recording, which was accompanied by a note asking her if she might possibly be interested in singing it.[12] Although a seasoned film and stage performer who had previously done her own singing for Disney in the musical film Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971),[13] Lansbury, who was more accustomed to performing uptempo songs,[14] was hesitant to record the ballad because of its unfamiliar rock style.[15] Although she liked the song,[16] Lansbury also worried that her aging singing voice was no longer strong enough to record "Beauty and the Beast",[17] and was especially concerned about having to sustain its longer notes.[18] Lansbury suggested that the songwriters ask someone else to sing "Beauty and the Beast",[19] but they insisted that she simply "sing the song the way [she] envisioned it".[15]
On October 6, 1990,[8] "Beauty and the Beast" was recorded in a studio in New York City accompanied by a live orchestra; the songwriters preferred to have all performers and musicians record together, as opposed to separating the singers from the instrumentalists.[20] On the day of her scheduled recording session, Lansbury's flight was delayed due to a bomb threat, which prompted an emergency landing in Las Vegas.[21] Unaware of her whereabouts for several hours, the filmmakers had begun making plans to reschedule the session until Lansbury finally telephoned the studio once she arrived safely in New York.[20] At the behest of one of the directors, Lansbury recorded a demo of the song for them to use in the event that no other actress was available to sing it on her behalf, or no character other than Mrs. Potts was deemed suitable.[13][22] Ultimately, Lansbury recorded her version in one take, which wound up being used in the final film.[22][23] Producer Don Hahn recalled that the actress simply "sang 'Beauty and the Beast' from beginning to end and just nailed it. We picked up a couple of lines here and there, but essentially that one take is what we used for the movie".[23] Lansbury's performance moved everyone who was present in the recording studio at the time to tears.[24] Lansbury credited recording the song with ultimately helping her gain further perspective on Mrs. Potts's role in the film.[25]
Some of Ashman's cut lyrics from the 1991 film were reinstated for the version in the 2017 film.[26]
The scene in Beauty and the Beast during which the song is heard is the moment when Belle and the Beast's true feelings for each other are finally established.[27][28] Set in the ballroom of the Beast's castle, "Beauty and the Beast" is performed by the character Mrs. Potts, an enchanted teapot, midway through the film as she explains the feeling of love to her young teacup son Chip,[29] referring to the emotion as "a tale as old as time".[30] According to Armen Karaoghlanian of Interiors, "Belle familiarizes the Beast with the waltz and as soon he feels comfortable, he gracefully moves her across the floor".[27] Afterwards, the song continues to play instrumentally as Belle and the Beast retire to the balcony for a romantic candlelit dinner.[31] Believed to be the "centerpiece that brings Beauty and her Beast together,"[32] the sequence offers an insight into both characters' psyches. From the Beast's perspective, it is the moment he realizes that he wants to confess his true feelings for Belle to her[31] and "decides he wants to tell Belle he is in love with her".[33] Meanwhile, Belle begins to fall in love with her captor.[34] Writing for The Globe and Mail, Jennie Punter reviewed it as the scene in which "romance finally blossoms".[35] Film critic Ellison Estefan, writing for Estefan Films, believes that the sequence is responsible for "add[ing] another dimension to the characters as they continue to fall deeply in love with each other".[36] Explaining the song's role in the film, director Kirk Wise described the scene as "the culmination of their relationship,"[37] while producer Don Hahn pegged it as "the bonding moment of the film when the two main characters finally get together".[38]
The scene had long been envisioned as having a more live-action feel to it than the rest of the film, an idea that originated from story artists Brenda Chapman and Roger Allers, who were the first to suggest that the ballroom be built using computers.[40] As the film's executive producer, former Head of Disney's film division Jeffrey Katzenberg recalled that he began working on Beauty and the Beast deciding what its "wowie" moment would be, defining this as "the moment in the movie where you see what's on the screen and go, 'Wow-IEE'"; this ultimately became the film's ballroom sequence.[41] According to Hahn, the scene was conceived out of the filmmakers' desire to manipulate the camera in order to "sweep" the audience away.[42] Allers and Chapman conceived the ballroom in order to provide the characters with an area in which they could linger, and were surprised by the amount of artistic freedom with which they were provided by the animators, who agreed to adjust to the changes in perspective that would result from the moving camera.[42] While Allers decided to raise the camera in order to view the dancing couple from the overhead chandelier, Chapman decided to rotate the camera around Belle's skirt as the couple danced past it.[42]
In their dance together, Belle and the Beast move toward the camera, as we pan up and into the 3D chandelier. In the next shot, the camera slowly drops from the ceiling as we once again move alongside the 3D chandelier. This adds depth to the scene, as the chandelier is placed at the forefront of the image and Belle and the Beast are in the distance. This shot continues as we move down below and gracefully move around them. The Beast then sways Belle around and near the camera, once again providing us with an illusion that a camera is following these characters around in an actual ballroom. In a wide shot of Belle and the Beast dancing, the camera begins dollying back as Mrs. Potts and Chip appear in the frame. These beautiful compositions and camera movements show us how space functions within an animated feature film.
— Armen Karaoghlanian of Interiors
Regarded as an example of "a pronounced use of height and of vertical movement in sets and settings, in virtual camera movement ... and in the actions of characters" by Epics, Spectacles and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History author Sheldon Hall,[43] Beauty and the Beast was one of the first feature-length animated films to use computer-generated imagery,[44][45][46] which is prominently exhibited throughout the film's "elaborate" ballroom sequence.[47] Light Science: Physics and the Visual Arts author Thomas D. Rossing believes that the filmmakers aimed to achieve "a moving perspective that would follow the dancers around the room, giving visual expression to the soaring emotions of the scene".[48] CGI supervisor Jim Hillin was hired by Hahn to oversee the design of the scene's graphics.[49] However, because the computer-animation medium was so unfamiliar to the filmmakers at the time,[45] at one point they had considered having Belle and the Beast simply dance in complete darkness – save for a single spotlight – should the project be unsuccessful;[27] they jokingly referred to this idea as the "Ice Capades" version.[50]
First rendered as a simple cube,[27] the filmmakers used computers to design the ballroom as a production set, making it the first full-dimensional computer-generated colored background in history.[27] Unlike Disney's previous CGI ventures, Beauty and the Beast's ballroom was a much more detailed task that required animators to work exclusively with computers to compose, animate and color the scene.[51][52] According to Hillin, the revolutionary use of computers allowed for a combination of theatrical lighting and "sweeping" perspectives, which ultimately introduced live-action techniques to animation.[38] To make the scene a "special moment" for the characters,[53] a "virtual camera" was used to allow the animators to create the illusion of tracking, panning and zooming[52] that "establish[es] the mood" while helping audiences experience what the characters themselves are experiencing.[38] Imitating tracking shots, the camera frequently soars and zooms around the couple.[54] The camera first follows Belle and the Beast as they enter the ballroom before panning until it finally returns to focus on the two characters.[55] In his book Basics Animation 02: Digital Animation, author Andrew Chong wrote that "The sweeping camera move with a constantly shifting perspective during the ballroom sequence was a composition of traditionally drawn elements for the characters with digitally animated scenery".[56] Several computer animators, layout artists, art directors and background artists used their combined efforts to achieve the scene's end results; the ballroom's official dimensions read 72 feet high, 184 feet long and 126 feet wide.[57] The space also houses 28 windows and a dome that measures 86 by 61 feet; the dome's mural was first hand-painted before it was texture-mapped onto it using a computer.[57] Each element was carefully constructed individually.[57] Timothy Wegner described the finished product in his book Image Lab as a "huge and elegant" ballroom in which "the walls are decorated with elaborate moldings, Corinthian columns, and hundreds of candles".[58]
Writing for Combustible Celluloid, Jeffrey M. Anderson believes that "The animators understood that the new technology couldn't be used to represent organic beings, so they simply used it for backgrounds; i.e. the swirling, spinning ballroom during the 'Beauty and the Beast' dance number".[59] At first, Belle and the Beast were vaguely represented by computer-animated box and egg-shaped "stand-ins" in order to choreograph their dance while the ballroom was still little more than a "chicken wire" frame.[40] Andrew Osmond, author of 100 Animated Feature Films, described this crude depiction of the characters as "wire frames moving in staccato".[60] The characters were eventually updated to "stiff, line-drawn" versions of themselves.[61] Because Belle and the Beast are so "interconnected" during this scene, both characters were animated solely by Belle's supervising animator James Baxter;[38] the Beast's supervising animator Glen Keane eventually traced over Baxter's work.[62] Baxter prepared himself for animating the scene by studying ballet dancers in addition to taking dance lessons himself.[38] Throughout the entire film, Belle moves with a ballerina's turnout;[63] the Los Angeles Times film critic Charles Solomon observed that Belle looks "liveliest and prettiest" during this scene.[64] At one point, both Baxter and Keane plotted out their characters' routine themselves under the guidance of a professional dance coach.[62] A software created by Pixar named CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) allowed the animators to paint Belle and the Beast using computers as opposed to the more conventional and time-consuming method of painting animated characters by hand.[56][65] Art director Brian McEntee suggested a blue and gold colour scheme for the characters' costumes at a late-night meeting because he felt that the colors were "compelling" and "regal".[66] Adhering to the ballroom's blue and gold color scheme, Belle's gold ballgown complements the trim on the Beast's tuxedo, as well as the color of the ballroom itself, while the Beast's royal blue attire complements his eyes, the night sky, the curtains and the floor tiles.[27] Meanwhile, Julia Alexander of Movie Mezzanine wrote that "The elegance of their costumes against the background of a golden hall and a star filled sky adds to the whimsical romanticism of the movie".[67] The entire sequence took several months to complete, much of which was spent syncing the traditionally animated couple with their computer-animated environment,[68] which otherwise would have been virtually impossible had the filmmakers decided to use a more traditional method.[56][69]
When Beauty and the Beast was released, many animators were impressed with the studio for "pushing the envelope", while some considered the scene to be "a miserable failure", accusing its new technology of distracting from "the moment".[70] Describing the scene as "an early experiment in computer animation," Josh Larsen of Larsen on Film observed that the ballroom sequence features "the camera swooping in and around to provide an expansive sense of space that 3-D still isn't able to capture".[71] In her book The Beautiful Ache, author Leigh McLeroy wrote that the scene represents "one of those strange moments where love creeps in against all odds and insists on staying put".[72] Audiences tend to remember the ballroom sequence as "the one in which Belle and the Beast share a romantic dance as the camera files and spins around them".[73] Angela Lansbury recalled being "astonished" when she first saw the "huge" and "unique" scene.[42] In Moviepilot's Chris Lucas' opinion, "The ballroom scene remains the one that truly symbolizes their adoration for each other".[74] IGN believes that the scene "signals the completion of [the Beast's] inner change - from irascible recluse into [Belle's] true love".[75]
The original film version of "Beauty and the Beast" performed by Lansbury was written in the key of D-flat major[76] at a "moderately slow" tempo of 84 beats per minute (Andante),[77] at a duration of two minutes and forty-six seconds.[78] An "eloquent"[79] rock-influenced[15] pop song with a "calm" and "lilting" melody,[80] Stephen Whitty of NJ.com described "Beauty and the Beast" as a "Broadway ballad".[81] Film critic Roger Ebert described the song's melody as "haunting",[82] while Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum dubbed the song as a "lullaby".[32] The Disney Song Encyclopedia author Thomas S. Hischak described Menken's melody as "flowing",[83] while BuzzFeed's Aylin Zafar wrote that the song is "Tender and warm".[84] Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Gene Siskel described Lansbury's voice, which spans two octaves from F3 to B♭5,[77] as "richly textured".[85] Meanwhile, Michael Cheang of The Star and Bill Gibron of PopMatters wrote that Lansbury performed using a "fragile"[34] "calm, motherly" tone.[86] Instrumentally, "Beauty and the Beast" features several chord changes, woodwinds,[87] and violins.[88] GamesRadar observed that "Beauty and the Beast" includes a key change during which "the music swells, and then the orchestra subsides to leave just trembling violins".[88] Describing the ballad as "soaring", TV Guide compared "Beauty and the Beast" to "Shall We Dance?" from the musical The King and I.[89]
R.L. Shaffer of IGN identified "Beauty and the Beast" as a "tear-jerking poetic ballad".[90] Film Genre 2000: New Critical Essays author Wheeler W. Dixon believes that the song's lyrics are abou