BEAUTY And The BEAST

Although I tend to watch action/adventure and science fiction films more than I do kid-friendly family fare, I do on occasion like to tap into my more sentimental side and watch a Walt Disney film. Not that I have many in my home video library; I only own Fantasia (1940) and Beauty and the Beast (1991). Both are wonderfully rendered in visual and musical terms, but I was so taken by Alan Menken's music and the late Howard Ashman's lyrics for Beauty and the Beast that I bought the original soundtrack album a few days after watching the first animated film seriously considered for a Best Picture nomination.

Beauty and the Beast was the crowning achievement for the Menken and Ashman team, surpassing 1989's The Little Mermaid, and it would be their final collaboration, for Ashman died shortly after completing the lyrics. But the success of both film and the soundtrack album is proof of the timelessness and general appeal of Beauty and the Beast's songs...Read more

Although Disney has always succeeded in creating wonderful musical moments and some of the best soundtracks ever released, the musical score for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is their best to date, and I doubt they'll ever be able to top it. The songs perfectly introduce the characters ("Belle," "Gaston," and reprises) and set the mood for the rest of the show. If Disney had made BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in the 2000's instead of 1991, chances are that it would have been more of an action film then a musical (look at Disney's recent "Dinosaur" and "Atlantis," among others.) If this was the case with BEAUTY, the film would have been truly lost in every sense of the word. The music here carries the picture, and does so expertly. I love the movie and the music with all my heart. Why, then, did I give this CD only three stars? Simply because I expected more from the album itself as a Special Edition release.

This is exactly like the original 1991 release except for the addition of "Human Again" and...Read more

From "Snow White" to "The Little Mermaid" Disney has always had something going for it, but, baby, the folks at Disney have completely outdone themselves with "Beauty and the Beast"--both the movie AND the soundtrack. As Disney's ONLY heroine who NEVER frolicked with any cutesy animals (OK, she frolicked with cutesy tupperware, but that's not the same thing), and as a woman who READS (!), Belle just rocks, and Paige O'Hara, with her sweet, perky voice brings all the qualities you love about her onscreen back to life in the soundtrack. The other members of the cast are excellent. Robby Benson as the Beast--I had no idea he had such a soulful, beautiful voice. I can think of no better Mrs. Potts than Angela Lansbury, and Jerry Orbach, David Ogden-Stiers, Jessie Corti, and Richard White are equally wonderful. The songs are completely enchanting--WHY did Howard Ashman have to die?? He and Alan Menken were such an amazing team! The lyrics...Read more