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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Disney film's score, songs are a thing of beauty, July 26, 2004
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.
Starting with Menken's darkly-tinged underscore for David Ogden Stiers' voiceover introduction in Prologue (Track 1), the music starts casting its magical spell on the listener, then with deftness worthy of a David Copperfield or David Blaine, the marvelous opening number Belle introduces us to the beautiful protagonist (voice of Paige O'Hara) and to the various inhabitants of the small French village where Belle, a young maiden who lives with her father Maurice, a widower who also likes to believe he's a great inventor. She's a typical Disney heroine -- a forward-thinking lass who yearns to venture in the great wide somewhere and be more than she is in her society -- but O'Hara's voice is so lovely and the role so wonderfully written that the stereotypes are transcended. The opening number also introduces us to the vain, handsome, yet slimy Gaston (voice of Richard White), the village heartthrob and super-macho hunter extraordinaire who is determined to make Belle his wife.
(His song, Gaston [track 4] is not only revelatory about his personality quirks as a egotist without equal, but is a fine showcase for White's wonderful baritone voice.)
In addition to the aforementioned tracks, Ashman and Menken's best songs -- if I had to choose just three -- are:
Be Our Guest, one of the big showstopper tunes and one of the best. Jerry Orbach of Law & Order fame joins forces with Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote) in a rousing Busby Berkeley-inspired number that gives new meaning to the term Dinner Theater
Something There (track 7), heard when the Beast (voice of Robby Benson) and Belle realize that they are, despite their differences and circumstances, falling in love. It's a very appealing song simply because it's so universal; those of us who have had any experiences at relationships -- even the illusory Internet romances that seem to be in vogue as of late can easily relate to Something There's theme of realizing that, yes, I feel something surpringly and wonderful for someone else.
Beauty and the Beast (track 9), Angela Lansbury's beautiful rendition of the film's best known single sums up the themes of the movie (love conquers even vast differences, love is timeless) in a wonderful and understated way.
With the exception of The Mob Song (track 8) and a final choral rendition of Beauty and the Beast at the coda of Transformation (track 14), the balance of the movie's music is instrumental underscore for action scenes (The Beast Lets Belle Go [track 12]; Battle on the Tower [13]) as the film heads toward the resolution of the Belle-Beast-Gaston triangle.
For many Celine Dion fans, the highlight of this CD will be her duet with Peabo Bryson in the end credits reprise of the title song. It's a more 1990s contemporary version, but it fits nicely, and for Dion fans it's a must-hear, since it was one of her early English-language recordings.
I don't listen to this album very often, but when I do, the music carries me to a time and place where life was not as complicated, love triumphed over adversity, and everything was possible as long as you wished upon a star...and dared to dream boldly.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
BEAUTIFUL Music, But a BEAST of a Special Edition, April 2, 2002
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 some demos tacked onto the end. This should have been rearranged so that the album blends score and song in the order that it appears in the film, and then put the demos on. But with this release -- and also the original -- the vocal songs aren't even presented in order. Why "The Mob Song" is presented here BEFORE "Beauty and the Beast" is beyond me. Another flaw is the "deluexe packaging." Mine has completely fallen apart, and I've been extremely careful with such a great soundtrack. Beware the packaging! On the plus side for the Special Edition is "Human Again," originally written for but never used in the 1991 animated feature. When Disney decided to transform the movie into a Broadway musical, a number of new songs were written to extend the show's length to the time required for a Broadway performance. In addition to all the newly created songs, this one was dusted off and used as well, and it became an instant hit with audiences and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST fans everywhere. With this in mind, the song was fully animated and interrigated into the film when it was reformatted for its January 2002 IMAX giant screen theater release. The song is sung by all of the film's original cast members, and it is a joy to have it part of the cinematic version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and its soundtrack. All in all this is wonderful music -- much better then the Broadway cast album; if you get one of the two, make it this one -- but the album is poorly organized. I'd reccomend this instead of the 1991 version just for "Human Again," but other then that and the demos there really isn't that much difference.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disney's best soundtrack (and best movie) ever!, October 15, 1998
By A Customer
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 are never corny, but range from the glowingly sweet (the title song) to rousing and exciting ("Be Our Guest") to just plain hilarious ("Gaston"). Both the movie and the soundtrack are beautiful and an important addition to any soundtrack collection.
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