The Frozen, Moana, Pocahontas and Beauty and the Beast Composers Just Had the Most Magical Conversation Ever
Almost 25 years ago, Beauty and the Beast debuted at theaters worldwide. Fans all around the world were enchanted by the ground-breaking animation and iconic songs. In fact, it was the marriage of musical theater-style music and animation that got the film a historical first Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. With the November 22 anniversary approaching, Good Morning America spoke with Alan Menken, and several other Disney composers, about the legacy of Beauty and the Beast.
Here’s what they had to say:
Joining Menken was Robert Lopez (Frozen), Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen), Stephen Schwartz (Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame), and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Moana). It’s evident how big a fan all of them are, and how much Menken and Howard Ashman’s work on Beauty and the Beast has influenced them.
In Miranda’s opinion, the film’s music is “the most successful example of the way a score is supposed to work.”
“The thing that Beauty and the Beast did was take the techniques and the craft that was being done in the best Broadway musicals and translate them to this new medium of the animated feature,” explained Schwartz.
Menken explained how he and Howard Ashman took a leap of faith with the new technique.
Regarding the opening number “Belle,” Menken told ABC News, “It was developing into this six-minute opening number. Howard said, ‘We can’t send this song to them. I mean, who asked for a six-minute opening number? Who asked for this musical theater thing?’”
“And we finally sent it and the reaction was, ‘Oh my God,’” he recalled.
The one thing everyone agreed on, however, was how great the “Gaston” sequence was. Anderson-Lopez explained, “The subversive quality of that villain was a really fresh idea at the time” As Miranda put it, it’s “one of the greatest villain songs of all time.”
At the end of the day, “Beauty and the Beast is about love,” Menken said of the film’s legacy 25 years later. “It really is so fully about love and acceptance.”
It’s truly magical seeing how inspired by Beauty and the Beast all of these distinguished composers are. Beauty and the Beast 25th Anniversary Edition is now available on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere and comes to Blu-ray September 20.
