MovieChat Forums > Beauty and the Beast (1991) Discussion > Why is the music so special??

Why is the music so special??

posted 8 years ago by purdys_99
3 replies | jump to latest

So I'm writing a video essay on the movie and I do want to comment on the musical score. All the experts say just how special the songs in the movie is and how it revolutionized Disney animated musicals onwards.

I was just wondering how Beauty and the Beast is different from something like Little Mermaid which is also a musical and used songs to help give insight into characters and motivations. Like, what makes Beauty and the Beast so special?

You have the composer of "The Hunchback of NOtre Dame" saying this at 1:30 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZOSgdbQOyk about how special BnB was. I was just wondering if anyone can elaborate on what he says about how the movie used Broadway musical techniques and translated it into animated form. AGain, was that not done with The Little Mermaid and previous Disney movies first? Why does BnB get all the credit for that?

[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 8 years ago

I personally love the pop ballad of the song Beauty and the Beast, but overall, I don't care for the soundtrack the way I adore the soundtrack to The Lion King. I of course prefer Beauty and the Beast over The Lion King but I like both films a lot.

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[–] Cristianos 8 years ago

I believe one of the reasons why the music is so acclaimed is because it actually sounds like a classic Broadway musical. Listening to the soundtrack, it sounds like a Broadway cast recording album and that's because the actors recorded their parts live with the orchestra. While The Little Mermaid was structured as a Broadway musical, only "Part of Your World" (and maybe "Poor Unfortunate Souls") is one of the few songs that sound authentically Broadway. The rest of the songs are based on reggae and doo-wop. And I'm pretty sure Alan Menken used the melody of the songs and placed them with the score music. I'm not sure if this was the first Disney animated soundtrack to do that, but he did so well.

Plus, the soundtrack was the first to start the ongoing tradition of having a commercial pop version of one of the songs that was meant to exist outside of the film.

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[–] Misha0809 8 years ago

I like the film but unfortunately the singing and the music in it is so annoying and terrible.