Belle (Disney song)
"Belle" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Recorded by American actors Paige O'Hara and Richard White, "Belle" is a mid-tempo classical music-inspired song that borrows elements from Broadway and musical theatre. It was the first song Ashman and Menken wrote for Beauty and the Beast, which they feared Disney would reject due to its length and complexity, but the Beauty and the Beast filmmakers ultimately enjoyed the song.
| "Belle" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Paige O'Hara and Richard White | |
| from the album Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| Released | October 29, 1991 |
| Genre | Operetta |
| Length | 5:09 |
| Label | Walt Disney |
| Composer(s) | Alan Menken |
| Lyricist(s) | Howard Ashman |
| Producer(s) |
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The film's first song and opening number, "Belle" appears during Beauty and the Beast as a busy operetta-style musical number that introduces audiences to the film's heroine Belle (O'Hara) and her arrogant suitor, Gaston (White). In addition to describing Belle's goals and aspirations, the song reveals how the townsfolk feel about her and Gaston, positioning the former as an outcast due to her beauty and love of reading, and the latter as their hero despite his arrogance. Belle reprises the song later in the film after rejecting a marriage proposal from Gaston, declaring her deep longing for adventure.
"Belle" has received positive reviews from film and music critics, who praised its success as an opening number and compared it to songs from the musical films West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965). "Belle" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992, but lost to the film's title song. "Belle" was similarly featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film, originally performed by actress Susan Egan. Actors Emma Watson and Luke Evans performed the song in the 2017 live-action remake of the film.