Anatomy of a Showtune: The Life and Times of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

It all starts very simple. A steady piano, a lilting flute. A young woman descending a staircase in the ballgown of every little girl's dreams, meeting her intended at the base. They beam at one another; she curtsies, he bows. And as the iconic voice of Angela Lansbury enters the equation through an enchanted teapot, infusing the sequence with warmth and wisdom, the woman and her very unlikely suitor enter the ballroom. Finally having learned to ignore their differences, the two sway and twirl their way into happily ever after.

The narrative function of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's timeless ballad in the titular Disney classic "Beauty and the Beast" is as simple as tale as old as time. Two improbable souls putting aside their differences, falling in love, and changing each other for the better. One would assume that this seemingly effortless meeting of visual excellence and musical impact came together as easily as the characters they underscore, but history tells a different story. With the film celebrating its 25th Anniversary this month, let's take a deeper look into what has been recognized by the American Film Institue as "one of the greatest songs in film history" and the events that led to its auspicious place as a Disney and musical theatre classic.

Fresh off of their first Disney hit, The Little Mermaid, which had drawn them into complex calypso and carribean rhythms, composers Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, had something very different in mind for the score of Beauty and the Beast from the start, specifically the title song. Drawing influence from musical theatre, Menken and Ashman aimed for the "height of simplicity" when composing the theme. Though the steady pop beat and timeless themes captured in its lyrics do reflect that aim, the writing process was a bit more complicated. At the time of its composition, Howard Ashman's health was failing and in order to complete the song, pre-production was moved to a hotel in upstate New York to accommodate the ailing lyricist. Though the composers were ultimately able to achieve the heights of simplicity they aimed for, the song is deceptive in its austerity. Menken has confirmed that he spent more time on the title song than any other in the score.

Once the song was complete, the composers sent a demo version to Angela Lansbury who would be voicing the character Mrs. Potts in the film. Although, she had sung on film before the veteran actress initially balked at the song, citing concerns that the style of music was unfamiliar to her and worried that her aging voice would not be able to accommodate some of the song's longer notes. Despite her many reservations, Lansbury finally capitulated and on October 6th, 1990, made plans to fly to New York to record the song. However, a bomb threat on the day of recording prompted her plane to make an emergency landing in Las Vegas. After a delay of several hours, Lansbury arrived safely in New York. At the insistence of the film's directors, who had deemed every other character in the film unsuitable to sing the song, Lansbury recorded a demo version in one take. Her performance moved everyone who was present in the recording studio at the time to tears and the hastily recorded demo, the only take Lansbury ever did of the song, made its way into the film's final version.

When it came time to record a pop version of the song, Lansbury's version having been deemed unfit for radio, the team turned to a relatively unknown Canadian singer, Celine Dion, who was attempting a crossover into the American mainstream. Having just been replaced by Linda Ronstadt on the theme for "Fievel Goes West," Dion was wary of accepting the job and very nearly turned it down, but hearing Lansbury's version moved the singer so deeply, that she agreed to record the song. Fearing that the public would not respond to the song as sung by an unfamiliar singer, the team recruited R&B star, Peabo Bryson, to duet with Dion. It was the first of any Disney song to be re-made for commercial airplay, as well as the first of any of Menken's compositions to undergo such a transformation.

In terms of its critical reception, the film itself was lauded, with particular emphasis placed on the moving ballad that underscored its most iconic scene. Film critic for the New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote: "By far the songwriters' biggest triumph is the title song, which becomes even more impressive in view of the not-very-promising assignment to create a 'Beauty and the Beast' theme song. But the result is a glorious ballad, one that is performed in two versions, as both a top-40 style duet heard over the closing credits and a sweet, lilting solo sung by Ms. Lansbury during the film's most meltingly lovely scene. For the latter, which also shows off the film's dynamic use of computer-generated animation, the viewer would be well advised to bring a hanky." The song was rewarded with an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, as well a two Grammys for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television and Best Pop Instrumental Performance for an instrumental version of the song.

Since its initial appearance in the film, the song has taken on a life of its own, both as a nostalgic icon of 90's Disney greatness and as a staple of weddings everywhere. For over a decade, the song has remained the centerpiece of the timeless love story, enchanting audiences on Broadway and beyond as the live musical tours to adoring fans around the globe. It is included on nearly every ranking of the greatest movie songs in history and helped restore Disney music to the pop charts for the first time in thirty years.

Most impressively, however, is the song's long-lasting emotional impact. In fusing a heart-rending melody with a tender performance from one of the greatest actors of her generation, and two of the greatest pop singers of the decade, the song and the awe-inspiring sequence that accompanied it transcended the emotional potential of animation forever. For the first time, the characters contained in the hand-drawn frames of the film weren't fantastical princesses and fearsome sea witches, but two flawed people learning to love one another. The timeless lesson of seeing past the exterior and looking into the soul of another is one that grows more prevalent with each passing year. And therein lies Ashman and Menken's greatest achievement; in writing a song meant for a Beast, they created something more human than ever.

All images courtesy of Disney.