Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and back to Music Fridays. This November will mark the 25th anniversary of Beauty and The Beast. The importance of this movie in the Disney filmography cannot be overstated. The Little Mermaid may have kicked off the Disney Renaissance and given Disney the push to get back but Beauty and The Beast is the movie that proved in the early '90s that Disney Animation was back and in full swing. Beauty and The Beast is often listed as one of, if not the greatest Disney movie of all time. And with the memorable cast of characters and great songs, it's not hard to see why. Over the next couple of months, you'll probably see a few Beauty and The Beast articles starting with two Music Fridays, one where I'll countdown my Top 6 Beauty and The Beast songs and today's, where I take a look at the titular song from the film.
Beauty and The Beast - Angela Lansbury
We start with the best version of this song, the one sung by Angela Lansbury. Twenty-five years on and this is still the pinnacle of Disney love songs. It shows how much these two care for one another and how, they've come to appreciate each other's company and Lansbury's voice just works wonders with this song. It is so gorgeous and gives it that timeless feeling that feels as though, you are returning to an old friend.
Beauty and The Beast - Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson
Here, we have the pop version that played over the end credits of the movie and the one that was played on the radio and normally, these pop versions are lesser (see Demi Lovato's Let It Go) but while I still prefer Angela Lansbury's version as it is very quaint, I really do enjoy this version as Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson (who would also go on to be one part of the A Whole New World pop version (and that's the only other song that I know of his)) have a lot of great chemistry in this cover and it is very infectious.
Beauty and The Beast - Original Broadway Cast
One thing that people may not realize if they don't follow the Broadway scene is that, just as Beauty and The Beast solidified that Disney Animation was back, Beauty and The Beast also opened the door for all of the Disney stage adaptations that we have gotten since 1994 and still going today with an upcoming stage musical based on Freaky Friday planned to open in D.C. I'll look more at Beauty and The Beast and it's importance to Disney Theatrical in a future Screen To Stage. About 5 years ago, I had the honor of seeing Beauty and The Beast here at The National Theater in Washington D.C. and it was breathtaking. Seeing Mrs. Potts perform this number onstage was amazing as it truly felt like this classic Disney movie had truly come to life and I loved every minute of it and listening Beth Fowler, the OBC Mrs. Potts sing this song is great as she does it justice. She doesn't try to be Angela Lansbury, she brings her own spin to the song but still keeps it very sweet. Our next cover is going to take us to the world of Country music.
Beauty and The Beast - Diamond Rio
I remember listening to this cover a lot as a kid as it was on The Best of Country Sing The Best of Disney cassette tape that was a huge part of my childhood. And while this isn't my favorite cover from that tape, I still enjoy it and you can hear Diamond Rio doing a really good job with this cover as they stay true to the spirit of the song, while putting a Country spin on it that works really well.
Something There/Beauty and The Beast
Our next cover is actually a bit of a mashup. As it puts Something There and Beauty and The Beast together and this comes to us from the short lived musical revue On The Record, which I own the 2 Disc cast recording to and while this is very brief, I do like the idea of putting these two songs together because Something There really does serve as the precursor to Beauty and The Beast and this mashup (short as it may be) is kind of like going between the beginning and middle of the relationship that we see blossom.
Beauty and The Beast - Jordin Sparks
I have nothing against Jordin Sparks but I've never cared for the Disney Mania albums as all of the covers featured on those sound overproduced and this is once again the case. Where most of the versions of the song that we have looked at, have kept things simple, this version decided that it needed more spectacle, not realizing that the simple charm is part of what made the original work so well. The reverb in this version detracts from the song for me and this feels like an inferior version of the song because of everything that was done to it.
Beauty and The Beast - Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen
We end with another Country take on the song that came from the wonderful special, Disney On Broadway: Celebrating 20 Years and this features the stars of the show, Nashville, Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen doing a Country take on this classic Disney song and it works tremendously well. I never watched Nashville but I will say that I greatly enjoy this cover as it strips the song down to just the two of them singing with one another and keeps it simple. It doesn't feel the need to get all showy and that lets the song be the star and this is a very enjoyable take on the song because of that. It is very pleasant on the ears and one that I could see myself coming back to again in the future.
What was your favorite cover of the song? Let me know in the comments! Peace!
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