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Reviews
Filmmusicsite.com editor score: 10/10
Review of Andreas Lindahl, submitted at 2008-01-20 21:25:40, score: 8/10
Beauty and the Beast, one of Disney's best so far, is perhaps the only one of Disney's animated films that really deserves to be called a musical. No other animated production from Disney has the same amount of "real" musical numbers, reminiscent of the big opera and musical numbers, with a lot of people "on stage", all with their own parts to sing. "Belle", is an excellent example. Menken and Ashman perfectly re-creates the small town feeling - everyone knows one another, gossiping wildly, and so on. A definite highlight. As is the dramatic "The Mob Song", performed by the enraged villagers, with Gaston leading the way, who we get to know in "Gaston", which is a upbeat piece, performed by Gaston and his henchmen. Could be a really entertaining song, wasn't it for Ashman's incredibly silly lyrics. I know that Disney's films primarly are directed towards kids, but even so... Then there's the wonderful "Be Our Gest", with a superb Jerry Orbach as Lumiere, reminiscent of the classic French show numbers. As for the smaller songs - being "Something There" and Beauty and the Beast - they are both really good. The latter really has the potential to be a superb song, hadn't Angela Lansbury somewhat ruined it with her singing. "Something There" is an entertaining, upbeat song, performed mainly by Paige O'Hara as Belle and Robby Benson as the Beast, with a very distinct Christmas feel to it (largely thanks to the use of bells).
What makes the soundtrack release of Beauty and the Beast so entertaining is the perfect match of songs and score, as they are written and arranged in the same style. Material from the songs are used in the score, and vice versa, making the soundtrack a very enjoyable, coherent listening experience. The CD is an excellent example of good producing and judgement. No disturbing, irrelevant, pop songs - except for the Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson version of the title song, tucked to the end of the album, that is. This was before Disney Records and other labels started to pollute their soundtrack releases with many different versions of the same song.
Menken's instrumental music is really good. Both dramatic, upbeat, sweet and beautiful. The wonderful "Tranformation" is a real gem - one of the best cues Menken has ever written for a Disney film - as is the background music for the "Prologue", with it's magical fairy tale theme, which makes an apperearance in the cue "West Wing" as well.
Read other recent reviews by Andreas Lindahl: The Rocketeer, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Phantom of the Opera
Tracks
1. Prologue, Paige O'Hara (2:29)
2. Belle, Paige O'Hara (5:07)
3. Belle (Reprise), Richard E White (1:05)
4. Gaston, Richard E White (3:40)
5. Gaston (Reprise), Richard E White (2:04)
6. Be Our Guest (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (3:44)
7. Something There, Paige O'Hara (2:19)
8. Human Again, Angela Lansbury (4:54)
9. The Mob Song, Richard E White (3:30)
10. Beauty And The Beast (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (2:45)
11. To The Fair (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (1:58)
12. West Wing (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (4:25)
13. The Beast Lets Belle Go (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (2:22)
14. Battle On The Tower (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (5:28)
15. Transformation (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (5:49)
16. Be Our Guest (Demo) (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (3:29)
17. Beauty And The Beast (Work Tape & Demo) (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (3:58)
18. Beauty And The Beast, Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson (4:07)
19. Death Of The Beast (Original Early Version) (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman) (1:29)
Total duration: 64 minutes
Awards Golden Globes: Best Original Score (Winner)
Oscars: Best Music, Original Score (Winner)
Trailers and others The music of this soundtrack was used in:
Lilo & Stitch (Trailer)
Suggestions
The Best Disney Soundtracks
         
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(9.00/10)
