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 film's producers ultimately liked the song.

The film's first song and opening number, "Belle" appears during Beauty and the Beast as a bustling 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 uses lyrics interspersed with spoken dialogue to reveal 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 a 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 widespread acclaim from film and music critics, who praised its effectiveness as an opening number and likened 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 stage adaptation of the film, originally performed by actress Susan Egan on Broadway. Actors Emma Watson and Luke Evans performed the song in the 2017 live-action remake of the film.

Background and writing
In an effort to replicate the unprecedented success of The Little Mermaid (1989), Disney decided to adapt the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" into a feature-length animated film. Although originally developed as an animated film without songs under the direction of Richard Purdum, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg was unsatisfied with the dark, somber direction of the film at the time, and ultimately ordered that it be re-written into a "Broadway-style musical with a strong heroine", similar to The Little Mermaid. Disney then hired The Little Mermaid 's songwriters, lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, to write original songs for the revised film. The songwriting duo wrote "Belle".

According to Menken, songs such as "Belle" developed naturally due to the fact that Beauty and the Beast was written in the style of a traditional Broadway musical. Actress and singer Paige O'Hara, who voices Belle, said the songwriters wanted to eschew the pop songs of The Little Mermaid in favor of a more Jerome Kern and Rodgers and Hammerstein-inspired score for Beauty and the Beast. The film's songs were heavily inspired by French, classical, and traditional Broadway music. Additionally, Menken described "Belle" and the other Beauty and the Beast songs as "tangents from 18th-century France", with Ashman suggesting that the film's opening be transformed into "a full-fledged operetta". "Belle" was the first song they wrote for the film, which Menken described as far more ambitious than Disney had asked them for. Hoping to craft a song that would depict Belle in a safe, protected environment, Ashman and Menken drew inspiration from a storytelling technique traditionally heard in operettas, using the opening song to establish the tone of the rest of the film. Written in a style Menken described as "very distant from contemporary pop", the songwriters were influenced by classical music, Mozart, and the stage musical She Loves Me (1963). Menken said the song occupies several roles in the film, simultaneously serving as an opening song, entertaining production number, and showing audiences the character they should be rooting for, and emphasized the importance of it happening early in the film to establish that the film is a musical.

Ashman and Menken were initially skeptical about "Belle"'s success upon completing the song, fearing it would end their Disney careers should the studio not like their creation. Estimating the completed song to be seven minutes long, the songwriters doubted the filmmakers would appreciate their very theatrical approach to animation. Actor Richard White agreed that, at the time, "No show of any kind starts with a seven-minute opening number that's all exposition". Ashman was particularly wary, avoiding submitting the song to Disney for several days. Menken claims Ashman's AIDS diagnosis contributed to the lyricist's emotional vulnerability during this time. The cassette tape the songwriters eventually sent to the producers also contained the demo for the reprise and "Be Our Guest". Much to their surprise, "Belle" was ultimately very well received by the creative team, becoming one of the film's few songs to remain largely unchanged during production. Ashman determined where characters would speak or sing during the song, similar to a choreographer choreographing a dance routine. Story supervisor Roger Allers requested more back-and-forth among the townspeople towards the end of the song, prompting Ashman and Menken to suggest several phrases and actions the characters could sing about. Menken played an electric piano while Ashman wrote dialogue. Their demo recording of "Belle" was included on the compilation album The Legacy Collection: Beauty and the Beast (2018). O'Hara called the song one of her favorites from the film because it establishes who Belle is as a character.

Use in Beauty and the Beast
"Belle" is the first song in Beauty and the Beast. Described by the film's producer Don Hahn as a "Gilbert & Sullivan operetta style" song, "Belle" reveals a significant amount of information within a relatively short period of time. Casey Covel of Geeks Under Grace said the song "manages to convey at least twenty page’s worth of plot and character development within the confines of only five minutes". Taking place shortly after the prologue, "Belle" helps progress the film to the present-day, walking through the town to return a library book. According to Menken, the song relays "the story of Belle going to the town and everyone’s reaction to her and getting to see Gaston and knowing he is infatuated with her  – but more infatuated with himself". As Beauty and the Beast's opening number, "Belle" is a "pivotal moment...in the narrative", playing a significant role by introducing both the film's heroine and villain, Belle and Gaston, as well as where both characters are in their lives, establishing Belle as an outsider. The song also introduces the same townsfolk who would eventually hunt the Beast later in the film due to fearing the unknown.

Belle has grown frustrated with her predictable village life and longs for an adventure similar to the ones she reads about in her books, while Gaston is a narcissistic hunter determined to marry her because he believes they are the two best-looking inhabitants. The sequence begins with Belle returning a library book about "a beanstalk and an ogre", in exchange for one she has already read several times. During the scene, Belle attempts to share the plot of her most recent novel with some villagers such as the Baker, only to be brushed off. In roughly five minutes, the song explains both Belle and Gaston's roles in Beauty and the Beast to the audience, offering insight into Belle's desire for "something more". Belle has grown bored of the feeling that every day seems to be the same to her. Ironically, Belle is unaware of the adventure she is about to embark on, or how her dreams would manifest. The song also voices the opinions of the townsfolk and "sets up the overall theme and foreshadows what makes the town so oppressive to [Belle]". While the villagers praise Belle for her beauty, they view her as "odd" because of her love of books, with their opinions of her ranging from open attraction to critical bewilderment. However, they idolize Gaston's looks and masculinity. Commonly referred to as the film's "I Want" song, "Belle" offers its protagonist an opportunity to convey her yearnings, specifically wanting more than the provincial life she has been living.

Belle reprises the song in a more defiant manner later in the film after rejecting Gaston's marriage proposal, which according to Dirk Libbey of CinemaBlend "captures all of Belle's dreams" in a manner the original version does not. The character explicitly wishes for "adventure in the great, wide somewhere", expressing her boredom with her current circumstances. O'Hara described it as the moment her character "wants to break loose out of this little town and explore the world—not looking for a man—just explore the world". Critics compared the scene to The Sound of Music (1965), which O'Hara confirmed they borrowed inspiration from.

Music and lyrics
Ashman wrote the song's lyrics while Menken composed its music. According to its official sheet music from Walt Disney Music Publishing, "Belle" is a Broadway and musical theatre-inspired song, performed at a "pastorally" tempo of 80 beats per minute in the key of D major. Vocally, the arrangement includes several high notes. Combined, O'Hara and White's vocal ranges span approximately two octaves, from A3 to G5. Additionally, actors Jesse Corti, Alec Murphy, Mary Kay Bergman, and Kath Soucie's voices are also featured on the track. In total, "Belle" lasts five minutes and nine seconds in duration. The song's verse, chorus, and musical break structure allows for the interjection of monologue and dialogue. According to Irving Tan of Sputnikmusic, the track is an "idyllic, orchestra-driven" operetta. Menken described it as "19th-century operetta style", and Filmtracks.com called it "snare-tapping". According to Odyssey contributor Freddie Miller, an opening flute invokes the feeling of "being transported to that quaint little French town". The track begins slowly with Belle's solo describing a typical morning in her village before several townspeople join her to sing "bonjour". Afterwards, "Belle" adopts a faster speed, becoming a "rhythmically driven tune" that several patrons perform at various moments throughout the song, including the Baker's line "Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up". Eventually, the song introduces a counter melody performed by Belle, who lovingly recounts a book she is reading about a young woman and a handsome prince, followed by Gaston singing a faster melody with the Bimbettes, who fawn over him. As the song crescendos, Belle belts her desire for greater ambitions "There must be more than this provincial life", countered with Gaston's "Just watch, I’m going to make Belle my wife", highlighting their opposing dreams and goals. According to author Alexandra Heatwole, Belle's line is representative of the Disney Renaissance heroines' overarching desire to break away from the confines of social milieus, noting that Ariel and Jasmine expressed similar longings in their songs. Finally, in a Broadway-style climax, the song concludes with virtually every villager singing together.

Lyrically, its verses are interspersed with dialogue from various characters, which was unusual for an animated film at the time. The protagonist discusses how she feels left out and unseen by her peers, who describe her as their "most peculiar mademoiselle" due to her love of reading. It includes the lyrics "Here's where she meets Prince Charming/But she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!" Billboard found the vocal and lyrical layering to be reminiscent of songs from the musical Les Misérables. Katrine Ames of Newsweek likened its "sly and quick-cutting dialogue" to the work of composer Stephen Sondheim. Tyler B. Searle of Collider identified its overall theme as "how society treats those it deems different, which has helped it remain topical thirty years later". Thematically, Jonathan Romney of Sight and Sound found it similar to "Maria" from The Sound of Music.

Critical response
When an unfinished version of Beauty and the Beast was screened at the New York Film Festival in March 1991, "Belle" was the only sequence to have been fully animated. "Belle" has received widespread acclaim. Filmtracks.com hailed the song as "among the most satisfying and clever cast pieces in history", calling it worthy of its nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Filmtracks.com also praised the reprise, drawing similarities to the title song from The Sound of Music (1965). Bob Hoose of Plugged In called the song "masterful". James Berardinelli of ReelViews described "Belle" as "the animated equivalent of Broadway show-stoppers, with all the energy and audacity of something choreographed by Busby Berkeley". Pete Vonder Haar of the Houston Press liked both the song and its reprise, admitting to the inevitability of having to experience an "unexpected swell of emotion" when both songs are heard.

Jennie Punter of The Globe and Mail hailed "Belle" as "one of the most delightful openings of any movie musical". In a laudatory review for The New York Times', journalist Janet Maslin praised "Belle" as "a spectacular opening number that captures the essence of this film's appeal", while comparing it to songs from the musical film West Side Story (1961). Beliefnet called it a "joyous introductory". Highlighting the song as one of the film's most notable, Sandie Angulo Chen described "Belle" as "infectious". While describing the song as a "teeming ... opener", TV Guide positively compared "Belle" to some of the songs featured in the musicals Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me. Writing for Sight and Sound, Jonathan Romney praised the animation and direction of the sequence, which he likened to the work of comic actor Buster Keaton. Bustle writer Kayleigh Hughes said lyrics such as "There must be more than this provincial life" have "stood the test of time". Caitlin Devlin of Ticketmaster called "Belle "the best opening number of any Disney musical", while Flynn Kaufman of Screen Rant called it "wonderful". Gregory Ellwood of HitFix wrote, "you can't argue the cinematic joy in numbers such as the opening 'Belle'."

Alongside "Be Our Guest" and "Beauty and the Beast", "Belle" was one of the three Beauty and the Beast songs that received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992. Beauty and the Beast became the first film to receive three Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. "Belle" ultimately lost to the film's title and theme song.

Live performances and cover versions
O'Hara performed "Belle" live for the first time at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992, where the song had been nominated for Best Original Song. Disney executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg insisted that "Belle" be performed by its original artists, despite producers of the telecast requesting pop stars. O'Hara also insisted on singing live, despite being offered the choice to lip-synch. The actress disliked the blue checked costume she wore for the performance, which she described as "too frilly" for Belle's personal style. In August 2011, O'Hara performed an abridged version of "Belle" live at the Disney Legends awards ceremony, at which she was an honoree. The performance was a Beauty and the Beast medley, in which O'Hara combined "Belle" with "Beauty and the Beast" and "Be Our Guest". In January 2020, O'Hara sang a few lines from "Belle" at the premiere of a Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along at Epcot.

Actress Michelle Nicastro covered "Belle" for her movie-themed album Toonful (1993). The song appears in the stage adaptation of the film, which premiered on Broadway in 1994. David Richards of The New York Times called it "reminiscent of Lerner and Loewe". Actress and singer Susan Egan originated the role of Belle in the production, and recorded the song for the show's original cast album with actor Burke Moses as Gaston.

In the 2017 live-action adaptation of the film, "Belle" is performed by actors Emma Watson and Luke Evans. Among some changes made to the scene's dialogue, Belle does not have a conversation with the Baker, but her love of books is maintained. Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman found the staging of this version to be lacking the "slapstick spryness" of the animation despite its faithfulness to the original material and Watson's performance, saying, "the number feels like something out of one of those overly bustling big-screen musicals from the late ’60s that helped to bury the studio system". According to Kaitlin Reilly of Refinery29, some fans complained that the baker's line about baguettes had been removed from the remake. The author attributed the revision to the scene being paced differently than the animated film. In 2023, Watson's version of the song was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Legacy
"Belle" is considered to be one of the most famous songs from Beauty and the Beast. CinemaBlend ranked "Belle" and its reprise the third and fifth best songs from the film, respectively. The same publication named it the seventh best Disney Princess song. Consequence ranked "Belle" the 12th best Disney song, hailing it as "One of the great opening numbers in all of musical theatre" and arguably the score's catchiest song. The Ringer ranked Belle 23rd. Billboard ranked it the 42nd best song in the Disney universe, calling it "tough to beat" among opening numbers. The same publication ranked it the 13th best song from the Disney Renaissance, while Syfy ranked it 28th, and Den of Geek placed it 5th. "Belle" has also been ranked among Disney's best "I Want" songs by publications such as MTV News. Vulture ranked the reprise Disney's third-best "I Want" song.

"Belle" is heavily parodied in the animated musical film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) through its opening number, "Mountain Town". Filmtracks.com described the parody as "a delightful introductory piece". Amy Keating Rogers, a writer working on the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, mentioned she was influenced by the song as she wrote "Pinkie the Party Planner", the first musical number that appears in the musical-intensive episode "Pinkie Pride".