Spoilers ahead for Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration on A.B.C.
Beauty and the Beast stands as one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed films of the disney renaissance after debuting in 1991 and becoming the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the original film, ABC produced a special that combined live-action performances with animated sequences from the actual film, featuring Grammy and Academy Award winners. singer-songwriter HER playing Belle and Grammy/Tony/Emmy nominee Josh Groban as the Beast.
Almost all of the songs were from the original 1991 film (one being from the 2017 live-action remake), and fans of the animated classic could spot some changes ABC made to iconic musical numbers, like what the little mermaid live did in 2019. As a millennial who watched Beauty and the Beast many many times in the 90s he could basically speak the dialogue along with the 30th Anniversary Special Cast and I caught some big and small changes. Read on for a breakdown of what changed and what stayed true to the original story as old as time!
“Foreword”
The prologue that revealed the Beast’s backstory and established the love story was musically nearly identical to the 1991 film, but the presentation could hardly be more different. The lyrics were accompanied by live-action performers enacting what was said, complete with an ensemble of dancers, a pre-Beast version of the prince, and the old beggar-turned-beautiful sorceress. While the stained glass version worked well in animation, the choreography made the 30th anniversary special as much a musical as a movie. (Beauty and the Beast actually turned into a stage musical that has been on repeat since 1993).
“Belle”
Visually, ABC’s “Belle” was never going to perfectly recreate a small French town on the Disney lot, but the lyrics remained mostly unchanged, with the one major exception being that the bookstore owner was played by a “madam ” instead of a “sir”. ”, with that “lady” actually portrayed by original voice actress Paige O’Hara. SHE made it clear that she could make Bella her own, and I was sold by Joshua Henry as Gaston from his first note in this song. Add in paper-eating sheep performed by adorable kids and composer Alan Menken playing the piano, and it was a fun number!
“Belle (reprise)”
The reprise of “Belle” was the first musical number in the production with major departures from the 1991 film. While Belle went to a meadow to sing about her hopes and dreams as expected in the special, she was joined by other women and girls in similar costumes for a dance number. It was a change more suited to a musical than a movie or TV show, but I took it as a representation of how many people the character has impacted over 30+ years. Also, it ended with HER on ukulele, which was definitely new!
“gaston”
Now, I know that Gaston is pretty scary as a Disney villain who could exist in real life instead of a evil lion acting Villagebut get some Beauty and the BeastThe catchiest songs from , and the first had no lyrical changes from the movie. Joshua Henry was an ideal Gaston from the jump, and Rizwan Manji showed his version of LeFou on “Gaston.” Surprisingly, one of the most elaborate numbers in the film that doesn’t involve magical furniture translated perfectly to live action. Also, not every production can add a Broadway-worthy dance to a song and make it better, but the 30th anniversary special did it!
“Gaston (reprise)”
Again, I know Gaston is the bad guy and concocts a pretty despicable scheme on “Gaston (Reprise)” with his plot to imprison Maurice so Belle will marry him, but this song is such a self-aware villain number. himself who is half evil and half funny. It’s bigger and cheesier in the ABC production than it was in the animated film, with a bit of slapstick that wasn’t originally there. It wasn’t nearly as funny as “Gaston,” but since the characters still don’t seem truly dangerous, Gaston and LeFou harmonize on “Nobody plots like Gaston, takes cheap shots like Gaston” never fails to make me laugh. .
“Be our guest”
If you want an elaborate number involving magical furniture, look no further than “Be Our Guest,” featuring Martin Short as Lumiere the chandelier! To the 30th anniversary special’s credit, he didn’t just resort to using animation and skipped a live-action version of this entirely. Obviously, it had to be on a much smaller scale than the 1991 movie that didn’t have to worry about pesky things like gravity and inanimate objects, but between the costumes, choreography, and direction, it was a fun number. Again, this was perfectly suited to a stage musical, but it didn’t have as much of an impact as it does in animation.
“something there”
“Something There” once again brought some adorable children to play with the animals, and that’s not the only change. The lyrics that were Beauty and the Beast’s internal monologues in the movie were sung out loud, and this was the song that really showed the mismatch of having an expressive opposite Belle played by HER vs. expressionless beast mask. Josh Groban’s face would peek out from under the Beast’s ribcage from time to time, and the singing was great, but this love song would have worked better to sell a romance if the Beast was truly anthropomorphic like the movie. However, the lyrics remained the same!
“Beauty and the Beast”
Adapting “Beauty and the Beast” would surely be tricky, with Shania Twain replacing the late Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts to recreate an absolutely iconic scene from the Disney pantheon. After “Something There”, she was nervous to see SHE trying to dance with a partner who couldn’t show any emotion. Ultimately, I liked that the ABC special only showed the movie scene on a screen behind Shania Twain singing, with Alan Menken playing the piano next to her. The Angela Lansbury tribute at the end was a lovely touch, with the same lyrics. And I didn’t have to watch Josh Groban try to waltz in his Beast costume!
“The Mob Song”
Gaston’s third song is much scarier than the first two! The villain angers the French villagers into a murderous frenzy on “The Mob Song,” and I wondered if ABC was going to tone down lyrics like “We’re not safe until his head’s mounted on my wall” and “Kill the beast.” . !” for transmission. Those remained as originally written, but the production changed the rather gruesome line of “We will lay siege to the castle and bring back his head!” cutting the line at “castle”. Notably, that line is included on the soundtrack currently available on Spotify, which is why Joshua Henry recorded it.
LeFou has more to say and is cheesier in the ABC special than he is in the movie, and I think he might be physically incapable of saying anything negative about Joshua Henry as Gaston. He was very good at being very bad and seemed to be enjoying himself with his cape. The special also includes women in the murderous mob marching on the castle in a departure from the film, but sticks to the “save your children and your wives” line.
Beauty and the Beast (reprise)
“Beauty and the Beast (Reprise)” definitely had the most changes from the film to the special. A chorus sang the lively encore as Belle and hers now human prince of hers danced, while HER donned a version of Belle’s famous yellow dress and stepped up to a microphone to sing a duet with an unmasked John Groban. Then all bets were off when SHE left the stage and returned strumming electric guitar! The rest of the cast came out for a final bow, and it was a completely non-traditional act. Beauty and the Beast final that nevertheless worked for what this production was.
Honorable Mention: “Evermore”
There was another song in the ABC production that I didn’t mention here, and that’s because it was a special celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original and not the 5th anniversary of the live-action version starring Dan Stevens and Emma. Watson. “Evermore” has arrived from the 2017 live action film. Still, Josh Groban sang it for viewers who tuned in to this special, and I’d say it was a great addition even though it wasn’t part of the original.
If you missed the special when it aired on December 15 on abcyou can find Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration transmission with a Disney+ subscription. The original movie and 2017 live-action commentary can also be found on the Disney streamer!