Belle (Disney song) nominated for Academy Awards
"Belle" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman for Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Originally recorded by American actress and singer Paige O'Hara and American actor Richard White, "Belle", a mid-tempo French and classical music-inspired song, incorporates both Broadway and musical theatre elements. The film's first song and opening number, "Belle" appears during Beauty and the Beast as a large scale operetta-style production number that introduces the film's heroine Belle, considered a book-loving nonconformist by the townspeople of the village, who has grown weary of the provincial life in which she is supposed to live, and Gaston, the film's narcissistic villain who wishes to desire her hand in marriage despite Belle's repeated rejections.
"Belle" has been universally acclaimed by film and music critics. Musically, the song has been compared to various musical numbers from the musical films West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965), as well as the Broadway musicals Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me. At the 64th Academy Awards in 1992, "Belle" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but ultimately lost to the film's title song. The song was similarly featured in the Broadway musical based on the film, originally performed by American actress and singer Susan Egan.
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