Who voiced Lumiere in Walt Disney Pictures' animated feature film Beauty and the Beast?
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
The video game series "Kingdom Hearts" features a world based on the film, named "Beast's Castle", along with several of the film's characters. In the first game, the world has been destroyed and Belle kidnapped by the Heartless, led by Maleficent, but the Beast travels to Maleficent's stronghold and works with Sora to defeat Maleficent and rescue Belle and the other captured princesses. In "Kingdom Hearts II", the world has since been restored following Ansem's defeat, but Beast and Belle are having difficulties due to the enigmatic Xaldin of Organization XIII attempting to bring out the Beast's darker side in order to turn him into a Heartless and a Nobody, but the Beast eventually comes to his senses and works with Sora once again to defeat Xaldin once and for all. In the game's ending credits, the Beast turns back into the Prince. In "", the world is featured as a playable level but the story is not essential to the main plot. In "Kingdom Hearts χ", the world is featured again, this time as a hallucination that follows the plot of the movie more closely. The characters featured in the series are Beast, Belle, Lumiere, Gaston, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Maurice, and the Wardrobe. After Gaston is defeated, the Beast transforms back into the Prince. Gaston does not appear in "Kingdom Hearts II", the world's primary antagonist being Xaldin, an original character created for the series, but who shares several traits with Forte, the main antagonist of "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas".
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
When the villagers raid the castle, Cadenza takes part in the fight where he bodyslams LeFou and fires his remaining keys as a form of hailing bullets at the villagers but not long before Lumière scares the villagers off by lighting one of the gunpowder puddles on the castle floor causing it to spark and forcing the villagers to retreat in humiliation. When the spell is broken, Cadenza is finally reunited with Garderobe and gets his lost teeth replaced. He performs his music at the ball at the end of the movie.
Vittorio Amandola
Amandola was also known as a voice actor. He voiced Waylon Smithers in the Italian-Language version of "The Simpsons" until his death in 2010 and he even dubbed many Disney characters into the Italian language, particularly during the Disney Renaissance period. One of these roles included Lumière from "Beauty and the Beast". From 1989 to 2000, he was the Italian voice of Goofy as well as Yosemite Sam in "Looney Tunes" from 1996 to 2006.
Beauty and the Beast (franchise)
Beauty and the Beast is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional merchandise. The success of the original 1991 American animated feature, "Beauty and the Beast", directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, led to three direct-to-video follow-up films, a live-action spin-off television series, a Disney World stage show, a Disney World restaurant, several video games, merchandise, and the 10th longest-running musical in Broadway history, which was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for Best Costume Design. In March 2017, Disney released a live-action adaptation of the film.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
This article lists information of fictional characters from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" franchise, covering the 1991 animated film, its direct to video , a short story collection, the stage musical adaptation, and the 2017 live-action and computer animation remake.
Belle (Disney song)
"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 rejections.
Beauty and the Beast (franchise)
"Beauty and the Beast" is the original film of the franchise. It was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released in 1991. "Beauty and the Beast" is the 30th Disney animated feature film and belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance. The plot of the film is based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
On July 15, 1995, the musical began its original Australian run in Melbourne at The Princess Theatre, before moving on to Sydney. The original Australian cast included Michael Cormick as The Beast, Rachael Beck as Belle, Hugh Jackman as Gaston, and Ernie Bourne as Maurice.
Jan Malmsjö
He also voiced Lumiere in the Swedish dub of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast".
Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 2017 American musical romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, and co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films. The film is a live-action reimagining of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name, itself an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's 18th-century fairy tale. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the eponymous characters with Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson in supporting roles.
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
Disney hosted an open casting call for the character, which several actors attended. Among the actors who auditioned for the role was Rupert Everett, who Disney decided not to cast because the filmmakers felt that he did not sound arrogant enough to voice such a proud character; Everett would ultimately go on to voice Prince Charming, a similar character who appears in the "Shrek" film series, using the critique of not sounding arrogant enough to play Gaston to secure the role. American actor and opera singer Richard White was selected to voice Gaston. His initial audition was first recorded on audio cassette, a copy of which was then forwarded to Disney. White's feature film debut, the actor recalled that lyricist and executive producer Howard Ashman guided him through discovering how he would approach voicing Gaston without telling him exactly how to do it, describing having the opportunity to voice a character like Gaston as "freeing ... cathartic, in a way". Although White did not feel like it was necessary for him to physically "become" his character in order to voice him, in retrospect, he admits that he acted much more like Gaston during recording sessions. Dave Kehr of the "Chicago Tribune" compared White's "brash" vocal performance to that of actor Howard Keel.
Andreas Deja served as Gaston's supervising animator. The first villainous character to whom Deja had been assigned by Disney, the animator immediately recognized that Gaston was unique in terms of Disney villains because he was not designed to frighten both the film's hero and audience, as previous Disney villains had been. In the case of Gaston, Deja stated that viewers are unable to immediately decipher whether or not the character is actually an antagonist based on his physical appearance alone. White agreed that Gaston is "full of himself, of course, but he's not recognizably villainous" until his opinions and expectations of Belle are further explored. Deja initially struggled with the idea of designing a "supremely handsome" villain, a specific instruction administered to him by Katzenberg, but he eventually grew to understand the concept upon studying the film's underlying themes of not judging a book by its cover and "deceptive appearances". Deja explained, "I understood him from a story point of view, but visually was hard", and at times argued with Katzenberg over whether or not the character was handsome enough. Some Disney executives also shared Deja's initial hesitation over the character's appearance. Deja ultimately overcame his deliberations about the character's appearance by modeling Gaston based on handsome soap opera actors, a creative decision Katzenberg approved of, explaining to the animator "the story we’re trying to tell here is don't judge a book by its cover, so Gaston has to have the opposite qualities of the Beast ... no one said it was going to be easy!'".
Disney Princess
In the 2014 film "Maleficent", Aurora is played by Elle Fanning. Lily James portrays Cinderella in the 2015 film of the same name. Emma Watson is seen as Belle in the 2017 film "Beauty and the Beast". Naomi Scott is set to star as Jasmine in the 2019 film "Aladdin". Liu Yifei will appear as Mulan in the 2020 film of the same name.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Before "Beauty and the Beast", Disney's tradition of depicting female characters as victims had already long been established. The fact that Belle was hardly depicted as a feminist in earlier versions of the film became a point of contention among the filmmakers. Despite the fact that Disney wanted "Beauty and the Beast" to resemble an old-fashioned film, the filmmakers envisioned Belle as "a woman that was ahead of her time". As the first woman in the history of Disney to write a feature-length animated film, Woolverton decided to explore Belle as an opportunity to create a female character who would ultimately be better received than Disney's previous animated heroines, specifically Ariel from "The Little Mermaid". Woolverton was aware that the task would be particularly challenging due to the previous character's popularity, but fought relentlessly to make sure that she was creating "a new kind of Disney heroine." Inspired by the women's rights movement Woolverton herself had experienced during the 1960s and 1970s, the screenwriter was determined to avoid creating another "insipid" Disney princess and decided to conceive Belle as a headstrong feminist. Woolverton strongly believed that contemporary audiences would not identify with Belle unless she was updated appropriately, and thus evolved the character into "a woman of the '90s". The screenwriter refused to watch Jean Cocteau's 1946 film adaptation of the fairy tale and chose to base Belle on American actress Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Jo March in the 1933 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's book "Little Women" instead, who she felt was "a real depiction of womanhood." Similarly, story artist Brenda Chapman drew influence from Hepburn's on-screen bickering with actor Spencer Tracy during the scene in which Belle tends to the Beast's wounds.
Helge Reiss
Reiss provided the voice for "Cogsworth" in Disney's 1991 animated film, "Beauty and the Beast". Despite playing in more than thirty films, he was mostly known for his role as "Professor Drøvel" on the first season of the series "Brødrene Dal" and reprised his role in a small cameo in the fourth series, 27 years later. In later years he played in the Norwegian soap opera, "Hotel Cæsar".
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Actor Terrence Mann was cast as the Beast. Mann had previously performed as Javert in "Les Misérables", for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. For his final audition for Disney management, Mann performed for a large audience comprising Disney executives and secretaries in a theatre located on 42nd Street, which he felt was in stark contrast to the usual method of auditioning for six to eight people in a dark theatre. Actor Gary Beach was cast as Lumiere. Beach had seen "Beauty and the Beast" premiere at the El Capitan Theatre, prior to which he had watched a stage rendition of the film, and thoroughly enjoyed both. Beach was particularly drawn to Jerry Orbach's rendition of "Be Our Guest" in his role as Lumiere, thinking, "Now why can't I get a part like that". Two years later, Beach received a call from casting director Jay Binder inviting him to play Lumiere during their workshop of "Beauty and the Beast", but kept turning down the offer due to having prior commitments to an upcoming show starring comedian Carol Burnett. It was only at Burnett's insistence that Beach finally accepted. Amidst a cast of relatively obscure actors, Tom Bosley, famous for his roles on the television series "Happy Days" and "Murder, She Wrote", became the show's most recognizable performer when he was cast as Belle's father Maurice.
Majordomo
In the 1991 Disney animated film "Beauty and the Beast", the character of Cogsworth has the position of majordomo in the castle, alongside Lumiere who is the castle's Maître d'hôtel.
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Walt Disney first attempted unsuccessfully to adapt "Beauty and the Beast" into an animated film during the 1930s and 1950s. Following the success of "The Little Mermaid" (1989), Walt Disney Pictures decided to adapt the fairy tale, which Richard Purdum originally conceived as a non-musical. Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg eventually dismissed Purdum's idea and ordered that the film be a musical similar to "The Little Mermaid" instead. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton story first credited to Roger Allers. Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken wrote the film's songs. Ashman, who additionally served as the film's executive producer, died of AIDS-related complications six months before the film's release, and the film is thus dedicated to his memory.
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage! is a Broadway-style musical at the Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World and formerly at Disneyland Park and Disneyland Paris. It is based on the popular animated film "Beauty and the Beast" (the show opened on the same day as the film's premiere), including many of the original songs and characters. While most of the soundtrack is prerecorded, the actors playing Belle and Gaston speak and sing live. Two versions of the show have been presented since opening day.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Directed by Robert Jess Roth with choreography by Matt West and assisted by Dan Mojica, the original Broadway cast included Susan Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as the Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumière and Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts. Orchestrations were by Danny Troob (after his own orchestrations and arrangements of the film), scenic designer was Stan Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, lighting designer Natasha Katz, sound was by T. Richard Fitzgerald, hair designer David H. Lawrence, and prosthetics were by John Dods. Illusions were by Jim Steinmeyer and John Gaughan, and pyrotechnic design was by Tyler Wymer.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
The West End production opened at London's Dominion Theatre on April 29, 1997, starring Julie-Alanah Brighten as Belle and Alasdair Harvey as the Beast. It also featured Burke Moses as Gaston, Derek Griffiths as Lumiere, Mary Millar as Mrs. Potts, Norman Rossington as Maurice, Barry James as Cogsworth, Di Botcher as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Richard Gauntlett as LeFou, and Rebecca Thornhill as Babette.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
The Featherduster is a maid of the castle, who is also Lumière's girlfriend. She is transformed into a feather duster as a cause of the Enchantress' spell. She appears in "Beauty and the Beast" and "Belle's Magical World". She also makes a cameo in "". There have been some changes to her name throughout the different shows produced; in the musical as well as "House of Mouse", she is called Babette; in the Disney Comics orequel comic serial "The New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast", she is named Marie; and in "Belle's Magical World", she is called Fifi. In the 2017 live-action film, she is portrayed by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and is called Plumette and was transformed into a swan-shaped feather duster.
Beauty and the Beast (2017 soundtrack)
Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2017 film "Beauty and the Beast". The album, largely based on material from Disney's 1991 animated version, features songs and instrumental score composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and three new songs composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice. The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on March 10, 2017.
Linda Woolverton
Linda Woolverton (born December 19, 1952) is an American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist, whose most prominent works include the screenplays and books of several acclaimed Disney films and stage musicals. She is the first woman to have written an animated feature for Disney, "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), which was also the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She also helped write the screenplay for the film "The Lion King", and adapted her own "Beauty and the Beast" screenplay into the book of the Broadway adaptation of the film, for which she received a Tony Award nomination.
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Decades later, during the production of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in 1987, the Disney studio resurrected "Beauty and the Beast" as a project for the satellite animation studio it had set up in London, England to work on "Roger Rabbit". Richard Williams, who had directed the animated portions of "Roger Rabbit", was approached to direct but declined in favor of continuing work on his long-gestating project "The Thief and the Cobbler". In his place, Williams recommended his colleague, English animation director Richard Purdum, and work began under producer Don Hahn on a non-musical version of "Beauty and the Beast" set in 19th-century France. At the behest of Disney CEO Michael Eisner, "Beauty and the Beast" became the first Disney animated film to use a screenwriter. This was an unusual production move for an animated film, which is traditionally developed on storyboards rather than in scripted form. Linda Woolverton wrote the original draft of the story before storyboarding began, and worked with the story team to retool and develop the film.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Critics, who hailed it as one of the year's finest musicals, immediately noted the film's Broadway musical potential when it was first released in 1991, encouraging Disney CEO Michael Eisner to venture into Broadway. All eight songs from the animated film were reused in the musical, including a resurrected musical number which had been cut from the motion picture. Original songwriter Menken composed six new songs for the production alongside lyricist Rice, replacing Ashman who had died during production of the film. Woolverton, who had written the film's screenplay, adapted her own work into the musical's libretto, and specifically expanded upon the characterization of the Beast. Woolverton also expanded the storylines of the castle staff from servants who had already been transformed into household objects into humans who were gradually turning into inanimate objects. Costumes were designed by Ann Hould-Ward, who based her creations on both the animators' original designs as well as the Rococo art movement after researching how clothing and household objects looked during the 18th century.
Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)
The 2017 film features a remake of the 1991 original song recorded as a duet by Ariana Grande and John Legend. Grande and Legend's updated version of the title song is faithful to the original, Grammy-winning duet, performed by Céline Dion and Peabo Bryson for the 1991 Disney film. 
Disney debuted the music video for Ariana Grande and John Legend's interpretation of the title song on Freeform television network on March 5, 2017, and it has since been viewed over 100 million views on the Vevo video-hosting service.
Guillermo del Toro's unrealized projects
On July 18, 2011, TheFilmStage reported that del Toro was developing a live-action film of the classic fairy tale and Disney film "Beauty and the Beast", with Emma Watson to star as Belle and Denise Di Novi to co-produce. However, del Toro's adaptation never materialized, though Watson did play the role of Belle in The Walt Disney Company's 2017 live-action remake.
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
Gaston is one of several elements unique to Disney's animated adaptation of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale, written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Under Richard and Jill Purdum's direction, Gaston originally resembled a "foppish aristocrat" as opposed to the strong, arrogant hunter he would ultimately be revised into; "The Huffington Post" described early drafts of Gaston as "a weaselly, sort of wimpy character". In fact, Gaston was originally intended to resemble more of an annoying than antagonistic character, while the main villainous role belonged to Belle's aunt Marguerite instead, who plotted to force Belle into marrying Gaston. This version of Gaston was abandoned along with much of the original film treatment's elements, including Marguerite, at the behest of Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Disney Princess
Emma Watson portrays Belle in the live-action adaptation, which is also titled "Beauty and the Beast".
Evermore (Beauty and the Beast song)
"Evermore" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical fantasy film "Beauty and the Beast" (2017), a live-action remake of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name. Originally recorded for the film by English actor Dan Stevens, who performs the song in his starring role as the titular Beast, "Evermore" was first released as a single by American singer Josh Groban on March 3, 2017. Stevens' version became available on March 10, 2017 when the film's soundtrack was released online, while Groban's cover is played during the film's closing credits.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
Mrs. Potts is portrayed by Emma Thompson in the live-action version of "Beauty and the Beast". During the final battle, she recognizes the potter Mr. Potts among the villagers storming the castle and is reunited with him after she transforms back into a human. It is then revealed that her first name is Beatrice.
Beauty and the Beast (1983 film)
Beauty and the Beast () is a 1983 Danish drama film written and directed by Nils Malmros. The film stars Line Arlien-Søborg as a sexually active 16-year-old and Jesper Klein as the father who struggles to accept his daughter's relationships with boys as well as his own jealousy. Malmros, who had worked with the young Arlien-Søborg on his coming-of-age drama, "Tree of Knowledge", wrote the role of the daughter specifically for her.
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
After Katzenberg insisted that development on the film be completely overhauled, the studio ultimately decided to incorporate elements from filmmaker Jean Cocteau's 1946 film adaptation of the fairy tale into their own version of "Beauty and the Beast". Gaston, a character who does not exist in the original fairy tale, was among several elements borrowed from the live-action version of the story, based on a character Cocteau himself had created specifically for his film: Avenant, portrayed by French actor Jean Marais who also plays the Beast in a dual role. Similar to Cocteau's addition of Avenant, Gaston was created for the animated adaptation because Disney felt that the story could potentially benefit from a legitimate villain, which the original text lacks, in addition to instilling "Beauty and the Beast" with a more prominent element of danger. With Marguerite completely eliminated, Gaston replaced her and ultimately became a more formidable villain. "Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre" author Thomas S. Hischak observed that Gaston himself had been developed as "a new kind of Disney villain" because he is introduced as a harmless, comic individual who gradually changes and evolves into a much more sinister character as the film progresses. With its handsome villain and liberated heroine, both of whom had been developed into fully realized, multi-dimensional characters, finally established, "Beauty and the Beast"'s storyline began to solidify. However, some filmmakers continued to contest whether or not Gaston was actually a strong enough villain.
Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)
The song appears in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film, which premiered in 1994. When the song first premiered on Broadway, there were few Broadway musicals at the time that featured ballads about love. Originally covered live by actress Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts, "Beauty and the Beast" was included on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the musical, again performed by Fowler. While critical reception towards the musical ranged from negative to mixed, John Simon of "New York" commended Fowler for "manag[ing] to heat up and brighten [her] material". Within the realm of reality television talent competitions, "Beauty and the Beast" was covered on "The Voice Australia" by contestants Lionel Cole and Sabrina Batshon in 2014. Candice Barnes of "The Sydney Morning Herald" reviewed that the "song suited Sabrina best" while it was "too high" for Cole, in the end accusing both contestants of "destroying one of the best loved Disney songs with their vocal gymnastics."
Susan Egan
On June 6, 2016, Egan appeared alongside Brad Kane at the Hollywood Bowl as opening acts for Disney's "The Little Mermaid Live" show. Egan performed a medley of songs from "Beauty and the Beast". The June 6 performance also included the original "Little Mermaid" voice actress Jodi Benson performing with the rest of the "Live" cast. From July 20–29, 2018, Egan reprised the role of Belle in the 5-Star Theatre's production of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.
Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)
"Beauty and the Beast" was written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken in 1990. Intending for the song to be "the height of simplicity", the songwriters drew much of its influence from Broadway music. Due to Ashman's failing health, some of "Beauty and the Beast"'s pre-production was relocated to a hotel in Fishkill, New York near Ashman's residence to accommodate the ailing lyricist. Out of all the songs he has written for "Beauty and the Beast", Menken devoted the most time to the title song. The track was first recorded by British-American actress Angela Lansbury, who voices the character Mrs. Potts, an enchanted teapot. The songwriters first introduced "Beauty and the Beast" to Lansbury as a demo recording, which was accompanied by a note asking her if she might possibly be interested in singing it. Although a seasoned film and stage performer who had previously done her own singing for Disney in the musical film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971), Lansbury, who was more accustomed to performing uptempo songs, was hesitant to record the ballad because of its unfamiliar rock style. Although she liked the song, Lansbury also worried that her aging singing voice was no longer strong enough to record "Beauty and the Beast", and was especially concerned about having to sustain its longer notes. Lansbury suggested that the songwriters ask someone else to sing "Beauty and the Beast", but they insisted that she simply "sing the song the way [she] envisioned it."
Jerry Orbach
In the 1980s, Orbach shifted to film and TV work full-time. Prominent roles included a superb performance as tough, effective, but "allegedly corrupt" NYPD narcotics detective Gus Levy in Sidney Lumet's "Prince of the City"; he was the 1981 runner-up for the NSFC Best Supporting Actor award. He also portrayed gangsters in both the action-thriller "F/X" and the Woody Allen drama "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (the latter of which also featured his future "Law & Order" co-star Sam Waterston). In 1985, Orbach became a regular guest star on "Murder, She Wrote" as private detective Harry McGraw, which led to him starring in the short-lived spin-off series "The Law & Harry McGraw". In 1987, he was featured in the hit film "Dirty Dancing" as Dr. Jake Houseman, the father of Jennifer Grey's character "Baby". He made further TV appearances on popular shows such as "The Golden Girls" (for which he received his first Emmy nomination), "Who's the Boss?", and "Frasier" (as a guest caller).
In 1991, Orbach starred in Disney's Academy Award-winning animated musical "Beauty and the Beast", as the voice (both singing and speaking) of the French-accented candelabrum Lumière, which according to Orbach, he played "halfway between Maurice Chevalier and Pepé Le Pew". At the 64th Academy Awards, Orbach performed a live-action stage rendition of the Oscar-nominated song, "Be Our Guest", that he sang in "Beauty and the Beast". He later reprised his voice role of Lumière for the film's direct-to-video sequels, multiple episodes of "Disney's House of Mouse", and the previously-deleted song ("Human Again") that was added to the "Beauty and the Beast" 2002 IMAX re-release. In 1992, Orbach joined the main ensemble cast of "Law & Order" as the world-weary, wisecracking, streetwise NYPD homicide detective Lennie Briscoe. He had previously guest-starred as a defense attorney on the series, and was subsequently cast as the new "senior detective" following Paul Sorvino's departure. Orbach's portrayal of Detective Briscoe was based on his similar role from "Prince of the City" years before, which "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf had personally suggested to him at the time of his casting.
Belle's Magical World
Belle's Magical World (also known as Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World) is a 1998 direct-to-video animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was released on February 17, 1998, and is a followup to the 1991 Walt Disney Pictures animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast", featuring the voices of David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth, Robby Benson as The Beast, Gregory Grudt, who replaced Bradley Pierce as Chip Potts, Paige O'Hara as Belle, Anne Rogers, who replaced Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts, and Jerry Orbach as Lumiere. The film features two songs performed by Belle, "Listen With Our Hearts" and "A Little Thought." This storyline is set within the timeline of the original "Beauty and the Beast" (after Christmas but before the fight against Gaston).
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
In December 1997, the musical opened in Stuttgart at the Palladium Theatre, Stuttgart and played there until December 22, 2000. Leah Delos Santos played Belle and Uwe Kröger played the Beast and Marc G. Dalio played Gaston.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Deemed an "iconoclast" by "Boxoffice", Belle continues to garner strong recognition for her role in "Beauty and the Beast". Established as a cultural icon, the character holds the distinction of being Disney's first feminist princess. Commentators believe that the character's role in "Beauty and the Beast" as one of Disney's first strong female characters is responsible for changing the way in which women would be depicted in subsequent animated films. According to Kevin Fallon of "The Daily Beast", before Belle "being a Disney princess meant singing songs about how much you love combing your hair with a fork and giving away your voice if it meant you got to marry the guy with that dreamy chiseled jaw". The "Los Angeles Times"' Charles Solomon considers Belle to be among four Disney Princesses responsible for breaking "the bonds of convention." About.com's David Nusair agreed that Belle successfully "updated the princess formula for an entirely new generation." "The Atlantic"'s Lindsay Lowe echoed Nusair's sentiment, citing Belle as the character responsible for ending Disney's "history of ... docile heroines." The "Daily Campus"' Cathy Schmidt recognized Belle and Ariel as "the beginnings of the more modern Disney princesses." Writing for Virgin Media, Limara Salt believes that the character "proved that audiences could fall in love with a brown-haired intellectual." A survey conducted by Disney after the film's release determined that Belle's love of books inspired young women to read. Justin Humphreys of "The Hook" expressed, "Belle remains a most successful princess because people can relate" to her. Elina Bolokhova of "Parenting "believes that Belle's "bravery and independence helped redefine the meaning of a Disney princess." According to Justine McGrath of "Teen Vogue", Belle has "become one of the most popular classic Disney princesses of all time." Commending her intelligence and lack of vanity, the character was placed at number one on E!'s ranking of the Disney Princesses, while "Cosmopolitan "ranked her fourth. In the magazine's "Definitive Ranking Of Disney Princesses", "Seventeen "ranked Belle fifth. Similarly, BuzzFeed also ranked the character fifth, praising her love of reading. A reader poll conducted by BuzzFeed also determined that Belle is the most popular Disney Princess, having garnered 18% of votes. Belle is the fifth most successful Disney Princess in terms of box office revenue, with "Beauty and the Beast" having grossed over $350 million. However, Belle was the lowest-selling Disney Princess on eBay in 2013, with sales of less than $7,000 despite the fact that she is often cited as a customer favorite.
Belle is considered to be among Disney's most beloved animated heroines, and has been called one of Disney's most beloved princesses. According to Scott Huver of "People", the character's "popularity remains a force to be reckoned with" even 25 years after the film's release. Belle was the only animated heroine nominated for the American Film Institute's greatest heroes in film ranking; only eight women were included on the final list. CNN ranked Belle among "Merida and other animated heroines", a list recognizing some of Disney's greatest heroines. According to the "Daily Mirror", Belle is Disney's second most iconic character, behind only Mickey and Minnie Mouse, describing her as a "portrait of bravery, teaching us to look beyond appearances and stand up for what we believe in." Meanwhile, "PopMatters" ranked Belle Disney's second best hero. Considered to be both a sex symbol and fashion icon, Belle has garnered accolades for both her appearance and costumes. The character was ranked 64th on UGO's list of the most attractive female cartoon characters, while being ranked 14th on "Complex"'s "25 Hottest Cartoon Women of All Time". E! ranked Belle the second best-dressed Disney Princess, crowning her "the most couture of all the Disney princesses." Author Emily Popp went on to praise the character's ballgown for being "off the Oscar de la Renta runway," while "Vogue" included it among the "Most Famous Dresses", with author Sarah Karmali dubbing it "One of the most instantly recognizable dresses in Disney history." Revered as iconic, the dress is currently among the most famous in film history 25 years after its debut. Belle appeared on BuzzFeed's "Definitive Ranking Of 72 Disney Princess Outfits" four times, ranking the character's green, blue, pink and yellow dresses 51st, 37th, 31st and 15th, respectively. Similarly, Belle's blue, pink, yellow and green costumes were ranked 18th, 10th, ninth and fourth by Official Disney Blogs, whose author believes that the character's ballgown "went down in the history books." Belle appeared on "Stylist"'s list of the "Best beauty looks in Disney" twice, both for the character's hairstyles. "Entertainment Weekly "ranked Belle's hair fifth in the magazine's "Disney Princesses: Ranking Their Hairdos – and Don'ts!"
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Belle helped establish Woolverton as a "legendary screenwriter"; the writer continues to be commended for her dedication to creating strong female characters; ever since Belle, the majority of Woolverton's female characters have been headstrong, independent women, namely Nala in "The Lion King "(1994), Mulan in "Mulan "(1998), Alice in "Alice in Wonderland "(2010) and Maleficent in "Maleficent "(2014). Susan Wloszczyna of Indiewire wrote that "Woolverton set a new standard for fully fleshed-out fairy-tale heroines ... with Belle", in turn paving the way for "The Hunger Games"' Katniss Everdeen, and "Frozen"'s Anna and Elsa (2013). Woolverton remains protective of Belle, explaining, "[she] was my first-born child, so there’s a little bit of possessiveness, which really I had to let it go". "Beauty and the Beast", Belle performs the film's opening number, "Belle", which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992. In 1998, O'Hara was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production for reprising her role as Belle in the second of "Beauty and the Beast"'s three direct-to-video sequels, "Belle's Magical World". To commemorate her work on "Beauty and the Beast" and various contributions to Disney, O'Hara was honored with a Disney Legends award on August 19, 2011. Disney hired Spanish actress Penélope Cruz to pose as Belle in photographer Annie Leibovitz's Disney Dream Portrait Series, while actor Jeff Bridges posed as the Beast. The "Daily Mail" described the image as Cruz "wearing Belle's gorgeous yellow gown and being lifted high into the air by her prince," accompanied by the phrase "Where a moment of beauty lasts forever."
Paige O'Hara
Donna Paige Helmintoller, better known as Paige O'Hara (born May 10, 1956), is an American actress, voice actress, singer and painter. O'Hara began her career as a Broadway actress in 1983 when she portrayed Ellie May Chipley in the musical "Showboat". In 1991, she made her motion picture debut in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", in which she voiced the film's heroine, Belle. Following the critical and commercial success of "Beauty and the Beast", O'Hara reprised her role as Belle in the film's two direct-to-video follow-ups, "" (1997) and "Belle's Magical World" (1998), and for a cameo appearance in "Ralph Breaks the Internet" (2018).
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Over the course of the production, notable replacements included Michelle Gayle and Annalene Beechey as Belle, John Barrowman and Earl Carpenter as the Beast, Alex Bourne as Gaston, and Billy Boyle and Terry Doyle as Maurice. The production ended on December 11, 1999.
Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)
The song is also featured in the 2017 live-action adaptation; sung by Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts during the film and also as a duet cover version by Ariana Grande and John Legend during the end credits. Grande and Legend's version of the song is an homage to the cover performed by Dion and Bryson for the 1991 film.
Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)
Actress and singer Paige O'Hara, who voices Belle, was among the first artists to express interest in recording the pop version of "Beauty and the Beast", but Disney dismissed her for being "too Broadway". Unable to afford to hire a "big singer" at the time, Disney settled for rising Canadian recording artist Celine Dion. Because she was relatively unknown to American audiences at the time, the studio doubted that Dion would have much of an impact in the United States on her own and subsequently hired the more well-known American singer Peabo Bryson to record the song alongside her as a duet. Disney contacted Dion's manager René Angélil about having his client record "Beauty and the Beast" while the singer was on tour in England. A fan of Dion's music, Menken personally wrote the singer a letter of approval.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
They have made regular appearances on "Disney's House of Mouse." They are now all voiced by Kath Soucie (who had originally just voiced Paulette), due to Mary Kay Bergman's suicide by the time the show was made.
Sarah Uriarte Berry
Berry is a native of California and graduated from UCLA in 1992. She made her Broadway debut as Eponine in "Les Misérables" in 1993. She then went on to star as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" in 1995. Berry then returned to the role of Eponine in "Les Misérables" in 1997. She appeared in the short-lived "Taboo" from October 2003 to February 2004 and "The Light in the Piazza" (2005) as "Franca", for which she was nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards as Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. She also starred as the title role in "Cinderella" alongside Eartha Kitt for the New York City Opera in 2004. On September 19, 2006, she returned to the role of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" and left the show on December 24, 2006.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
Lumière is played by Scottish actor, Ewan McGregor in the live-action version of "Beauty and the Beast". This depiction of Lumiere has him as a charismatic bouteiller who has been transformed into a human-shaped candelabra with a bronze human-like face, arms tipped with candles and legs to walk with as well. Despite the differences, Lumiere's design as a candelabra with three branches still remains only by shape shifting and can be self litten. He is lover of Plumette who has been transformed into a feather duster.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
30 years-old at the time of her audition, O'Hara consequently imbued Belle's voice with a mature, "womanly quality" despite the character's young age. Woolverton appreciated the fact that O'Hara sounded more mature than traditional Disney heroines. Additionally, O'Hara identified with her character because they were both ostracized by their peers throughout their childhood because of their unconventional interests, explaining, "I was odd growing up myself. I mean, I was into musical theater and Gershwin and Rodgers and Hammerstein while people were going to Led Zeppelin concerts. So I understood that ... I wasn't the norm either. I was very focused on my career, on my performing all through my childhood and my teens ... I had a one-track mind, and I think that Belle was like that a lot." O'Hara also shares Belle's interest in reading. Wise was pleased with the quality of O'Hara's voice, which reminded him of Garland. O'Hara initially found it challenging to control her speaking volume due to having been trained to project as a stage actress. O'Hara told "The Guardian "that to solve this she "softened and used the microphone." As per the filmmakers' encouragement, the actress would occasionally ad-lib her own dialogue, none was included in the final film because it sounded "too modern". The animators would videotape O'Hara daily while she recorded to incorporate her "quirky" mannerisms, expressions and gestures into the character, among them her hair constantly falling into her eyes. O'Hara and American actor Robby Benson, who provides the voice of the Beast, asked Disney to allow the co-stars to record together as opposed to the traditional method of being isolated in a recording booth, to which the studio agreed despite its costliness. O'Hara credited the filmmaker's decision with developing both the film and Belle and the Beast's relationship. O'Hara and Benson became the first Disney voice actors to record together. In total, the recording process took over two years to complete. O'Hara had already been friends with co-star Richard White, who voices Gaston, for 15 years. Despite her successful stage career, O'Hara was virtually unknown to Hollywood audiences when she was cast in "Beauty and the Beast"; she was one of the last obscure actresses to be cast in a feature-length Disney animated film before the studio began casting better known talent in subsequent animated projects.
Alina Eremia
She also worked for Disney Romania as a Voice actress, dubbing the singing voice of Pocahontas in "Pocahontas" (Romanian dubbing from 2008) and "" (Romanian dubbing from 2009), and both speaking and singing voices of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast", "" and "Belle's Magical World" (Romanian dubbing from 2010).
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
In the 2017 live-action remake, Maurice is played by Kevin Kline. He remains as an inventor, but makes music boxes to help Belle see the world from the comfort of home in the village of Villeneuve. He fled Paris and settled in the provinces with Belle when she was still a baby to protect the both of them from a plague that took the life of Belle's mother and Maurice's wife. True to the original story, Maurice is imprisoned by the Beast for taking a rose from his garden instead of being caught trespassing in the castle. Maurice returns to Villeneuve to find help, but only Gaston and LeFou are willing to do so. However, Gaston only wanted to help in order to get Maurice's blessing for his marriage to Belle. Knowing that Belle has no interest in marrying Gaston, Maurice refuses her hand, prompting Gaston to leave him to die at the hands of the wolves. The Enchantress, disguised as a villager named Agathe, rescues him and takes him back to Villeneuve. Upon his return, Maurice attempts to have Gaston arrested for attempted murder, but Gaston in turn declares him insane and has him committed to an insane asylum. Belle arrives back in time to vindicate Maurice, but both are locked in the asylum wagon while the whole village goes to kill the Beast. After Maurice and Belle make amends regarding Belle now understanding why Maurice was so overly protective of her, thanks to the Beast, Maurice uses his inventor skills to pick the lock on the wagon, allowing Belle to take Phillipe back to the Beast's castle while Maurice remains behind with the dumbfounded Monsieur D'Arque. At the end of the movie, Maurice is seen painting the ballroom dance as everyone celebrates.
Beauty and the Beast (2009 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 2009 Australian fantasy film directed by David Lister and starring Estella Warren, Rhett Giles, and Victor Parascos, and loosely based upon the fairy tale of the same name. The film was released in 2009 on video under that title and aired in 2010 on Syfy television as "Beauty and the Beasts: A Dark Tale".
Belle (Disney song)
In an attempt to replicate the unprecedented success of "The Little Mermaid "(1989), Walt Disney Animation Studios decided to adapt the traditional fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" into an animated feature film. Although originally conceived as an animated film with "no songs in it whatsoever" under the direction of Richard Purdum, Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was unsatisfied with the dark and somber direction in which the film was headed, and ultimately ordered that it be re-written as a "Broadway-style musical with a strong heroine" instead, similar in concept to "The Little Mermaid". Disney then hired lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken to write the film's songs and assist in the "transform[ing of] "Beauty and the Beast" into a musical", the pair having just recently collaborated on scoring "The Little Mermaid".
Human Again (song)
"Human Again" is a song originally written for, deleted from, and later restored to the 1991 Disney animated musical "Beauty and the Beast". With music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, "Human Again" was replaced during production of the original 1991 version of the film by "Something There", but retained and revised by Menken and new lyricist Tim Rice for the 1994 stage musical adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast". A newly produced sequence featuring "Human Again" was added to the "Beauty and the Beast" animated film for its 2002 IMAX Special Edition and subsequent DVD, VHS, and Blu-Ray home releases.
Dirty Dancing
Orbach, already known as a successful Broadway actor, continued in different genres. He was the voice of the candelabrum "Lumiere" in the Disney animated film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), before taking on his best known role, detective Lennie Briscoe in the TV crime drama "Law & Order", which he played from 1992 until his death in 2004.
Julie Nathanson
Julie Nathanson (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress, voice actress and singer who can be heard as Silver Banshee and Jewelee in DC's animated film "" and as Jess Black in Ubisoft's "Far Cry 5". She has been voicing Belle from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", replacing Paige O'Hara in various media since the 2011 video game "".
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
The Original Madrid Cast Recording was released in 1999. The principal cast included Xenia Reguant as Belle, Carlos Marín as Beast, Lisardo Guarinos as Gaston, Víctor Ullate Roche as LeFou, Germán Torres as Lumière, David Venancio Muro as Cogsworth and Kirby Navarro as Mrs. Potts. A second cast recording for the new production was released in May 2008, starring Julia Möller as Belle, David Ordinas as Beast, Pablo Puyol as Gaston, Raúl Peña as LeFou, Armando Pita as Lumière, Esteban Oliver as Cogsworth and Angels Jiménez as Mrs. Potts.
Louise Fribo
She is the voice of the title character in the Danish dubbing of "Mary Poppins" and Belle in the dubbing of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" and its sequels. She's also the voice of Ariel in "" and "" taking over the part from Sissel Kyrkjebo.
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
On April 18, 1994, "Beauty and the Beast" premiered on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in New York City to mixed reviews. The show transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11, 1999. The commercial (though not critical) success of the show led to productions in the West End, Toronto, and all over the world. The Broadway version, which ran for over a decade, received a Tony Award, and became the first of a whole line of Disney stage productions. The original Broadway cast included Terrence Mann as the Beast, Susan Egan as Belle, Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumière, Heath Lamberts as Cogsworth, Tom Bosley as Maurice, Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts, and Stacey Logan as Babette the feather duster. Many well-known actors and singers also starred in the Broadway production during its thirteen-year run, including Kerry Butler, Deborah Gibson, Toni Braxton, Andrea McArdle, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Christy Carlson Romano, Ashley Brown, and Anneliese van der Pol as Belle; Chuck Wagner, James Barbour, and Jeff McCarthy as the Beast; Meshach Taylor, Patrick Page, Bryan Batt, Jacob Young, and John Tartaglia as Lumière; and Marc Kudisch, Christopher Sieber, and Donny Osmond as Gaston. The show ended its Broadway run on July 29, 2007 after 46 previews and 5,461 performances. , it is Broadway's tenth-longest-running show in history.
Roberto Pedicini
In Pedicini's animated roles, he has been the official Italian voice of Goofy since 1999, replacing Vittorio Amandola. He has even dubbed Sylvester the Cat and the Tasmanian Devil since 1996 as well as dubbing Timon in most of his cartoons, Phoebus in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", Hopper in "A Bug's Life" and Gaston in "Beauty and the Beast". He has also dubbed characters in video games.
Tony Jay
Jay's voice-over work included Monsieur D'Arque, the amoral asylum superintendent, in Disney's 1991 hit animated film version of "Beauty and the Beast". From 1994–2001 he supplied the voice for the virus Megabyte in the computer animated television show "ReBoot". According to one source, Jay was preferred to Patrick Stewart, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen for the voice of Judge Claude Frollo in Disney's 1996 animated film adaptation of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, who had also steered his performance in the film version of "Beauty and the Beast". Jay reprised Frollo's voice for Walt Disney World's nighttime light and fireworks show "Fantasmic!" From 1995 to 1996 Jay was the voice of the alien warlord Lord Dregg, the villain during the last two seasons of the original 1987 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" animated TV series.
Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)
In January 2015, Emma Watson announced that she would be starring as Belle, the female lead. She was the first choice of Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn, as he had previously overseen Warner Bros. which released the eight "Harry Potter" films that co-starred Watson as Hermione Granger. Two months later, Luke Evans and Dan Stevens were revealed to be in talks to play Gaston and the Beast respectively, and Watson confirmed their casting the following day through tweets. The rest of the principal cast, including Josh Gad, Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline, Audra McDonald, Ian McKellen, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci were announced between March and April to play LeFou, Mrs. Potts, Maurice, Madame de Garderobe, Cogsworth, Plumette, Lumière and Cadenza, respectively.
Cupid
Better known as "The Beauty and the Beast", it was originally written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and abridged and later published by French author Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1740. The story over the years has gained international acclaim and in 1991 inspired the Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast". It has been said that Gabrielle was inspired by the tale "Cupid and Psyche". The tale is about a beautiful yet lonely woman with a heart of gold that is held captive by a hideous beast who has invisible servants to aid her in anything she desires within the confines of the castle walls. She eventually falls in love with him despite his appearance and breaks the cursed placed on him to reveal a handsome prince.
Christy Carlson Romano
In February 2004, Romano began a 31-week run as Belle in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway. She reprised the role in Atlanta's 2005 Fox Theatre production of "Beauty and the Beast". In September 2008, she joined the Broadway company of "Avenue Q" as Kate Monster for several weeks. She starred as Michelle off-Broadway in "White's Lies" at New World Stages in 2010, alongside Betty Buckley and Tuc Watkins.
Beauty and the Beast (1991 soundtrack)
Menken recruited musician Robbie Buchanan to arrange "Beauty and the Beast" into the form of a pop duet while Walter Afanasieff was responsible for producing the track. Afanasieff also assisted Buchanan in the arranging of the song. Menken was ultimately pleased with Afanasieff's production, explaining, "Walter Afanasieff ... took it and really molded it into something very different than I ever intended and I grew to love it. In a way, Walter made it his own, and I love that." Because Disney could not afford to hire a "big singer", they drafted Canadian singer Celine Dion, who was relatively new to the music industry at the time, to record "Beauty and the Beast". However, the studio feared that she would not draw much media attention because of her relative obscurity in the United States, so they hired American singer Peabo Bryson, who was a more well-known recording artist at the time, to perform alongside her. The newly arranged song was released as the album's lead single on November 25, 1991.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
In "Belle's Tales of Friendship "(1999), a spin-off of the film series, Belle owns a bookstore in which she teaches valuable lessons to children by reading and retelling well-known stories and fairy tales, narrating four classic Disney animated shorts: "The Three Little Pigs"(1933), "Peter and the Wolf" (1946), "The Wise Little Hen" (1934) and "Morris the Midget Moose" (1950). For the first time, Belle appears as both animated and live-action versions of herself, voiced and portrayed by actresses Paige O'Hara and Lyndsey McLeod, respectively. In the television series "Sing Me a Story with Belle "(1995–1999), Belle, in a role reprised by McLeod, owns her own music and bookshop, where she is visited by children to whom she tells and sings stories.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
In the Belle's Magical World" segment, "Fifi's Folly", Fifi misunderstands Belle as Lumière's new girlfriend when Belle helps him rehearse for his 5th Anniversary date with Fifi. However, in the end of the segment, Lumière tells her he loves her after a series of events and they get back together again.
Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)
Likewise, "The Washington Post"s Ann Hornaday complimented Watson's performance, describing it as "alert and solemn" while noting her singing ability as "serviceable enough to get the job done". Richard Roeper of "Chicago Sun-Times" awarded the film three and a half stars, lauded the performances of Watson and Thompson which he drew a comparison to Paige O'Hara's and Angela Lansbury's performances in the 1991 animated version while appreciating the performances of the other cast and also pointing out on its usage of the combination of motion capture and CGI technology as a big advantage which he stated: "Almost overwhelmingly lavish, beautifully staged and performed with exquisite timing and grace by the outstanding cast". Mike Ryan of "Uproxx" praised the cast, production design and the new songs while noting the film doesn't try anything different, saying: "There's certainly nothing that new about this version of "Beauty and the Beast" (well, except it isn't a cartoon anymore), but it's a good recreation of a classic animated film that should leave most die-hards satisfied." In her A- review, Nancy Churnin of "The Dallas Morning News" praised the film's emotional and thematic depth, remarking: "There's an emotional authenticity in director Bill Condon's live-action Beauty and the Beast film that helps you rediscover Disney's beloved 1991 animated film and 1994 stage show in fresh, stirring ways." James Berardinelli of ReelViews described the 2017 version as "enthralling".
Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)
"Beauty and the Beast" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for the Disney animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). The film's theme song, the Broadway-inspired ballad was first recorded by British-American actress Angela Lansbury in her role as the voice of the character Mrs. Potts, and essentially describes the relationship between its two main characters Belle and the Beast, specifically how the couple has learned to accept their differences and in turn change each other for the better. Additionally, the song's lyrics imply that the feeling of love is as timeless and ageless as a "tale as old as time". Lansbury's rendition is heard during the famous ballroom sequence between Belle and the Beast, while a shortened chorale version plays in the closing scenes of the film, and the song's motif features frequently in other pieces of Menken's film score. Lansbury was initially hesitant to record "Beauty and the Beast" because she felt that it was not suitable for her aging singing voice, but ultimately completed the song in one take.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Belle appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast". The role was originated by actress Susan Egan, who was initially reluctant to audition for "Beauty and the Beast" because she "thought it was a terrible idea for Disney to put a cartoon on Broadway." However, her agent managed to convince her otherwise, and Egan ultimately turned down callbacks for roles in the musicals "My Fair Lady", "Carousel "and "Grease" in favor of starring as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" because she had always wanted to originate a Broadway role. Egan had never watched "Beauty and the Beast "prior to her audition, relying solely on "her own creative instincts" instead. Egan's performance earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical at the 48th Tony Awards. A total of seventeen actresses have portrayed Belle in the Broadway musical, among them recording artists Debbie Gibson and Toni Braxton, "The Sopranos"' Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Disney Channel alumnae Christy Carlson Romano and Anneliese van der Pol, the latter of whom became Broadway's final Belle when the show ended its thirteen-year-long run in 2007. Actress Sarah Litzsinger remains Broadway's longest-running Belle.
Robby Benson
In 1981, he costarred in the film "The Chosen", based on the book of the same name by Chaim Potok. "The New York Times" gave the film a mixed review, but noted that Benson's character was "full of a gentle inquisitiveness that cannot help but win the audience's sympathy." Benson played Olympic 10,000-meter gold medalist Billy Mills in the 1983 film "Running Brave". In 1991, he starred as the voice of Beast in the acclaimed animated Disney film "Beauty and the Beast". Later in the 1990s he voiced lead character J.T. Marsh on the acclaimed sci-fi cartoon series "Exosquad".
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
The Original Stuttgart Cast Recording was released in 1998. The principal cast included Uwe Kroger as Beast and Leah Delos Santos as Belle and Ann Mandrella as Babette.
Belle (Disney song)
According to Menken, the "plot-furthering songs" in "Beauty and the Beast", including "Belle", developed quite naturally as a result of the fact that the film was written to "almost ... exist as a stage musical", having been "presented in the style of a traditional Broadway musical." According to Broadway actress and singer Paige O'Hara, who both recorded the song and provided the voice of Belle, Ashman and Menken "wanted to leave the pop music sound of "Mermaid" behind and go for something more Jerome Kern/Rodgers & Hammerstein" for "Beauty and the Beast". The film's songs and musical numbers, which were written to both "propel the plot" and offer "character development", were heavily influenced by French, classical and traditional Broadway music. Additionally, Menken described "Belle" and the other "Beauty and the Beast" songs to "The New York Times "as "tangents from 18th-century France".
Rafaëlle Cohen
In 2017, she portrayed the role of one of the Bimbettes in the Disney film "Beauty and the Beast".
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
In the live-action film, Belle is seen during the first song buying one of the Baker's foods and his discussion to Belle was transferred to Jean Potts. The Baker was seen when the Headmaster had roused the villagers into destroying Belle's laundry invention after the Headmaster caught Belle teaching a girl how to read. Like the animated film, the Baker is among the villagers that accompany Gaston and Le Fou to the Beast's castle to kill the Beast only for the villagers to be fended off by the transformed servants.
Beauty and the Beast (1934 film)
By early 1934, Friz Freleng was appointed the main director of the "Merrie Melodies", following the departures of other directors from Leon Schlesinger Productions (the company later known as Warner Bros. Cartoons). "Beauty and the Beast" (released in April 1934) was the first "Merrie Melodies" animated short film directed by Freleng. It was a color film, using a two-color process. However, following its release, Freleng would direct six short films in black and white. Among them were "The Girl at the Ironing Board" and "The Miller's Daughter". From November 1934 onwards, the "Merrie Melodies" switched to only including color films. The sibling series "Looney Tunes" continued to be produced in black and white.
Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
The Beast is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 30th animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). He also appears in the film's two direct-to-video followups "" and "Belle's Magical World". Based on the hero of the French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, the Beast was created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton and animated by Glen Keane.
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
Gaston is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). Voiced by American actor and singer Richard White, Gaston is an arrogant hunter whose unrequited feelings for the intellectual Belle drive him to murder his adversary, the Beast, once he realizes she cares for him instead. Gaston serves as a foil personality to the Beast, who was once as vain as Gaston prior to his transformation.
John Tartaglia
Tartaglia joined the cast of "Beauty and the Beast" as Lumière on November 21, 2006 until early June 2007.
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
White's casting ultimately influenced Gaston's design; the animators adjusted the character's appearance after hearing White's operatic singing voice for the first time, making Gaston similarly operatic in his movements, gestures and mannerisms. According to White, Gaston's early designs initially looked "much more Brutish" before the animators ultimately decided to go in a "more beautiful" direction, basing the character "on a grotesque version" of the Prince Charming character. Describing the design process as highly collaborative between actor and animator, White would record his lines while the animators drew his character, alternating back and forth for several months. This process allowed the animators to incorporate White's acting performance into Gaston. Because White continued to perform on Broadway while working on "Beauty and the Beast", Disney would accommodate his stage career by hiring a studio to work wherever he was located. White recalled, "The experience is kind of like an actor's sandbox. You're in a room by yourself and are invited to be as creative as you can be. Anything you could imagine … they could draw!" In his book "Tradigital Animate CC: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Animate", author Stephen Brooks observed that Deja's challenge "was to let [audiences] know that Gaston is not as courageous as everyone says he is ... but also keep him a real and credible threat" since he is a villain nonetheless.
La La Land (film)
Initially, Miles Teller and Emma Watson were slated to star in the leads. Watson dropped out because of a commitment to the 2017 musical adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast", while Teller departed via long contract negotiations. Conversely, Gosling turned down a role as the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast" in favor of "La La Land". Chazelle decided to make his characters somewhat older, with experience in struggling to make their dreams, rather than younger newcomers just arriving in Los Angeles.
Paige O'Hara
As of 2011, O'Hara was replaced by Julie Nathanson as the voice of Belle due to her voice changing significantly over the course of twenty years. Despite this, she still paints Belle for Disney Fine Art and also continues to do promotional appearances for Disney. In 2016, O'Hara appeared at numerous special screenings of "Beauty and the Beast" in honor of the film's 25th anniversary. O'Hara reprised the role of Belle in the 2018 film "Ralph Breaks the Internet".
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
They also appear in the 2017 live-action remake. Although their overall roles were the same, they are in fact among the mob late in the film unlike in the 1991 original. In addition, the triplets were given a significantly different appearance, where they wore similarly-colored pink dresses, and possessed heavy makeup, a beauty spot, and brunette hair, as well as explicitly disliking Belle (Bill Condon and Rafaëlle Cohen both indicated the triplets' dislike of Belle dealt with their own mom neglecting them and doting on the latter). They are also depicted as being more haughty and vain. Their occupations also changed, acting as seamstresses in the remake. The three of them are among the villagers that accompany Gaston to the Beast's castle to kill the Beast where they end up fighting the servants. One deleted scene had the Triplets chasing Frou-Frou into the kitchen where Cuisiner throws food on them. It is left unknown if they knew Gaston died against the Beast, though it's possible that Gaston's absence from then on gave them that message. Lastly, they were also given significantly different names by their actresses, being Elise (portrayed by Rafaëlle Cohen), Eliana (portrayed by Sophie Reid), and Eloïse (portrayed by Carla Nella), though the names have not currently been officiated.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
The show had four US national tours. The first opened on November 15, 1995, and closed in 1999. It featured Kim Huber as Belle, Fred Inkley as the Beast, Patrick Page as Lumiere and Paige Davis as Babette. Patrick Page and Paige Davis met and fell in love during the tour and married. A second national tour opened in 1999 with Susan Owen as Belle and Grant Norman as The Beast. This production closed in 2003. The third national tour opened in 2001 and closed in 2003. This production starred Jennifer Shraeder as Belle and Roger Befeler as the Beast with Marc G. Dalio as Gaston. Notable replacements on the tours have included Sarah Litzsinger, Erin Dilly and Danyelle Bossardet as Belle. The three touring companies visited 137 venues in 90 North American cities. About 5.5 million people in the United States and Canada saw these tours. The fourth national tour of "Beauty and the Beast" began February 2010, opening in Providence, Rhode Island, starring Liz Shivener as Belle and Justin Glaser as the Beast. Under the direction of the original Broadway creative team, the show featured all new sets and costumes. The tour was the longest in the show's history, running until July 2016.
Bill Condon
Condon directed the 2017 live action film adaptation of the animated 1991 film "Beauty and the Beast". A few weeks before the film's scheduled release on March 17, 2017, Condon announced that one character, LeFou, has "a nice, exclusively gay moment", which resulted in an "internet meltdown" of contrasting support and condemnation.
List of Disney's Beauty and the Beast characters
The Featherduster is voiced by Kimmy Robertson in "Beauty and the Beast" and "Belle's Magical World", but no actress is credited for her single line in "The Enchanted Christmas". She also appeared in "Disney's House of Mouse" and "", again voiced by Robertson but this time was called Babette.
Disney Princess
Belle is the fifth Disney Princess, first introduced in Disney's 30th animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). Based on the heroine of the French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, Belle was created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton and originally animated by James Baxter and Mark Henn. Originally voiced by Paige O'Hara, Belle is currently voiced by Julie Nathanson. O'Hara did, however, return as the voice of Belle in the 2018 film "Ralph Breaks the Internet".
Erland Josephson
He was the Swedish voice of the Narrator in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast".
Meilin Gray
In 2007, Meilin (梅琳) and Hong Kong singer and actor, Nicholas Tse, recorded the theme song and music video for Walt Disney's Mandarin language release of the film "Beauty and the Beast", which gave Meilin her first commercial success, with the song reaching No.2 on Pepsi's Chinese "Billboard" Pop Charts.
Donny Osmond
He returned to Broadway on September 19, 2006, in the role of Gaston in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". He was scheduled to perform for nine weeks, but due to popular demand he extended his run through December 24. Liz Smith of the "New York Post" wrote, "I am here to tell you he is charmingly campy, good-looking and grand as the villain 'Gaston', patterned after our old friend Elvis", and noting "Donny is divine". On July 29, 2007, Osmond played Gaston again for the final performance of "Beauty and the Beast".
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 30th Disney animated feature film and the third released during the Disney Renaissance period, it is based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont who was uncredited in the English version but credited in the French version, and ideas from the 1946 French film of the same name directed by Jean Cocteau. "Beauty and the Beast" focuses on the relationship between the Beast (voice of Robby Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a monster and his servants into household objects as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle (voice of Paige O'Hara), a young woman whom he imprisons in his castle to become a prince again. To break the curse, Beast must learn to love Belle and earn her love in return before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose or else the Beast will remain a monster forever. The film also features the voices of Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Still recovering from Walt Disney's demise, Disney's animated films continued to experience a noticeable decline in quality while struggling to attain critical and commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s. The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner was hired to ensure the performance of the studio's next animated projects, despite having virtually no animation experience. Eisner himself had been a theatre major in college. Eisner's first hire as Disney's CEO was theatrical producer Peter Schneider, who subsequently became responsible for hiring more artists who shared similar theatrical backgrounds to contribute to the studio's next animated releases, among them lyricist Howard Ashman and his long-time collaborator, composer Alan Menken. Ashman and Menken had previously amassed great live musical success with their Off-Broadway production "Little Shop of Horrors", but the performance of Ashman's first Broadway venture "Smile" had been disappointing. Eager to redeem himself, Ashman agreed to work on Disney's animated film "The Little Mermaid" (1989), which he and Menken would famously decide to approach as though they were scoring a Broadway musical. Upon release, "The Little Mermaid" was a massive critical and commercial success, garnering two Academy Awards, both of them for Ashman and Menken's original music. Disney established a successful renaissance period, during which Ashman and Menken became responsible for teaching the art of transforming traditional animated films into animated musicals.Inspired by "Mermaid"s success, production on an animated musical adaptation of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale began shortly afterward, during which Ashman finally confessed to Menken that he was dying of AIDS, a secret he had been keeping from the studio in fear of being discriminated against or fired. Before the film had even been completed, executive vice president Ron Logan suggested to Eisner that he consider adapting "Beauty and the Beast" for Broadway, an idea Eisner quickly deflected. While the film, written by screenwriter Linda Woolverton, was premiering at the New York Film Festival, an ailing Ashman was being cared for at St. Vincent's Hospital; the lyricist succumbed to his disease four days later on March 14, 1991, dying eight months before the film's November release. "Beauty and the Beast" became the last project on which Menken worked with Ashman. The film was released to immediate critical acclaim and commercial success, outperforming "The Little Mermaid" by becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history, as well as the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Once again, Academy Awards were won for Ashman and Menken's music. Several critics noticed the film's live musical potential, among them prolific "New York Times" theatre critic Frank Rich. Lamenting the Broadway selection at the time, Rich famously praised the songwriting duo for having written "[t]he best Broadway musical score of 1991", while hailing the film as a "better [musical] ... than anything he had seen on Broadway" in 1991. Rich's review would ultimately provide Eisner and Katzenberg with the confidence needed to seriously consider the film as a potential Broadway project. Disney was also inspired by the successes of Broadway musicals such as "Cats", "Les Misérables" and "The Phantom of the Opera" strongly believing their production could be just as profitable.
The Beautician and the Beast
The Beautician and the Beast is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis. It stars Fran Drescher as a New York City beautician who is hired, under the false assumption she is a science teacher, to tutor the four children of a dictator, played by Timothy Dalton, of a fictional Eastern European nation. Ian McNeice, Patrick Malahide, Lisa Jakub, Michael Lerner, Adam LaVorgna, Phyllis Newman, and Heather DeLoach appear in supporting roles. Produced by Drescher's company High School Sweethearts in partnership with Paramount Pictures, "The Beautician and the Beast" is her first starring role in a film, and part of her attempt to transition from television to film.
Ewan McGregor
In 2017, he reprised his role as Mark Renton in "T2 Trainspotting". McGregor played Lumiere in the live action adaptation of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", directed by Bill Condon with an ensemble cast featuring Emma Watson in a leading role alongside Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Stanley Tucci, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson. Filming began in May 2015 at Shepperton Studios in London, and the movie was released in March 2017. He then starred in FX anthology series in the third season of "Fargo" (both 2017), which garnered him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his dual performance of Emmit Stussy and Ray Stussy at the 75th Golden Globe Awards. In 2018, McGregor starred as the adult version of the titular character in "Christopher Robin", a live-action adaptation of Disney's "Winnie the Pooh" franchise directed by Marc Forster and starred alongside Hayley Atwell.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Belle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). Originally voiced by American actress and singer Paige O'Hara, Belle is the non-conforming daughter of an inventor who yearns to abandon her predictable village life in return for adventure. When her father Maurice is imprisoned by a cold-hearted beast, Belle offers him her own freedom in exchange for her father's, and eventually learns to love the Beast despite his unsightly outward appearance.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Since the November 1991 release of "Beauty and the Beast", O'Hara has returned to The Walt Disney Company on several occasions to voice Belle in a variety of media and merchandise, including its direct-to-video sequels " "(1997), "Belle's Magical World "(1998) and "Belle's Tales of Friendship "(1999), as well as various video game releases such as the "Kingdom Hearts" series and several audio and video recordings associated with the Disney Princess franchise. Additionally, O'Hara was hired by Disney to perform the song "Belle" at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992. O'Hara has referred to the studio as her "main employer for 20 years". In 2011, O'Hara was officially replaced by actress Julie Nathanson, who first voiced Belle in the video game "Kinect Disneyland Adventures "(2011). O'Hara revealed to the "Las Vegas Review-Journal" that news of the replacement greatly upset her to the point of which she was willing to re-record much of Belle's dialogue in an attempt to prove to the company that she is still capable of voicing the character. However, O'Hara eventually admitted that she found the process quite difficult as a result of the way in which her voice has changed over the course of 20 years. O'Hara would eventually return as the voice of Belle in the 2018 film "Ralph Breaks the Internet".
Something There
"Something There" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures 30th animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). Sung by the majority of the film's main cast, the song was recorded by American actors Paige O'Hara as Belle and Robby Benson as the Beast via voice over, featuring actors Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury and David Ogden Stiers as Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth, respectively. The only song performed by the Beast, "Something There" is heard midway through "Beauty and the Beast "during a scene in which Belle and the Beast finally begin to acknowledge their feelings for each other.
Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)
On January 19, 2017, it was confirmed by both Disney and Céline Dion—singer of the original 1991 "Beauty and the Beast" duet song, with singer Peabo Bryson—that Dion would be performing one of the new original songs "How Does a Moment Last Forever" to play over the end titles. She originally had doubts about whether or not to record the song due to the recent death of her husband and manager René Angélil, who had previously helped her secure the 1991 pop duet. While ultimately accepting the opportunity, she said: "[The] first Beauty and the Beast decision was made with my husband. Now I'm making decisions on my own. It's a little bit harder. I couldn't say yes right away, because I felt like I was kind of cheating in a way". She eventually felt compelled to record the song because of the impact "Beauty and the Beast" has had on her career. According to Dion, "I was at the beginning of my career, it put me on the map, it put me where I am today". Also, Josh Groban was announced to be performing the new original song "Evermore" on January 26, 2017.
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
The Original London Cast Recording was released in 1997. The principal cast included Julie-Alanah Brighten as Belle, Alasdair Harvey as Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Derek Griffiths as Lumière and Mary Millar as Mrs. Potts.
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" praised the film with the following statement, "Two years ago, Walt Disney Pictures reinvented the animated feature, not only with an eye toward pleasing children, but also with an older, savvier audience in mind. Disney truly bridged a generation gap with "The Little Mermaid …" Now, lightning has definitely struck twice with "Beauty and the Beast"." Awarding the film a perfect score of four stars, Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" compared "Beauty and the Beast" positively to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio", writing, ""Beauty and the Beast" reaches back to an older and healthier Hollywood tradition in which the best writers, musicians and filmmakers are gathered for a project on the assumption that a family audience deserves great entertainment, too." In 2001 Ebert again gave the IMAX re-release a full 4 out of 4 stars. James Berardinelli of "ReelViews "rated the film similarly while hailing it as "the finest animated movie ever made", writing, ""Beauty and the Beast" attains a nearly-perfect mix of romance, music, invention, and animation." The use of computer animation, particularly in the ballroom sequence, was singled out in several reviews as one of the film's highlights. Hal Hinson of "The Washington Post" gave the film a positive review, calling the film "A delightfully satisfying modern fable, a near-masterpiece that draws on the sublime traditions of the past while remaining completely in sync with the sensibility of its time." Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" gave the film a positive review, saying "It is a surprise, in a time of sequels and retreads, that the new film is so fresh and altogether triumphant in its own right." Dave Kehr of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film three out of four stars, saying ""Beauty and the Beast" is certainly adequate holiday entertainment for children and their more indulgent parents … But the film has little of the technical facility, vivid characterization and emotional impact of Disney past."
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
In January 2015, Emma Watson announced that she would be portraying Belle in a live-action version of the film, which was released in 2017. "Beauty and the Beast" was the first of the Disney remakes in which an A-list actress portrays a Disney princess. As a feminist and model, Watson suggested several changes to the character in the live-action film. For the costume design, Watson rejected the traditional "big princess dress" and corset for the golden gown as that would have reduced her mobility, with the gown seen as crucial for marketing the film, while for the village scenes she requested boots instead of ballet slippers to give the character more ruggedness. Nonetheless Belle's attire in the live-action remake largely stays true to its animated predecessor.