The new release featured the film version of "Transformation", which had been replaced with an early unused version in some early pressings, the newly animated song "Human Again", the original instrumental intended for the "Transformation" scene, (titled "Death of the Beast (Early Version)" here) and demos for "Be Our Guest" and the title track.
In December 2001, the soundtrack was re-released as a Special Edition to coincide with the IMAX re-issue of the film and the upcoming two-disc Platinum Edition.
The soundtrack was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its title track and only single, " Beauty and the Beast", achieved similar success, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Awards for both Best Song Written for Visual Media and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The music featured on the album won several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the Academy Award for Best Original Score and the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television. Much like film, the soundtrack was a massive critical success, receiving universal praise and recognition from both film and music critics. Ashman, who was initially hesitant to join the project, died of AIDS before the film's completion and the album's release.
Dion and Bryson were hired to record a pop version of – and draw media attention to – the film's title song. Katzenberg ordered that production on the film be started over from scratch, hiring songwriting team Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who had just recently completed scoring The Little Mermaid, to write the film's songs. Additionally, the album features recording artists Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, who perform a pop rendition of the film's theme song of the same name, which simultaneously serves as the soundtrack's only single.įollowing a difficult period during where Walt Disney Feature Animation struggled to release successful animated feature films, the studio, inspired by their most recent animated success The Little Mermaid(1989), decided to adapt the fairy tale " Beauty and the Beast" into an animated musical film after a non-musical adaptation had been attempted that failed to impress Jeffrey Katzenberg, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Credited to Various Artists, Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features performances by the film's main cast – Paige O'Hara, Richard White, Jesse Corti, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Robby Benson and David Ogden Stiers – in order of appearance. While the majority of the album's content remains within the musical theatre genre, its songs have also been influenced by French, classical, pop and Broadway music. Originally released on October 24, 1991, by Walt Disney Records, the album's first half – tracks 2 to 9 – generally contains the film's musical numbers, all of which were written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, while its latter half – tracks 10 to 14 – features its musical score, composed solely by Menken.
Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official soundtrack album to the 1991 Disney animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast.