Be Our Guest

"Be Our Guest" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991).

"Be Our Guest" is a large-scale Broadway-inspired musical number that takes place during the first half of Beauty and the Beast, performed by the castle's staff of enchanted objects in an elaborate attempt to welcome Belle.

"Be Our Guest" has garnered universal acclaim from both film and music critics who, in addition to dubbing the song a show-stopper, praised its catchiness and Orbach's vocal performance while applauding the scene's unprecedented use of computer-generated imagery.

Upon singing the tune and presenting it to co-writer Ashman, Menken discovered that he was unable to come up with a melody capable of surpassing "that dumb piece of music that I wrote initially because it was just right."

[3] According to co-director Gary Trousdale, "The song had already been recorded and the sequence partially animated when we decided that it would be more meaningful if it was directed towards Belle" because "she is one of the two main characters and the story revolves around her coming to the castle.

Confined to her bedroom when she, upset, stubbornly refuses to join the Beast for dinner, Belle eventually ventures into the kitchen after feeling hungry, where she is greeted by the castle's staff of enchanted inanimate objects – Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth and Lumière.

"[7] As one of the film's most poignant,[8] large-scale, "all-stops-pulled production number[s],"[9] the scene features "dancing plates and other fanciful dinner guests" as they "perform for Belle, hoping to make her stay a little more comfortable.

"[11] Commonly regarded as the "show-stopper"[12][13] of Beauty and the Beast, the sequence both visually and musically "derive[s its] insatiable energy and excitement from the gradual accumulation of participation.

"[14] The Washington Post observed that "'Be Our Guest'" involves "the household gadgets enjoin[ing] Belle to live with them," comparing it heavily to the song "Under the Sea" from Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989), which was also written by Menken and Ashman.

[22][23] The Washington Post commented, "The model for Lumiere seems to have been Maurice Chevalier, and the idea is so choice, and so deftly executed, that it places him immediately among the top rank of Disney characters.

"[34] Additionally, Jerry Griswold, author of The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook, observed several similarities between "Be Our Guest" and a scene from Maurice Sendak and Carole King's musical Really Rosie.

"[50] Additionally described as "a spark of Gallic vaudeville that lights a flame to both [entertainers] Maurice Chevalier and Yves Montand,"[51] "Be Our Guest" depicts both "fun"[52] and "humour.

"[56] Similarly, Drew Taylor of Indiewire echoed Punter's statement, writing, "when the enchanted wait staff dazzle the captive Belle, assuring her that she's not a prisoner she's a guest of the castle," the result is ultimately "show-stopping.

"[13] Writing for the Austin Chronicle, Kathleen Maher, who generally panned the film's songs and musical numbers, liked "Be Our Guest", describing it as Beauty and the Beast's "only ... magical set piece.

"[58] 'Be Our Guest,' the lavish production number that is a dry-land answer to 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid, may not have the identical calypso charm, but it has just about everything else, including Busby Berkeley-style choreography carried out by dancing silverware ...

This demonstrates Mr. Ashman's gifts as an outstandingly nimble lyricist.Several critics have awarded specific praise to "Be Our Guest"'s choreography, comparing it extensively to the work of director and choreographer Busby Berkeley.

In addition to hailing "Be Our Guest" as "delightful," Candice Russel of the Sun-Sentinel wrote, "In setting the table for Belle, Lumiere and friends concoct a Busby Berkeley song-and-dance extravaganza.

"[61] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly highlighted the scene, writing, "The set pieces are narcotically pleasing, especially the Busby Berkeley-style dancing-kitchenware spectacular, 'Be Our Guest'.

"[63] Calling it a "wonderful musical number," Roger Ebert enthused, "'Be Our Guest' is a rollicking invitation to Belle from the castle staff, choreographed like Busby Berkeley running amok.

"[64] In review of the 2011 3D re-release of Beauty and the Beast, Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger commented, "The illusion of depth does add more life to the enchanted housewares — particularly the 'Be Our Guest' number, with its Busby Berkeley geometrics.

"[65] While Beauty and the Beast's several theatrical re-releases and reissues have been met with generally mixed reviews, critical response towards the "Be Our Guest" musical sequence has remained predominantly positive.

"[71] Likewise, Neil Smith of Total Film concluded that "only 'Be Our Guest' and the ballroom swoop really benefit from a stereoscopic make-over that doesn't do the hand-drawn remainder many favours.

On Lansbury's performance, Tan joked, "The singer's delightfully personable contribution is almost reason enough to forgive Disney for thinking her English accent ... would not look out of place in a film set in 18th century France.

"[75] Likewise, Desson Howe of The Washington Post panned both the song and Lumiere, writing, "the Candelabrum's Maurice Chevalier accent is clearly intended to substitute for the Caribbean-lilted lobster in Mermaid.

"[90] Film.com ranked "Be Our Guest" the thirteenth "Greatest Musical Number ... in Movie History," describing the song as "a masterpiece of showtune construction" while lauding its Busby Berkeley-inspired choreography.

[96] In the minute-long commercial, a computer-animated gingerbread man named Ginger serenades Ant & Dec to the tune of "Be Our Guest," inviting them to enjoy the store's products.

"[101] However, some critics did positively comment on the fact that the Broadway adaptation of "Be Our Guest" was more than simply a "cookie-cutter" carbon copy rendition of the original version featured in the animated film.