Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)

While the Dion-Bryson version received mixed reviews from critics who felt that it was not as good as Lansbury's original, the single became a commercial success, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the better-known of the two renditions.

In addition to returning Disney songs to the pop charts after a thirty-year absence, the success of "Beauty and the Beast" also boosted Dion's career and established her as a bankable recording artist.

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.

[21] Unaware of her whereabouts for several hours, the filmmakers had begun making plans to reschedule the session until Lansbury finally telephoned the studio once she arrived safely in New York.

[38] The scene had long been envisioned as having a more live-action feel to it than the rest of the film, an idea that originated from story artists Brenda Chapman and Roger Allers, who were the first to suggest that the ballroom be built using computers.

[49] However, because the computer-animation medium was so unfamiliar to the filmmakers at the time,[45] at one point they had considered having Belle and the Beast simply dance in complete darkness – save for a single spotlight – should the project be unsuccessful;[27] they jokingly referred to this idea as the "Ice Capades" version.

[57] Timothy Wegner described the finished product in his book Image Lab as a "huge and elegant" ballroom in which "the walls are decorated with elaborate moldings, Corinthian columns, and hundreds of candles".

[56][65] Art director Brian McEntee suggested a blue and gold colour scheme for the characters' costumes at a late-night meeting because he felt that the colors were "compelling" and "regal".

[56][69] When Beauty and the Beast was released, many animators were impressed with the studio for "pushing the envelope", while some considered the scene to be "a miserable failure", accusing its new technology of distracting from "the moment".

[71] In her book The Beautiful Ache, author Leigh McLeroy wrote that the scene represents "one of those strange moments where love creeps in against all odds and insists on staying put".

[108] Film critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised "Beauty and the Beast", describing it as "a glorious ballad" while dubbing it Ashman and Menken's "biggest triumph".

[85] Similarly, PopMatters' Bill Gibron penned, "the moment Angela Lansbury's trite teapot steps up to sing the title song, all dry eye bets are off".

But the result is a glorious ballad, one that is performed in two versions, as both a top-40 style duet heard over the closing credits and a sweet, lilting solo sung by Ms. Lansbury during the film's most meltingly lovely scene.

[120][121] The New York Times' Janet Maslin appreciated being previewed to the unfinished ballroom scene, writing, "when the radiant sight of Beauty and the Beast waltzing together, to the sound of the lilting theme song by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman stirs emotion even in this sketchy form, then both the power and the artifice of animation make themselves felt".

[123] The Chicago Tribune's Dave Kehr praised both layout artist Lisa Keene and computer animator Jim Hillin's combined efforts on the scene, identifying it as the film's "most impressive setting".

[125] Mike Scott of The Times-Picayune hailed it as a "gorgeous" and "memorable" scene that "still stands out as one of the film's more dazzling",[126] while Joanna Berry of The National wrote that "the ballroom sequence now seems to sparkle even more".

[128] Contrastingly, Chris Hicks of the Deseret News felt that "Today, the ballroom sequence no longer feels fresh and new after so many recent computer-animated 3-D efforts, but that doesn't diminish the power of its gorgeous design".

[158] 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".

[178] Describing the duet as "extremely effective", Sputnikmusic's Irving Tan lauded the single, writing, "As the entirety of the film's poignancy is hinged on the chemistry between Bryson and Dion, having the pair pull their assignment off beautifully is ultimately a fantastic conclusion to events".

[147] However, the Chicago Tribune's Brad Webber panned the rendition as a "sickly sweet, by-the-book ... standard" that "belie[s] [Dion's] talent",[176] while The Star's Michael Cheang accused the single of being "over-wrought".

[87] Similarly, Kristian Lin of Fort Worth Weekly panned the single while complimenting Lansbury's version, advising audience members to "Clear out of the theater before Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson butcher the title song over the end credits,"[180] while Consequence of Sound's Dan Caffrey felt that "It's a shame that the most globally known version of 'Beauty and the Beast' is the one sung by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson as opposed to the one sung by" Lansbury.

[272] Belonging to a segment known as "Chip's Fun and Games - For the Young at Heart", the music video features the group performing their "bouncy"[273] teen pop rendition of the song interpolated with scenes from the film.

[275] Meanwhile, musical duo H & Claire covered the song for the film's Platinum Edition re-release in the United Kingdom, which Betty Clarke of The Guardian dismissed as a "boring" rendition.

[293][294] 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".

[179] Bill Gibron of PopMatters believes that the song "proved that the pen and ink designs that drove the company for nearly 80 years could transcend the genre and turn into something seminal ... something special ... something sensational".

[311] According to Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation author Tom Vito, the scene "made many skeptics in Hollywood begin to look at CG seriously,"[68] inspiring formerly "hostile" studio executives to pursue the new art form.

[335] In 2004, Bryson was forced by the International Revenue Service (IRS) to auction off several of his personal belongings in order to help repay the singer's $1.2 million tax debt, among them his Grammy Awards for "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Whole New World".

[336] While the latter song's Grammy was purchased by a friend and gifted back to the singer, Bryson's Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals trophy for "Beauty and the Beast" was ultimately sold to a stranger for $15,500.

[343] In the context of the episode, the unappealing protagonist Jay Sherman falls in love with a beautiful actress named Valerie, and this song is performed as they dance in his apartment where they are serenaded by a sentient vacuum cleaner and toilet.

[352] In a duet with Jimmy Fallon, American singer Ariana Grande impersonated Dion while performing "Beauty and the Beast" live on the comedian's late-night talk show in 2015.