susan farrell egan played belle in the original beauty and the beast.
susan farrell egan played belle in the original beauty and the beast.
who plays belle in the original beauty and the beast?
susan farrell egan
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).
belle's magical world
in the book "the meanings of "beauty and the beast": a handbook", author jerry griswold observed that the "something there" musical sequence is preceded by "the once feisty belle ... bandaging and nursing [the beast]" after he rescues her from the wolves. contextually, the purpose of the song has been identified as "dramatizing [belle and the beasts'] partnership." leading up to the musical sequence, the beast first "surprises belle by showing her his library and then they learn to eat together." author robin o. winter observed that "during the scene they begin to see beneath their outer appearances and start to appreciate each other's inner qualities," while one critic identified this as one of the scenes in "which belle and the beast hesitantly slowly open up to one another." writing for wesleyan university, rachel anne silverman observed that "something there" depicts "the first time belle and the beast's attraction is introduced," describing the couple's relationship as "a passion that has developed over time." initially, belle is alarmed "as she realizes her growing love for the beast," briefly hiding behind a tree as she sings. according to the hal leonard corporation and music theatre international, the castle's staff of enchanted objects also discover "something different between belle and the beast." "something there" concludes with belle and the beast retreating to a fireplace and reading. in the original film, "something there" immediately precedes the film's title song. however, for its special edition re-release, the song is immediately followed by the newly reinstated "human again".identifying the song as "where the genius of music as storytelling kicks in," simon brew of den of geek felt that "something there" is "the track with the heaviest workload." the author observed that "in two minutes and 19 seconds, [the song] gets across just how the position and feelings of the characters have changed." for instance, "at the beginning of 'something there,' belle admits that she thought the beast was mean, coarse, and unrefined. by the end, she’s feeling pretty smitten," according to oh my disney. the song also depicts the film's passing of time, while providing audiences with an opportunity "to appreciate beast and first see the potential for belle and him." on the song's role in the special edition version of the film, co-director kirk wise explained, "there's a ... little suite of music now that starts with 'something there' ... which segues into 'human again' which gives the object perspective on what they hope for when [belle and the beast] fall in love and that transitions into 'beauty and the beast' the ballad, which is the culmination of their relationship." dubbing the song "soliloquies of belle and the beast," "tv guide "drew comparisons between "something there" and songs from the musical "south pacific".
something there