Beauty and The Beast

I chose to watch the movie Beauty and the Beast. It movie is from the year 1946 and is understandably on Roger Ebert's great movies list. I chose to watch this movie because I am obsessed with the Disney Princesses so when I saw that this movie fit the requirements, I knew I had to watch it. I chose to write about the music in the movie because it was a part of movies that I often overlook.

There is music present through the majority of the movie. You would not realize that unless you were watching the movie while examining the sound like I was because it is so subtle that it is almost unnoticeable. The music that is played is only instrumentals and then the characters in the film sing along to the music. The characters sing about themselves, other characters or events in the movie and therefore the music helps narrate the story. It is mostly Belle that sings but the Beast, Mrs. Potts (one of the Beast's servants), and Gaston (the man who wants Belle to marry him) sing often also. The instrumentals sound like piano, flute, and most of all, violin. Also, the environment in the movie is used to make music like the wind in the forest and the birds chirping.

The music seems to go along with each scene. During the dramatic and action packed moments the music is fast and intense. This music plays in scenes like when the Beast is present and mean (at the beginning) and when Maurice (Belle's dad) gets lost in the forest. During the happy moments, the music is upbeat and energetic like when the Beast is watching Belle from his tower and beginning to realize that he loves her. During the sad moments, the music is somber and slow like when Belle finds out her dad is sick in the forest and she must go save him. During the suspenseful parts the music is intense and adds to the suspense. For example the music is very suspenseful when Belle is sneaking into the castle to find her dad and when Belle is looking in the West Wing of the castle which is forbidden. Lastly, scary music is played during moments like when Belle is being attacked by the pack of wolves in the forest and the music really helps dramatize the situation. Slow, pretty music is played when Belle and the Beast meet when the Beast is all dressed up and trying to impress Belle.

The music contributes so much to Beauty and the Beast and the scenes throughout. It was so interesting for me to watch this movie while listening for specific music and how it adds to the film. The reason it was so interesting is because the music blends so well with the film that before it had gone unnoticed to me. But in this case where I was specifically listening for it, I was able to see what great things it adds to the movie and how truly prevalent it is in almost every scene.