It’s been 25 years since Mrs. Potts sang to her son Chip and all of us about a tale as old as time. But the song about a young girl and the creature who came to love one another is just as beautiful and moving today as it was then—especially when performed by Angela Lansbury herself.
Lansbury was joined by Beauty and the Beast composer Alan Menken on piano at the Lincoln Center this week to celebrate the movie’s 25th anniversary, where she sang a gorgeous rendition of the movie’s title song. The video from ABC News was shared by the YouTube channel La Bella y la Bestia de Disney, and we’ve had it on repeat since finding it.
What’s amazing is that Lansbury was reluctant to sing the song originally because it wasn’t upbeat like her normal Broadway musical numbers. Yet here she is, 25 years later, making us cry all the same. You, rather: she’s definitely making you cry and not me, a grown man: I am definitely not sitting here with tears running down my face as I listen to this over and over again.
And watching the original scene from the film—with Lansbury’s beautiful vocals and the still jaw-dropping visuals—it’s not hard to see how Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film nominated for Best Picture.
After 25 years we are ever just as sure that this is one of the greatest musical numbers in all of cinematic history.
What did you think of this performance? Great or the greatest? Tell us what you thought about it, and your memories of hearing the song for the first time all those years ago, by popping into our comments below.
Image: ABC News/La Bella y la Bestia de Disney
