The Beauty And The Beast 30th Anniversary Special Will Honor Angela Lansbury

This past summer, Disney and ABC announced that they would be celebrating the beloved animated film "Beauty and the Beast" with a TV special produced by "Crazy Rich Asians," "In the Heights," and "Wicked" filmmaker Jon M. Chu and directed by the 2012 London Olympic Games opening ceremony director Hamish Hamilton. Rather than commemorate the ground-breaking feature's 30th anniversary (which was last year), the two-hour hybrid animated/live-action special will celebrate the anniversary of the movie's Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Regardless of the reason, the Disney renaissance favorite is definitely worth celebrating.

For the live-action portion of the event, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-nominated performer Josh Groban will step into the role of the Beast alongside R&B artist H.E.R. as Belle. Rounding out the cast will be Rita Moreno as the narrator, Joshua Henry as Gaston, Shania Twain as Mrs. Potts, Martin Short as Lumiere, David Allen Grier as Cogsworth, Rizwan Manji as LeFou, and Jon Jon Briones as Maurice. Plus, there will be cameos from Paige O'Hara, the voice of the animated Belle, and legendary songwriter Alan Menken.

Although, one original cast member that is unable to join is the late, great Angela Lansbury. The Irish-English actress known for her roles as Jessica Fletcher in "Murder, She Wrote," Mrs. Lovett in the original Broadway cast of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," and of course, the voice of Mrs. Potts in the 1991 House of Mouse animated musical being honored with this special passed peacefully away in October at the age of 96. However, according to Chu, just because the revered actress is gone doesn't mean that she will be forgotten.

During an interview with Variety to promote "Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration," producer Chu confirmed that the special will honor Lansbury. "We definitely do a nod to her for sure," he says. "How could we not pay tribute?" He also teases a few more surprises that won't be revealed until showtime.

But in addition to paying homage to the history of the film itself and the actors that originally brought it to life, he shared that the production will include cultural ties to new cast members H.E.R. and Jon Jon Briones. The award-winning singer-songwriter and the veteran actor both have roots that trace back to the Philippines and H.E.R. will make history as the first Black Filipina to play the Disney Princess. To honor that heritage, costume designer Marina Toybina and her team (who created over 400 costumes for this special) incorporated ancient Filipino script into the design of Belle's apron from her beloved village look, which can be seen in the opening number. Chu shared his excitement to spotlight his performers' backgrounds in this way with Variety:

"She is amazing. You couldn't find a more amazing representative for Belle, someone who reveres the Disney ethos but also does her own thing. To have her represent that and have [Filipino American actor] Jon Jon Briones play her father — that is so exciting."

Much like Chu's description of Belle and H.E.R., it sounds like this whole special will very much be its own thing, while still paying tribute to what came before in a heartfelt way. If you're interested in checking out the spectacle for yourself, "Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration" airs on ABC on December 15, 2022, then premieres on Disney+ the following day.