Alan Menken Is Writing Music For The 'Beauty And The Beast' Prequel On Disney+
The Beauty and the Beast live-action prequel coming to Disney+ just became a whole lot more interesting with the confirmed involvement of Disney Legend Alan Menken. The composer behind the original Oscar-winning songs for Beauty and the Beast and a host of Disney animated classics revealed that he is working on music for the Beauty and the Beast prequel series, which is set to explore the origins of Gaston and LeFou.
No one really wanted to know the story of how Gaston and LeFou met, but we just might be tuning in anyway to watch the Beauty and the Beast Disney+ prequel to hear the original songs composed by Alan Menken.
During a YouTube video segment called "Talk Back with Alan Menken," Menken gave updates on every project he's currently working on, revealing that he was writing music for the Beauty and the Beast prequel series.
"I have a sequel to Beaut–a PREQUEL–sorry a prequel. The story before. For Beauty and the Beast. That's going to be on Disney Plus," Menken said (via Inside The Magic).
Menken is responsible for shaping the sound behind the most beloved Disney animated films of the '90s Disney Renaissance, composing the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Tangled and winning a slew of awards for his generation-defining efforts.
Menken has more than earned his Disney Legend status, and continues to work with the House of Mouse, composing songs for upcoming Disney projects like Disenchanted, the sequel to Enchanted, a stage adaptation of Hercules, and the upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action film. His name alone is enough to drum up interest in a Disney project. And despite how little interest I have in the Beauty and the Beast prequel series — which will expand upon one of the most aggressively mediocre Disney live-action remakes — I can't help but be interested in whatever Menken's working on. But while Menken continues to do stellar work for subpar live-action projects, why doesn't Disney give him something back and let him have his passion projects again? I'm speaking, specifically of Galavant. Give us another season of Galavant on Disney+. Then maybe I'll watch your Beauty and the Beast prequel.