<P> When released in 1991 , Beauty and the Beast , marked a turning point for Walt Disney Pictures by appealing to millions of fans with its Oscar - winning musical score by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken . In Bill Condon 's opinion , that original score was the key reason he agreed to direct a live - action version of the movie . `` That score had more to reveal '' , he says , `` You look at the songs and there 's not a clunker in the group . In fact , Frank Rich described it as the best Broadway musical of 1991 . The animated version was already darker and more modern than the previous Disney fairytales . Take that vision , put it into a new medium , make it a radical reinvention , something not just for the stage because it 's not just being literal , now other elements come into play . It 's not just having real actors do it '' . </P>
<P> When released in 1991 , Beauty and the Beast , marked a turning point for Walt Disney Pictures by appealing to millions of fans with its Oscar - winning musical score by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken . In Bill Condon 's opinion , that original score was the key reason he agreed to direct a live - action version of the movie . `` That score had more to reveal '' , he says , `` You look at the songs and there 's not a clunker in the group . In fact , Frank Rich described it as the best Broadway musical of 1991 . The animated version was already darker and more modern than the previous Disney fairytales . Take that vision , put it into a new medium , make it a radical reinvention , something not just for the stage because it 's not just being literal , now other elements come into play . It 's not just having real actors do it '' . </P>
who wrote the score for beauty and the beast 2017
who wrote the score for beauty and the beast 2017
Howard Ashman Alan Menken
Howard Ashman Alan Menken