Timeless Tales

Notions - Beauty and the Beast
Song - How Does A Moment Last Forever

Once upon a time,

Not so long back in time

Traveled a boy to San Francisco

For the very first time.

I take the liberty of addressing the 27-year-old me in this story as a 'boy' for an emphasis on the child in me - the child in me that learns his life lessons from animated movies. The slightly elder version of this boy chooses to learn about life from series and movies he has watched. But most importantly, all versions of me find immense inspiration and sheer bliss from music. So let us hear one such musical story about this 27-year-old boy.

Back in 2014, I had the chance to visit San Fransisco for Christmas break. This was the very first time I was visiting San Fransisco and after having visited the city at other times of the year, I can easily say that my personal favourite time would always be around Christmas. The weather was perfect, the city had donned its gay apparel, and I was having the loveliest times with my friends. One night, at around 11pm we found ourselves out of things to do or places to be at so obviously we decided to go for a movie. It took me 5 seconds to choose which movie for I saw two names in one movie - Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. I was gravely ashamed that I was unaware of such a movie even existing, but my excitement was promising enough for others to hurry to the movies. In retrospect, they might regret it but I sure don't. None of us knew 'Into The Woods' was a musical (Yet another shameful moment for me personally that was) Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed the movie but it once again made me rethink all the fairy tales. Wicked's Elphaba, the movie The Brothers Grimm and the series Once Upon A Time had all made me ponder over the 'bad' and 'evil' characters in fairy tales. And then it was these simple yet powerful words from the song 'No One Is Alone' from Into The Woods - 

..Witches can be right

Giants can be good..

After listening to all songs from the movie all the time through the rest of my trip, the boy in me thought about every other fairy tale. Was the 'heroic' moment a bit unfair? Was that 'evil' outrage of the vilian justified? Have our fairy tales, especially the ones with princes and princesses in them, been hiding something from us or lying to us? The boy was a little heartbroken, I must say. And all of a sudden he started singing the songs he invariably knew by-heart. Particularly the songs, he knew, that a certain Howard Ashman had penned.

Like me, if you feel that the world of Disney brought a lot of joy to your childhood and moreso, if the cartoons singing their stories filled your chests with emotions, then Howard Ashman is a name you should definitely look up. Better, simply watch HBO's documentary Howard. For here is a man who truly knew what Ariel felt when she sings that she wants to be a part of our world. A man who knew what happens in the Arabian Nights and a man who gave words to both Belle and the Beast and brought them together. And when you find out that he did all of this through his fight against AIDS, it might make you love his last work Beauty and the Beast a bit more. 

Now I don't know if having a favourite Disney princess is even a thing - forget figuring out if it is a thing for young girls or young boys. But it most certainly was a legit thing in my mind as a young boy and Belle was always my favourite Disney princess. She was, for the lack of better words, cooler than the rest of the princesses/damsels and she faced the Beast and well she loved reading! She was definitely the Hermoine to fall for in the absence of Harry Potter. And I cannot not admit this - I most certainly think that her yellow princess ballgown was hands-down the best dress ever! So yes, Beauty and the Beast always was my favourite fairy tale. So when that 27-year-old boy wondered if Howard Ashman's word had tricked or fooled or hid something from him, all the songs came rushing back to him. And he, I, realised that all songs were being gentle and subtle but certainly not deceptive. Howard had managed to tell the truth by using only wonderful and beautiful words. If you play close attention to the words, if you notice the placing of the songs in the storyline, you realise that Ashman and Menken gave the child and the adult in us all we need to learn from these humble cartoons about life, and even more about love. After all, where else can one hear something as deep as ..

Certain as the Sun

Rising in the East

Tale as old as Time

Song as old as Rhyme

That is the power of words, I am sure even Dumbledore would agree. That is the beauty of music. And no one other than Howard Ashman could have made the story of Belle and the Beast a timeless one. Never have I ever believed in forever so I always wonder - 

How Does A Moment Last Forever

How Can A Story Never Die

Really, there couldn't have been a more befitting addition to the Beauty and the Beast album as it got revived in 2017 after 25 years. This song, for me, is a true homage and respect to Ashman and what he gave us all through his work. Beauty and the Beast will always be a special Disney favourite of mine always, but the 2017 movie just made it even more special. So much so, that Hermione ended up playing the role of Belle, who like I said, was always Disney's version of Hermione. The movie updated the story a bit with a slightly more unconventional Belle than in the cartoon, with Disney's almost first gay character LeFou, and with this lovely new addition of a song that teaches us that -  

It is Love We Must Hold On To

Never Easy

But We Try

Sometimes Our Happiness is Captured

Somehow, our Time and Place Stand Still

Love Lives On Inside Our Hearts

And Always Will

So though this song isn't a part of the original album I fell in love with, it aptly conveys how and why my love for Beauty and the Beast is 'forevermore' (as Beast would sing). And yes, this song rightly belongs to Celine Dion but hearing Kevin Kline sing it in the movie was a peculiarly extraordinary moment for me. Therefore, here's to the timeless piece of art that Ashman's Beauty and the Beast is and here's to us finding our something forever!