The first time a movie’s soundtrack affected me in a lasting and noticeable way was when I saw Beauty and the Beast. I was 8, and there was something about Paige O’Hara’s Belle that initially captivated me. Alan Menken’s score held my attention in a way that no other instrumental work ever had before, and Howard Ashman’s lyrics stood out in my mind. The soundtrack worked its way into my brain and never truly left. I eager learned as many songs as I could on the recorder, and later as I began playing the flute and the piano, I ensured those were among the first pieces I practiced. I never tired of Belle’s narration of her unfulfilling everyday life in an uneducated town, and could listen to the simple yet beautiful strains of the movie’s main theme on an endless loop. Continue reading