Be Our Guest

"Be Our Guest" is a 1991 Academy Award-nominated song from the animated film, Beauty and the Beast. The music was written by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman. The song was sung by Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, and other singers in the background chorus. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The title song to the film was also nominated in the same category and won.

Film

The song is performed primarily by Lumiere (Orbach) in a hospitable attempt to make Belle feel welcome on her first night in the castle. The entire song takes place in the dining room, as various servants provide Belle with several dishes prepared by the castle staff, and Lumiere's colleagues accompany him in the act of singing and dancing.

A verse of the song is performed by Mrs. Potts (Lansbury) as she kindly offers Belle some tea with dessert, accompanied by her many children in the form of teacups.

The song was originally to be sung to Maurice when he first gets to the castle, but it was moved to a later time because the writers decided that it was too early in the film for this song. The new position allowed the servants to extend their hospitality to the girl who might break the spell on the Beast and the castle.

It is also worth noting that the chorus of the song bears a strong resemblance to a theme from the first movement of the Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler.

The lyrics are slightly different in the Disney movie and in the Broadway show.

In The Little Mermaid, which was released 2 years before this film, the Chef can be heard singing a different song with the exact same tune as Be Our Guest^{[citation needed]} while musing about cooking Sebastian for the first time.

It was spoofed in The Simpsons with the song "See My Vest" sung by Mr. Burns, and was also spoofed on Animaniacs with the song "We are Pests" performed by Yakko and Wakko Warner in the short "Cutie and the Beast".

Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes covered the song for their 1995 Disney-themed album When You Wish Upon a Chipmunk.

It was also the first song on the tenth volume of Disney Sing Along Songs.

It is also heard throughout the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic. A variation of the song was also featured in several 1993 Disney World commercials.