"Human Again" was a deleted song from Beauty and the Beast that was restored in the 2002 Special Edition released on IMAX and the Special Platinum Edition DVD (also included on the 2010 Diamond Edition Blu-ray and on the 2016 25th Anniversary Signature Edition Blu-ray). It debuted as part of the Beauty and the Beast stage musical. It shows the enchanted objects cleaning the castle in preparation for the iconic ballroom scene when they all assume that Belle and Beast will confess their love for each other. The song also expands the role of the Wardrobe giving her a small solo. In the between-scene Belle and Beast are seen reading Romeo & Juliet in the film and King Arthur in the musical. In the film, it takes place between "Something There" and "Beauty and the Beast". The song was composed by Alan Menken and lyrics were written by Howard Ashman. In the film, it was primarily performed by Lumiere (Jerry Orbach), Cogsworth (David Ogden Stiers), Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury), and the Wardrobe (Jo Anne Worley).
Lyrics[]
(spoken)
Cogsworth: Right then! You all know why we're here. We have exactly 12 hours, 36 minutes, and 15 seconds to create the most magical, spontaneous, romantic atmosphere known to man or beast. (Chuckles weakly) "Or beast.." Right. Need I remind you that if the last petal falls from this rose, the spell will never be broken! Very well. You all know your assignments. Half of you to the West Wing, half of you to the East Wing, the rest of you, come with me.
Lumiere: Hoho, lighten up Cogsworth and let nature take its course.
Mrs. Potts: It's obvious there's a spark between them.
Cogsworth: Yes yes yes... But there's no harm in fanning the flames. You know, a little. Besides, they must fall in love tonight if we ever expect to be human again.
Lumiere: Aaah...human again...
Mrs. Potts: Human again...
Lumiere: Yes, think what that means...
(sung)
Lumiere: I'll be cooking again, be good-looking again,
With a mademoiselle on each arm
When I'm human again, only human again
Poised and polish and gleaming with charm
I'll be courting again, chic and sporting again
Mrs. Potts: Which should cause several husbands alarm
Lumiere: (Ha, ha!) I'll hop down off this shelf, and tout de suite be myself,
Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth: I can't wait to be human again
Essentials: When we're human again, only human again
When we're knickknacks and whatnots no more
When we're human again, good and human again
Wardrobe: O, cherie, won't it all be top drawer?
I'll wear lipstick and rouge
And I won't be so huge
Why, I'll easily fit through that door
I'll exude savoir faire
I'll wear gowns, I'll have hair
It's my prayer to be human again
Mrs. Potts & Cogsworth: When we're human again, only human again
When the world once more starts making sense
Cogsworth: I'll unwind, for a change
Lumiere: (Really? That'd be strange)
Cogsworth: Can I help it if I'm t-t-tense?
In a shack by the sea, I'll sit back, sipping tea
Let my early retirement commence
Far from fools made of wax, I'll get down to brass tacks and real-A-A-A-x!
Chorus: When I'm human again!
So sweep the dust from the floor
Let's let some light in the room
I can feel, I can tell someone might break the spell any day now
Shine up the brass on the door
Alert the dust pail and broom
If it all goes as planned our time may be at hand any day now
Fifi and the maids: Open the shutters and let in some air
Mrs. Potts: Put these here and put those over there
Chorus: Sweep up the years, the sadness and tears and throw them away
We'll be human again, only human again
When the girl finally sets us all free
Cheeks a-blooming again, we're assuming again
We'll resume our long-lost joie de vivre
We'll be playing again, holidaying again
And we're praying it's ASAP
Little push, little shove
They could both fall in love
And we'll finally be human again...
(spoken)
[Transition to the library]
Belle: "...For there never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
Beast: Could you read it again?
Belle: Well, here. Why don't you read it to me?
Beast: Uhhh...Alright.
Hmm...I-I can't.
Belle: You mean you never learned?
Beast: I learned, a little. It's just been so long.
Belle: Well here, I'll help you. Let's start...here.
Beast: Here, twoe...?
Belle: Two.
Beast: Two, I knew that. Two households, both alike in dignity...
(sung)
Chorus: We'll be dancing again, we'll be twirling again
We'll whirling around with such ease
When we're human again, only human again
We'll go waltzing those old one-two-threes
We'll be floating again, we'll be gliding again
Stepping, striding, as fine as you please
Like a real human does, I'll be all that I was
On that glorious morn, when we're finally re-born
And we're all of us human again!
Lumiere:
Ha ha, oui, my friends.
The day we have waited for may be at hand!
Mrs. Potts:
Oh, only if that were true,
Lumiere!
Lumiere:
Aaah...human again
Mrs. Potts:
Human again
Lumiere:
Yes, think of what that means!
Lumiere:
I'll be cooking again
Be good-looking again
With a mademoiselle on each arm
When I'm human again
Only human again
Poised and polished and gleaming with charm...
I'll be courting again
Chic and sporting again
Mrs. Potts:
Which should cause sev'ral husbands alarm!
Chip:
I'll hop down off the shelf
Lumiere:
And toute suite be myself
Chip:
I can't wait to be human again
Mme. De La Grande Bouche, Mrs. Potts, Babette:
When we're human again
Only human again
When we're knickknacks and whatnots no more
Chip:
Little push, little shove
They could, whoosh fall in love
Mme. De La Grande Bouche:
Ah, cherie, won't it all be top-drawer
I'll wear lipstick and rouge
And I won't be so huge
Why, I'll easily fit through that door
I'll exude savior-faire
I'll wear gowns! I'll have hair!
It's my prayer to be human again
Cogsworth:
When I'm human again
Only human again
When the world once more starts making sense
I'll unwind for a change
Lumiere:
Really? That'd be strange!
Cogsworth:
Can I help it if I'm t-t-tense?
In a shack by the sea
I'll sit back sipping tea
Let my early retirement commence
Far from fool made of wax
I'll get down to brass tacks and relax
All:
When I'm human again
So sweep the dust from the floor!
Let's let some light in the room!
I can feel, I can tell
Someone might break the spell
Any day now!
Lumiere/Babette:
Shine up the brass on the door!
Alert the dustpail and the broom!
All:
If all goes as planned
Our time may be at hand
Any day now!
Mrs. Potts, Egg Timer, Whisk:
Open the shutters and let in some air
Mrs. Potts:
Put these here and put those over there
All:
Sweep up the years
Of sadness and tears
And throw them away!
Belle:
When Guenèvire heard that Arthur was slain,
she went away to a convent, and no one could
make her smile again. The end.
Beast:
What a beautiful story
Belle:
Oh, I knew you would like it!
I would like to ask you something
Beast:
What's that?
Belle:
A second chance. Would you have dinner with me tonight?
Beast:
Huh? Me? You? Well, that would be,
I mean -- Oh, yes!!
All:
When we're human again
Only human again
When the girl fin'lly sets us all free
Cheeks a-bloomin' again
We're assumin' again
We'll resume our long lost joie de vie
We'll be playin' again
Holiday' again
And we're prayin' it's A-S-A-P
When we cast off this pall
We'll stand straight, we'll walk tall
When we're all that we were
Thanks to him, thanks to her
Coming closer and closer
And closer and...
We'll be dancing again!
We'll be twirling again!
We'll be whirling around with such ease
When we're human again
Only human again
We'll go waltzing those old one-two-threes
We'll be floating again!
We'll be gliding again!
Stepping, striding as fine as you please
Like a real human does
I'll be all that I was
On that glorious morn
When we're fin'lly reborn
And we're all of us human again!
Mrs. Potts: Bless my soul, dare I say it, I think they're starting to like each other!
Cogsworth: Hmmm, she merely dressed his wound, Mrs. Potts. Nothing to get steamed up about.
Mrs. Potts: Yes, but the way she dressed it, kind and gentle, and the look in her eyes...
Lumiere: Ha ha, oui, my friends. The day we have waited for may be at hand!
Mrs. Potts: Oh, only if that were true, Chander!
Lumiere: Aaah...human again.
Mrs. Potts: Human again?
Lumiere: Yes, think what that means!
Lumiere: I'll be cooking again, be good-looking again
With a mademoiselle on each arm
When I'm human again, only human again
Poised and polished and gleaming with charm...
I'll be courting again, chic and sporting again
Mrs. Potts: Which should cause sev'ral husbands alarm!
Lumiere: Ha, ha!
Lumiere and Mrs. Potts: I'll hop down off this shelf, and tout de suite be myself,
I can't wait to be human again
Essentials: When we're human again, only human again
When we're knickknacks and whatnots no more
When we're human again, good and human again
Wardrobe: O, cherie, won't it all be top drawer?
I'll wear lipstick and rouge and I won't be so huge
Why, I'll easily fit through that door
I'll exude savoir faire, I'll wear gowns, I'll have hair
It's my prayer to be human again
Chorus: Tick tock, the time goes,
The days pass, the cock crows
They keep getting closer, well don't they?
Tick tock, the time flies
The full moon, the sunrise
They keep drawing neared and nearer together
And as they draw nearer, the day draws near too
The day we've been waiting so long for is due
Chorus: When I'm human again, only human again
When I'm not just a mere quelque-chose
Table: When I'm mortal again, will I chortle again
When I've got one, will I thumb my nose
Female Portrait: I'll say sorry, my dear, this old dame's out of here
Male Portrait: Though you'll visit some times, I suppose
Chorus: Won't the world be in tune on that swell afternoon
Coming soon we'll be human again!
So sweep the dust from the floor
Let's let some light in the room
I can feel, I can tell someone might break the spell any day now
Shine up the brass on the door
Alert the dust pail and broom
If it all goes as planned our time may be at hand any day now
Mrs. Potts: Throw those musty old curtains away, child. We've no use for them. What do you think of the floral print? Lovely.
Essentials: Open the shutters and let in some air
Mrs. Potts: Put these here and put those over there
Lumiere: Sacre bleu, Mrs. Potts, you are a genius!
Mrs. Potts: Go on!
Cogsworth: But will the master approve of all this?
Mrs. Potts: He wants to be human again, doesn't he? Then he can't live like a beast!
Chorus: Sweep up the years, the sadness and tears and throw them away
We'll be human again, yes sir, human again
Cause it looks like he just may came through
Something's moving again, and it's proven again
Happy endings can really come true
Something's stirring again, reoccurring again
I've a sneaking suspicion or two
Little push, little shove, they could whoosh, fall in love
And we'll finally be human again!
Clouds pass the sundial
The days move, and meanwhile
They keep getting closer, well don't they?
Sands fill the hourglass
The moons wane, the suns pass
An evening, a morning, a week intervenes
They keep getting closer, you know what that means
[Transition to the library]
Belle: "When Guenèvire heard that Arthur was slain, she stole away to a convent, and no one could ever make her smile again." The end.
Lumiere: (Sobbing) Ohh, that was beautiful!
Cogsworth: Oh see here, that's entirely enough of that. Now back to your duties. Come on! Back to work.
Beast: Belle, do you think you could...teach...me?
Belle: To do what?
Beast: Uh...that.
Belle: To read? You never learned?
Beast: Just a little...and long ago.
Belle: Well, at least we have something to start with, then. Come here. Sit by me.
Chorus: Tick tock, the time goes
The days pass, the cock crows
(Repeat five times)
Objects: Coming together...
Closer and closer...
Moving together...
Getting closer...
[Transition to the library]
Beast: Rrrr...rrrr...
Belle: That's right...
Beast: Rrrr...rrrrrrrr...I can't!
Belle: Oh yes, you almost had it!
Beast: Rrrr..rrrr...rran up the...
Belle: Ah, very good!
Chorus: Tick tock, the time goes
The days pass, the cock crows
(Repeat two times)
Objects: Coming together...
Openly closer...
Beast: Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of...
...WATER!
Chorus: When I'm human again, only human again
When the world once more starts making sense
Cogsworth: I'll unwind, for a change
Lumiere: (Really? That'd be strange)
Cogsworth: Can I help it if I'm t-t-tense?
In a shack by the sea, I'll sit back, sipping tea
Let my early retirement commence
Far from fools made of wax, I'll get down to brass tacks and relax!
Chorus: When I'm human again!
When we're human again, only human again
When the girl finally sets us all free
Cheeks a-blooming again, we're assuming again
We'll resume our long-lost joie de vivre
We'll be playing again, holidaying again
And we're praying it's ASAP
When we cast off this pall, we'll stand straight, we'll walk tall
When we're all that we were, thanks to him, thanks to her
Coming closer and closer and closer and closer
And closer and closer and closer and closer...
We'll be dancing again, we'll be twirling again
We'll be whirling around with such ease
When we're human again, only human again
We'll go waltzing those old one-two-threes
We'll be floating again, we'll be gliding again
Stepping, striding as fine as you please
Like a real human does
I'll be all that I was
On that glorious morn
When we're fin'lly reborn
And we're all of us human again!
Production[]
The song was originally written for the 1991 film but was cut due to pacing issues and its length. It was included in the 1994 Broadway musical and was brought back for the 2002 DVD release of the film.
Don Hahn explained: "Kirk and Gary and I were sitting around talking about the Star Wars Special Edition that had just come out and Kirk jokingly suggested, 'wouldn't it be fun to do a special edition of Beauty with Human Again or new material in it?' When the head of Feature Animation said he thought it was a great idea, we stopped joking and began thinking about how we could actually do it. We had storyboarded the sequence for the original production, but completely reworked it for this special edition of the film."
Kirk Wise (who directed the original film) also directed the reanimated sequence, with co-director of Beauty and the Beast Gary Trousdale. Wise explained, "we had many of the same animators, same background painters, same artists that worked on the sequence".
Composition[]
Show Biz Training: describes the song as a "beautiful waltz".
Removal[]
Human Again is considered as somewhat of a controversial song within Beauty & the Beast. DigitalMediaFX said: "there's a reason that the "Human Again" song was not a part of the original Beauty and the Beast - it didn't quite fit", and cites Disney's own statement, "...the song posed story problems which couldn't be solved in a timely manner. Originally conceived as an 11-minute musical number, the song was ultimately replaced with the shorter and more direct 'Something There'". Show Biz Training explains the song was cut "in spite of the writers' and filmmakers' strong desire to keep it in the film". They eventually chose service to the story over self-indulgence and reluctantly cut the number.
Kirk Wise explained the motivation behind the song's removal from the film and reinstatement in the stage version thus: "Back when it was originally written and storyboarded it was initially 11 minutes long, which is a pretty heavy milieu for an animated feature that already had a lot of songs. The length was one problem and the structure of the song was also a problem at the time because it indicated the passage of time, months of time, leaves falling. That presented a couple of story problems for us because we kept asking, 'Well what? Is Maurice wandering around in the woods all this time? Is Gaston just sitting around in a tavern drinking beer after beer growing a long white beard?' we couldn't quite figure out what to do with the other characters during this time that Belle's at the castle and keep the motor of the story running. Those were the reasons for cutting it at the time. It wasn't until we saw the Broadway version where Alan had made a substantial edit in the music and had found a slightly different place for the song to sit, so we realized there was a way to make this work. The bridge which was all about time passing was removed... so that issue went away. And Alan did a couple of additional edits for us when we were tailoring it for the movie, and now it works. There's a great little suite of music now that starts with "Something There," the song that B&B sing while they're having a little snowball fight, which segues into "Human Again" which gives the object perspective on what they hope for when B&B fall in love and that transitions into "Beauty and the Beast" the ballad, which is the culmination of their relationship. So, it's a nice little story within a story now."
Reception[]
DigitalMediaFX said "The first half of the song (including the intro to it) seems a bit weak, yet it got better as the song continued. Then, three-fourths the way through the song there is a scene where Belle is teaching Beast to read. This single sequence, albeit short, deepened the story and the relationship issue. It is definitely an excellent addition to the movie. I also must admit that it was quite interesting to have something "new" to see. But at the same time, "Human Again" almost makes it feel like there is "one too many" songs in this classic, particularly coming so soon after "Something There." I think the movie would have been perfect if the "learning to read" scene had been added without the song". A review of Beauty and the Beast 3D by Collider noted the exclusion of the number, deeming it a smart move due to not being a "bad song", but being "nowhere near as good as the rest of the number and it slows down the pacing".
Trivia[]
- Because of the inclusion of the song and the West Wing being restored during it, the Special Edition included glass-smashing and furniture-knocking sound effects in the scene where Beast roars in despair over having to let Belle go, in order to maintain continuity with the climax from the main film where the West Wing was still in disrepair, giving the implication that Beast in his despair destroyed the West Wing again.
- The carpet that is rolled into the Beast's room looks very similar to the Magic Carpet from Aladdin released after Beauty and the Beast, but before Human Again was added.
- A scene from the song was used in the Sofia the First episode "The Amulet and the Anthem".
- It is the only song from the animated film not to appear in the 2017 remake (if reprises are not counted), most likely because this song only appears on the Special Edition of the animated film.
External links[]
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The article or pieces of the original article was at Human Again (Beauty and the Beast). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Disney Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
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