According to Variety.com, award-winning musical artist H.E.R. will play Belle in ABC’s upcoming hybrid special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disney‘s animated musical classic Beauty and the Beast.
H.E.R. is a five-time Grammy Award winner, including last year’s Song of the Year Grammy for “I Can’t Breathe” inspired by George Floyd, from her 2021 album Back of My Mind.
In 2021, H.E.R. also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Fight For You” from the film Judas and the Black Messiah.
“I can’t believe I get to be a part of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ legacy,” H.E.R. said. “The world will see a Black and Filipino Belle! I have always wanted to be a Disney princess, and I get to work with two wonderful directors Hamish Hamilton and my favorite, Jon M. Chu. It is very surreal and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Beauty and the Beast was originally released in 1991 and achieved box office success as well as critical acclaim. In 1992, it became the first animated film to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, which helped motivate the creation of a separate Oscar category for animated films.
Although it didn’t win Best Picture that year, Beauty and the Beast won Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
In addition to re-screening the film in its entirety, the special will also include live, never-before-seen musical performances and feature brand-new sets and costumes inspired by the story.
The special will air on ABC on Dec. 15 at 8pm and will stream the following day on Disney+.
H.E.R. will make her feature acting debut in the upcoming Warner Bros. adaptation of the Broadway musical version of The Color Purple.
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