"The Mob Song" is a song from the 1991 Disney animated film ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

''.

Plot

"The Mob Song" sees Gaston instill fear into the villagers about the Beast, claiming he will supposedly kill them. Gaston then proceeds to lead the angry mob up to the Beast's castle so that he can kill the Beast while the rest of the villagers rob the castle of its treasures. CommonSenseMedia explains that "misguided townspeople say scary and violent things about the Beast, proposing they kill him and mount his head on a wall." At one point, Gaston says, "Screw your courage to the sticking place", which is a line from ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''.

Composition and analysis

Lyricist

Howard Ashman Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

, who had AIDS by the time he wrote the song and viewed the Beast's curse as an allegory for AIDS, was inspired by public sentiment at the time against AIDS and the gay community when writing the song's lyrics. ''Beauty and the Beast'' producer

Don Hahn Donald Paul Hahn (born November 26, 1955) is an American film producer who is credited with producing some of the most successful animated films in recent history, including Disney’s ''Beauty and the Beast'' (the first animated film to be nom ...

further said that the song was written as "almost a metaphor for" the stigmatization against people with AIDS. ''Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out'' claims the song "taps into this demonization of persons with AIDS". The book ''Sigmund Romberg'' says the song is "a cinematic recreation of

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

's nocturnal march 'Stouthearted Men' in the 1940

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar ecl ...

''. '' The Cambridge Companion of Singing'' describes the song as a "parody" of the earlier number.

Critical reception

''Unlocked'' described it as a "less time-consuming number". CommonSenseMedia said the song is one of the few things in the film that parents should be concerned about. WCPO said it was "dramatic" with "dark energy".

2017 version

For the 2017 live-action remake of ''Beauty and the Beast'',

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for '' The Little Mermaid'' (1989), '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ' ...

adjusted the lyrics to reflect LeFou starting to turn against Gaston. Menken said that he changed the lyrics because director

Bill Condon William Condon (born October 22, 1955) is an American director and screenwriter. Condon is known for writing and/or directing numerous successful and acclaimed films including '' Gods and Monsters'', '' Chicago'', '' Kinsey'', ''Dreamgirls'', ...

"wanted this sense of Gaston as a demagogue at that point, and the turnaround of Lefou".

References

1991 songs Disney Renaissance songs Songs from Beauty and the Beast (franchise) Songs with music by Alan Menken Songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman Song recordings produced by Alan Menken Song recordings produced by Howard Ashman {{1990s-song-stub