| I know that the prologue in the film was not part of the original screenplay; when the movie was fully assembled, the creators went back and added the prologue to set up the story for the audience. Animated features have many "writers"--not just the credited screenwriter, but additional never-acknowledged writers, storyboard artists who often add lines of their own that sometimes stay and sometimes don't, as well as the Head of Story who oversees all of the story artists. The directors and yes, the lyricist, often contribute dialogue to clarify or punch up a sequence. Howard Ashman passed away in March of 1991, nearly 8 months before the movie was released, so there was plenty of time for any of these contributors to change that line. Also, keep in mind the movie is Beauty and the Beast and with that change in dialogue, the prologue serves both title characters. |
