"Belle" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast. Originally recorded by actress Paige O'Hara and actor Richard White, "Belle" is a French and classical-inspired song that incorporates musical elements from both the Broadway and musical theatre genres. The film's first song, "Belle" is a large-scale operetta-style musical number that introduces the film's book-loving heroine Belle, a non-conforming young woman who has grown weary of the provincial village life that she is being forced to live, and Gaston who desires her hand in marriage.