Sing Me a Story with Belle

*Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle*
Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle
Developed by	Walt Disney Television
Written by	Patrick Davidson; Melissa Gould; Deborah Raznick;
Directed by	Steve Purcell
Presented by	Lynsey McLeod
Starring	Lynesy McLeod; Kerry Anne Bradford; Jacob Chase; Tim Goodwin; Chris Robles; Kirsten Storms; Julie Vanlue; J.J. Ward;
Voices of	Mary Kay Bergman; Corey Burton; Christine Cavanaugh; Jeff Conover; Jim Cummings;
Opening theme	"Sing Me a Story" by Lynsey McLeod
Ending theme	"Sing Me a Story" (Instrumental)
Composer	Andy Belling
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer	Patrick Davidson
Producers	Tim Gaydos (associate producer); Jimbo Marshall (associate producer); Jeff Palmer (associate producer);
Editors	Lisa Bianco; Pete Opotowsky; Gary Woods;
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Patrick Davidson Productions; Walt Disney Television
Distributor	Buena Vista Television
Release
Original network	Syndication
Audio format	Dolby Surround
First shown in	United States
Original release	September 8, 1995 –; March 1, 1997

Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle is an American live-action series created by Patrick Davidson and Melissa Gould. The series features Belle from the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast, who now owns and manages the bookshop in the village. She is usually greeted by children who would like to hear a story. Belle interacts with the children and narrates vintage Disney animated shorts while doing activities around the bookstore. The series premiered on September 8, 1995, on Disney Channel.

Development[]

According to Ken Weiner, vice president at Buena Vista Television, using vintage Disney animated shorts allows the show to present a higher quality of animation than would normally be feasible in an educational show that would meet the Federal Communications Commission's E/I standards.^[1]

By early 1995, it was said that the show would present two short films per episode (with updated music and voices), which Belle and the children would sometimes interrupt for discussion purposes or to "test cognitive abilities".^[1]

Plot[]

Belle (Lynsey McLeod) lives in France and owns her own music and bookshop after marrying her Prince. Helping her at the bookstore are Lewis and Carroll, two magical bookworms, Harmony the Cat and Big Book, a large talking book on a book stand. The bookstore is visited by local children to whom Belle will sing songs and tell stories, usually with a moral relating to something that's happened that day.

Clips from vintage Disney cartoons would often be used to illustrate the stories, including:

Cast[]

Lynsey McLeod - Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Tim Goodwin - Brioche
Jacob Chase - Jacob
Kirsten Storms - Kirsten
Shawn Pyfrom - Shawn
Hampton Dixon - 'Little' Hampton
Jennefer Jesse - Jennefer
Natalie Trott - Natalie
- Julie
- Christoper
- Uncle Zack
Wolf Bauer - Gaston (1 episode, "What's Inside Counts")
- Inez

Voices[]

Mary Kay Bergman - Fifi, Hansel & Gretel, Elf, Witch
Christine Cavanaugh - Carol the Book Worm
- Harmony the Cat
Jim Cummings - Big Book, Lewis the Book Worm
Wayne Allwine - Mickey Mouse
Tony Anselmo - Donald Duck
Bill Farmer - Goofy, Pluto
Russi Taylor - Minnie Mouse
Maurice LaMarche - Mortimer Mouse, Joe Giraffe
Tress MacNeille - Lambs, Tillie Tiger
Corey Burton - Ghosts
Will Ryan - Willie the Giant

Episodes (including featured animated subjects)[]

Episode	Title	Summary	Airdate
1	Everybody Needs a Friend	Belle and Brioche the Baker show everyone that everybody needs a friend. Disney Stories: PLUTO'S FLEDGLING (1948), LITTLE HIAWATHA (1937)
2	Feeling Like an Outcast	Belle explains that everybody and thing is different as she finds a dusty book on the shelf and Julie has new glasses. Disney Stories: FERDINAND THE BULL (1938), ELMER ELEPHANT (1936)
3	Folk Heroes	Belle sings the story of the biggest folk hero who towers them all. Disney Stories: PAUL BUNYAN (1958)	1995
4	Everyone's Special	Tiny Hampton feels inferior. Disney Stories: GOLIATH II (1960) Note - Goliath II is the first story where all the characters keep their original voices.
5	Stick to It (Don't Give Up)	Inez the village mail carrier is not sure that she can stick to her job. Disney Stories: MAIL DOG (1947), THE BRAVE ENGINEER (1950)
6	Taking Responsibility	Carroll takes full responsibility after accidentally knocking Belle's Bach bust off the shelf. Disney Stories: LITTLE TOOT (1948), IN DUTCH (1946)
7	Working Together	The kids help Belle clean up the bookshop except Kirsten. Disney Stories: MORRIS THE MIDGET MOOSE (1950), BABES IN THE WOODS (1932)
8	Overcoming Fear	Belle tells everybody that they should face their fears like a thunderstorm. Disney Stories: LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION (1952), BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR (1938) Note - Mickey Mouse has his original voice by Walt Disney.
9	Problem Solving: Ingenuity	Belle is trying fix a broken cello shown at the end belonging to Willie the Giant. Disney Stories: MICKEY AND THE BEANSTALK (1947)
10	Valuing What's Worthy	Axle the auto mechanic arrives at the bookshop as everyone is having a garage sale. Disney Stories: SUSIE THE LITTLE BLUE COUPE (1952), THE LITTLE HOUSE (1952)
11	Reap What You Sow	Shawn and Harmony won't help with some chili that everybody is making. Disney Stories: THE WISE LITTLE HEN (1934), THREE LITTLE PIGS (1933)
12	Best Friends	Lewis and Carroll have a big fight. Disney Stories: GOOFY AND WILBUR (1939), THE PELICAN AND THE SNIPE (1944)
13	Taking the Easy Way Out	Putting a bike together is easy if you don't take shortcuts. Disney Stories: THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS (1934), THE BIG BAD WOLF (1934)
14	Steady Effort	Brioche reminds Belle that she has to bake many cookies for the bake sale and is not sure if she can do it. Disney Stories: THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE (1935), PEDRO (1943)
15	Sibling Rivalry	Big Book isn't talking to his brother as he was the one who lost Big Book's favourite bookmark. Disney Stories: PLUTO'S KID BROTHER (1946)
16	Feeling Left Out (Loneliness)	Harmony wants to join the Witty Kitty Club. Disney Stories: UGLY DUCKLING (1939), THE COLD BLOODED PENGUIN (1945)
17	Wonderful World of Music	Belle's uncle, Zack, arrives on the day of his concert just as Shawn is trying to pick a musical instrument to play. Disney Stories: MUSIC LAND (1935)
18	Creativity and Inspiration	Maurice is stumped on an invention. Disney Stories: GOOFY'S GLIDER (1940), MICKEY'S TRAILER (1938)
19	Temptation	Carroll finds Madame Souffle's birthday cake very tempting. Disney Stories: MOTH AND THE FLAME (1938), PINOCCHIO (1940)
20	Sleepover	Belle invites everybody for a sleepover at the bookshop. Disney Stories: LONESOME GHOSTS (1937), WYNKEN, BLYNKEN & NOD (1938)
21	Talent Show	Belle and her friend help Justin find his special talent. Disney Stories: MICKEY'S AMATEURS (1937), MICKEY'S CIRCUS (1936)
22	What's Inside Counts	Gaston has invited everybody to his Gaston Day party, which is why nobody has come to the kids' magic show. Disney Stories: MICKEY'S RIVAL (1936), THE COOKIE CARNIVAL (1935)
23	Be Yourself	Julie is being Belle instead of being herself. Disney Stories: THE FLYING MOUSE (1934), SOCIETY DOG SHOW (1939)
24	Friends in Books	Harmony is writing a book to put on one of Belle's shelves but there's no room. Disney Stories: WINNIE THE POOH AND THE HONEY TREE (1966) Note - Pooh Bear has his original voice by Sterling Holloway.	1997
25	Make a Difference	Belle explains to the kids that people in the world can make a difference. Disney Stories: THE LEGEND OF JOHNNY APPLESEED (1948)	1997
26	Do Something	Belle thinks that she should get in the game. Disney Stories: GOOFY GYMNASTICS (1949), HOW TO PLAY BASEBALL (1942), HOW TO PLAY GOLF (1944), HOW TO PLAY FOOTBALL (1944), WONDER DOG (1950)	1997

Syndication[]

This show premiered in First-run syndication in select markets as a sneak preview on September 8, 1995. In 1996, two videos featuring two episodes each were released as part of the Disney Princess Collection: Chapters of Enchantment and Beauty and the World of Music. In 1999, two episodes from the first season were released with an episode of an abandoned Beauty and the Beast cartoon series featured in the 1998 video Belle's Magical World, and were released direct-to-video as Belle's Tales of Friendship.

Two episodes were also featured separately as an extra in both the 2011 re-release of Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, and Belle's Magical World.

References[]

^ ^a ^b Tobenkin, David (January 2, 1995). "Disney rings in the new year with Belle: Studio plans to launch FCC-friendly show based on 'Beauty and the Beast'". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. 125 (1): 18. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018.

External links[]

[Tobenkin-1] Tobenkin, David (January 2, 1995). "Disney rings in the new year with Belle: Studio plans to launch FCC-friendly show based on 'Beauty and the Beast'". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. 125 (1): 18. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018.

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