At the 1992 Oscars, "Beauty and the Beast" became the first animated feature to get a best picture nom. Alas, the Academy went with a picture with a decidedly scarier beast: "Silence of the Lambs." However, the Beaut did take home some hardware that evening, as Alan Menken won for best original score. Menken also shared the best original song Oscar with his lyricist, Howard Ashman, for the song "Beauty and the Beast." Unfortunately, Ashman died ... more 

At the 1992 Oscars, "Beauty and the Beast" became the first animated feature to get a best picture nom. Alas, the Academy went with a picture with a decidedly scarier beast: "Silence of the Lambs." However, the Beaut did take home some hardware that evening, as Alan Menken won for best original score. Menken also shared the best original song Oscar with his lyricist, Howard Ashman, for the song "Beauty and the Beast." Unfortunately, Ashman died of complications from AIDS, and his award was presented posthumously. Ashman and Menken were longtime collaborators, originally getting together to pen the off-Broadway classic "Little Shop of Horrors." "Beauty and the Beast" was the duo's second best song Oscar. They won in 1989 for the song "Under the Sea," which is featured in another Disney classic slated for 3D re-release, "The Little Mermaid." less