Who narrated the prologue of Beauty and the Beast?

David Ogden Stiers narrated the prologue of Beauty and the Beast. His voice introduces the story of the selfish young prince, the enchantress, and the rose whose final falling petal marks the limit of the curse.

Stiers was also a major voice in the film, playing Cogsworth, the castle’s pompous clock. The dual role gives the opening narration a distinctive connection to the enchanted household that later guides Belle and the Beast through the story.

Viewers sometimes mistake the narrator for Robby Benson, who voiced the Beast, or Richard White, who voiced Gaston. Neither actor performs the prologue narration. Stiers’ narration is heard over stained-glass imagery that compresses the prince’s transformation and establishes the film’s central lesson: appearance and character are not the same thing.