Disney | 1991 | 92 mins. | G
I saw Beauty and the Beast for the first time in 1991, but as a college student I thought myself too cool to admit the films goodness. Now, nearly twenty years later, I’ve grown to appreciate Disney’s accomplishment. The first animated filmed to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, Beauty and the Beast was the third entry in Disney’s renaissance that occurred from 1989-99. The Little Mermaid had started the ball rolling in 1989; Beauty and the Beast raises the bar in every area: animation, characters, songs and script. Not surprisingly, blu-ray moves the film to yet another level.
First published in 1740 France, Beauty and the Beast has been told many times. The story concerns a merchant with three daughters. One is the most pure, and when the family loses their fortune after a fleet of trading ships is lost at sea, they have to leave their mansion and live in a shack. Later, word reaches them that one of the ships safely reached port. Before the merchant departs to assess their financial state, he asks each daughter what she wishes him to bring her. The other sisters want jewelry and fine dresses, but Belle is content with her father’s safe return. “Bring me a rose,” she says. In the book, that simple request leads to everyone’s undoing. Of course, this is Disney, so they made some changes for the sake of a happier story.
Belle (Paige O’Hara) is a soft spoken girl living in a small French village. Because she doesn’t really fit in, she escapes into the world of books. The villagers think her weird and think even less of her father Maurice (Rex Everhart), an eccentric inventor. They love the boorish village huntsman named Gaston (Richard White), who along with his sidekick LeFue (Jesse Corti) has been courting Belle despite her lack of interest.
Despite her misgivings, Gaston decides Belle is to be his bride. Meanwhile, Maurice has finally perfected his automatic wood chopping machine and wants to take it to the fair to show it off. He leaves Belle but quickly becomes lost in a mysterious forest and ends up seeking refuge in what appears to be an abandoned castle. It turns out to be the place where years ago, a Prince (Robbie Benson) was transformed into a Beast by an enchantress for refusing her request for shelter in exchange for a rose. Because of that, the Price wanders the castle as a monstrous beast and the only way he can remove the curse is to find someone that he can learn to love and who will return his affection before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose. Maurice is imprisoned by the beast. Once Belle realizes her father is missing, she goes out looking for him, finds the castle, and trades herself for her father’s life.
We know what must happen from here. Belle must embark on the seemingly impossible quest of loving a beast. But compared to Gaston, the beast is a catch. I must be said that the supporting characters help immensely in adding charm to Beauty and the Beast. Jerry Orbach and David Ogden Stiers generate excellent chemistry as Lumiere and Cogsworth, while Angela Lansbury brings a matronly grace to the role of Mrs. Potts.
One also must not forget the music, which plays a significant role in the film’s success. The melodies are some of the most memorable of Alan Menken’s career (which is saying something when you consider what he’s accomplished), while Howard Ashman’s lyrics were some of the best of his career. From the bustling “Belle” to the jovial “Be Our Guest” to the romantic title song, every number in the film is a real treat. The fact is, everything about Beauty and the Beast fits together perfectly.
The film has been framed at 1.78:1 and is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. Color saturation and sharpness are excellent throughout, and the lines are crisp and unaffected by artifacting of any kind. There is, however, just the slightest evidence of banding in some of the lighter purple and blue backgrounds, but it’s practically unnoticeable and unless one is really looking for it, it’s doubtful it’ll even be seen.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix makes the music sound truly spectacular with the orchestra routed throughout the soundfield and singing voices mostly in the center channel with an occasional directionalized placement. There are no real complaints about this superb sound recording or the lossless rendering offered here.
The new “Diamond Edition” of Beauty and the Beast provides us with a huge selection of special both new and old:
• Three Versions of the Film: The 85-minute theatrical version of the film, the 91-minute extended version of the film, and a “Storyreel Picture-in-Picture Experience” version that lets you examine storyboards and rough animation alongside the finished film.
• Audio Commentary: A good track taken from the 2002 DVD release featuring producer Don Hahn, co-directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale and composer Alan Menken. This track accompanies the extended version of the film.
• Sing-Along Track: Just like it sounds.
• Beyond Beauty (157 minutes): This is a massive documentary covering just about every single detail of the film’s making; about as comprehensive and absorbing as one could possibly hope. However, the documentary is an interactive piece that allows viewers to branch off into additional interviews, featurettes, animated shorts and more. For the most important details, just watch the piece without selecting any of the other options as they pop up. For the full 2 and ½ hour experience that digs into a lot of the minutiae, click everything.
• Composing a Classic (20 minutes): A terrific featurette in which composer Alan Menken sits down with agent Richard Kraft and Don Hahn and discusses the music of Beauty and the Beast. Menken is seated at a piano and treats us to snippets of his themes throughout the piece. My favorite bit is when Hahn explains that the film won the Golden Globe because, “The songs in The Silence of the Lambs weren’t quite as good.”
• Broadway Beginnings (13 minutes): A nice piece on the Broadway adaptation of the film.
• Enchanted Musical Challenge: A kid-friendly game in which you have to answer trivia questions to find Belle’s friends.
• Bonjour, Who is This?: An interactive game that requires the use of a telephone and more than one participant.
• Music Video (3 minutes): Jordin Sparks regales us with her rendition of “Beauty and the Beast.”
• Deleted Scenes: First up is a massive 18-minute alternate opening sequence presented in storyboard form. It’s an interesting watch which adds a lot of story elements missing from the finished film, though the video quality is rubbish. Next, you get a much lovelier 8-minute storyboarded sequence featuring Belle exploring the library. Both of these scenes are given brief introductions, though obnoxiously you have to watch them separately (meaning you have to watch the intro, then go back to the menu and select the actual deleted scene).
• Classic DVD Features: A sampling of vintage featurettes and tidbits are assembled here, running just over an hour combined. In this area, you’ll find: a short documentary entitled “The Story Behind the Story,” an early presentation reel, an alternate version of “Be Our Guest,” an alternate score selection written for “The Transformation,” a deleted song, a camera move test, some animated scenes in pencils, a music video featuring Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson and some trailers & TV spots.
• The disc is equipped with BD-Live and the Disney Smart Menu.
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