Beauty and the Beast

Theatrical Release Date: 1991 11 13 (USA) / 2010 (USA - 3-D) / 2002 01 13 (USA - IMAX) / 2012 01 13 (USA - 3D)

UPC: 786936816549

Studio: Walt Disney

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Child Classic]

Summary: Beauty and the Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants -- a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) -- see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty and the Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, ""Human Again."" ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Category: Children's/Family

Awards: Best Score – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Original Score – null Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Best Animation – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: 3 versions of the film
Broadway beginnings
Music video
Deleted scene and alternate opening
Disney sing along mode
Beyond Beauty - The untold stories
Enchanted musical challenge game

Beauty and the Beast

Release Date: 10/04/2011

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 85 Minutes

Sides: 4

Number of Discs: 4

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: French,Spanish,English

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Beauty and the Beast
1. One Upon a Time... [:32]
2. "Belle" [:17]
3. Gaston Stops Belle [:09]
4. Maurice Comes Upon a Castle [2:17]
5. Gaston Proposes to Belle [:03]
6. Belle Goes in Search of Maurice [5:04]
7. Belle's New Home [4:43]
8. "Gaston" [:42]
9. An Invitation to Dinner [3:43]
10. "Be Our Guest" [2:16]
11. The West Wing [1:02]
12. Belle Tends to Beast's Wounds [3:58]
13. Something Special for Belle [:42]
14. "Something There" [1:30]
15. "Beauty and the Beast" [3:26]
16. Gaston's Evil Plan in Action [4:26]
17. "The Mob Song" [1:53]
18. The Castle Under Attack [1:35]
19. Gaston and the Beast [5:21]
20. The Transformation [5:34]
21. End Credits [1:47]

Perry Seibert

The most important aspect of any musical is the songs. Songs in a musical should be both memorable and somewhat functional. One or the other is fine, but if most of the songs advance the plot or reveal character andmake the audience want to sing along, then you have a truly great musical. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman composed an arguably perfect set of songs for Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The opening number that encapsulates both Belle and her hometown, the hilarious tune illustrating how formidable a man Gaston is, and the warmly charming "Be My Guest" are just three high points from one of the great soundtracks in movie history. The title track, which is as sappy as Ashman ever got as a lyricist, charmingly acknowledges its own banality ("Tale as old as time/song as old rhyme/beauty and the beast") without minimizing or mocking its inherently sweet description of true love. Belle herself sidesteps most of the clich?s surrounding Disney heroines. Her love for the beast is unexpected, mostly because she dreams of independence and adventure, not romance. She is a strong female character whose love is won through kindness, selflessness, and honesty, and not given away just because the lead male character is attractive. Classic songs, memorable characters, and adult (for Disney) love combine with such joy and skill in Beauty and the Beast that it became the first animated Best Picture nominee in Academy history. This is not just a great animated film; this is a great film. Period. [In January of 2012, a new 3D version of Beauty and the Beast was released into U.S. theaters after playing on screens throughout Europe and Asia. Though the film looked and sounded as good as ever, the 3D effects were largely of the forgettable "View-Master" variety, offering the film a pleasant but ultimately unnecessary sense of depth that did little to dazzle outside of the classic "Be Our Guest" and ballroom sequences. Following The Lion King 3D and preceding Finding Nemo 3D, Monsters Inc. 3D, and The Little Mermaid 3D, Beauty and the Beast 3D proved that even with 21st century film technology, it's difficult to improve upon perfection. -- Jason Buchanan] ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Alvin Epstein  Actor 
Albert Tavares  Actor 
Tony Jay  Actor 
Hal Smith  Actor 
Mary Kay Bergman  Actor 
Alec Murphy  Actor 
Kath Soucie  Actor 
Brian Cummings  Actor 
Frank Welker  Actor 
Vanna Bonta  Actor 
Howard Ashman  Executive Producer 
Don Hahn  Producer 
Alan Menken  Composer (Music Score) 
Gary Trousdale  Director 
Kirk Wise  Director 
Linda Woolverton  Screenwriter 
Paige O'Hara  Actor 
Robby Benson  Actor 
Jerry Orbach  Actor 
Angela Lansbury  Actor 
Richard White  Actor 
David Ogden Stiers  Actor 
Jesse Corti  Actor 
Rex Everhart  Actor 
Bradley Michael Pierce  Actor 
Jo Ann Worley  Actor 
Kimmy Robertson  Actor 

Country: USA