Beauty and the Beast (A Walt Disney Classic) | David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Orbach

Beauty and the Beast (A Walt Disney Classic) | David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Orbach | My favorite movie. EVER.

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Beauty and the Bea...

	Beauty and the Beast (A Walt Disney Classic) David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Orbach Walt Disney Home Video, 1992 average customer review:based on 420 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

For Once, Disney Did a Fairy Tale Right.

There a lot of Disney films based off of fairy tales; Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid to name a few. While, Cinderella and Snow White remain favorites to this day, Beauty and the Beast is probably the only one that is consistently funny, has good songs, and a great cast of characters.

If one has not seen "Beauty and the Beast", the basic story goes: Belle is a bookish woman who doesn't fit in, but as her name suggest, her beauty is unparalleled. Her father is an eccentric inventor and is trying to become a famous inventor. When he stumbles across the Beast's castle, he is on the way to an inventor's contest, and then he is imprisoned by the Beats who is incapable of love. This is a very touching film because the Beast is a man who has never learned to love, and Belle has a hard time loving someone who would imprison her or her father, but eventually as time goes by, she begins to see that he is not as bad as he seemed. It gives wonderful message that you cannot always judge someone based upon their looks, and sometimes you just need to really know a person before you can decide whether or not they are worth knowing - despite first impressions.

Admittedly I had not watched "Beauty and the Beast" since it came out, until recently, and I had forgotten that it is more than a children's film. The story is very predictable, but is filled with so much fabulous music, characters with actual depth, and beautiful animation it overshadows the story. This movie has the perennial heroine that all the other Fairy Tale Disney movies have. Yet, this is the only Disney movie that gets the female lead right. She's smart, sassy (not bratty), beautiful, and can take care of herself. She doesn't desire the best looking man which is why Gaston holds no interest for her. She is the kind of woman that I would feel comfortable letting my kids watch in a movie.

The only caution I would give, is that there is mild sexual innuendo most of it is from "Lumiere" (A character reminiscent of Honore Lachaille in 'Gigi') the candlestick. :) However, it is mild, and not blatant or bad enough to deter you from letting your children watch it. It is after all based in France, you have to expect a little bit of that.

Overall, this is one of Disney's crowning achievements, and should be in any one's movie collection!

God Bless & *enjoy* ~Amy

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My favorite movie. EVER.

I grew up on the Disney movies, ranging from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the Lion King. While both earn my utmost respect, there has always been one that stuck with me in both heart and memory- Beauty and the Beast.

You see, I'm 19 now, almost 20 and this is one movie I've always cherished since childhood. When the narration begins about the Prince,goes to the title, and on, the movie hooks me into a realm of fantasy and romance.

While I'm not too big on romance stories in book form, Disney does it right in this film. A raging, yet sorrow-filled beast who secretly falls in love with a strong-willed woman. First off, they don't like each other, but the relationship blossoms and grows up to where they fight for each other- this is true love in its purest form.

I admit with pride, that I cry at certain scenes, mostly the Transformation scene at the end of the film. The music is lively, the acting is superb, and the memories that remain in my heart are fond.

Parents, please, please, PLEASE show this film to your children- I firmly believe that they, like myself and many others will fall in love with this film, and many other Disney classics. I give Beauty and the Beast 10 out of 10 Stars. This is my favorite film of all eternity. EVER.

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A "tale as old as time" breathes new life into Disney

This is the film which set the high bar of standards for all other animated films to try to meet. After Disney's success with 1989's "The Little Mermaid", the studio was quickly on the road to recovery after a dismal record of not-so-great productions (anyone remember "The Black Cauldron"?). Then came the masterpiece: "Beauty and the Beast", a handsomely detailed film that's satisfying on all levels of story, animation and music.
How good is it? It's the only animated film (so far) to have received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, so you know that this film lives up to all the hype surrounding it.
This quaint period story begins with Belle, a young woman in a close-minded French town whose people label her "odd" and "loony" for spending her time reading books. Constantly pursued by a swaggering, loutish, narcisstic brute named Gaston to marry him, Belle finds shelter within the pages of her books, expanding her knowledge and imagination. But her life changes forever when her eccentric inventor-father stumbles upon a dark castle while lost in the woods. There, he encounters the hideous, frightening Beast, who imprisons him for trespassing. Belle agrees to remain as a "guest" at the castle in exchange for her father's freedom. As the narrator tells us at the beginning of the film, the Beast was once a handsome prince whose uncaring vanity forced a sorceress to place a powerful curse upon him and his castle, which can only be broken by true love. And there begins the heart of the story, as Belle attempts to reveal the "beauty" within the Beast and forge love & understanding between them (which, of course, turns out to be not-so-easy!).
Robby Benson & Mary Kay Bergman voice the title characters (who would've guessed such a soft-spoken actor as Benson would possess such a powerful lower register?). The supporting cast includes a wide assortment of talking, dancing & singing household items (the Prince's servants transformed under the curse), brought to life by such wonderfully diverse voice talents as Angela Lansbury (Miss Potts), the late Jerry Orbach (Lumiere), and David Odgen Stiers (Cogsworth).
The songwriting team of Ashman & Menken compose a musical score for a Disney film that's the most memorable ever. I dare you not to tap your foot while hearing such tunes as "Be Our Guest" or fall under the spell of the title song.
And the film helped launch Disney into sort of a "renaissance" period as they followed with one great film after another: "Aladdin", "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Hercules", "Mulan" and "Tarzan".
Sometimes haunting, sometimes frightening, and often joyous in its imagery & storytelling, "Beauty and the Beast" is Disney at its peak of perfection. No Disney collection would be complete without it!

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One of my all time favorites

This is up there for the best Disney movie. The animation is astounding, the music, perfect. Its an unforgettable classic that everybody should watch, if they have yet to do so.

A masterly musical rendering of the classic story

"Beauty and the Beast" is one of the treasures of the Disney catalog.

Anyone who wants to see where great Broadway musicals were being written in the 90s should look at this film. The songs by Alan Mencken and Howard Ashman are masterful.

The classic story is beautifully realised by directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Beautifully sung and voice-acted by the talented cast. You would have to be hard of heart to not be moved by the finale.

Coming after "The Little Mermaid", the success of this "traditional" animated film inspired the resurgence of the previously moribund animation genre in the 90s, which has continued through until today.

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