Die Schöne und das Biest - Weihnachtszauber

It was in Disneyworld where I first came across this direct to video sequel for Beauty and the Beast. Being a fan of the first movie and a Disney fan in general, I bought it. I wondered how the prince turned into a beast again. Finally I put it in the hotel VCR and started watching. The Enchanted Christmas is not near as half as good as the first movie. I felt it was a real shame that Dinsey made this sequel as it some how slightly ruined the first Beauty and the Beast. I will hand it to Dinsey for getting -most- the original voices back. But still this movie did not have that charm that Disney movies should have. One huge let-down was the awful soundtrack. Besides "As Long As There's Christmas" I didn't think highly of any of the other songs. Forte was such a dull villain, I could actually hate Gaston but Forte was more annoying than evil. However the computer animation of him was not bad at all but didn't really blend in with the animation. The voices were good but the characters were just so dull in this movie. Lumiere, Cogswarth and Mrs. Potts didn't have that funny charm they had in Beauty and the Beast. Haley Joel Osment, I will admit did a good job as Chip- all the cast members did splendid jobs, but the characters were still not lively like in the first, the songs were dull and the story was the biggest let down. Why Disney feel they have to make a sequel to all their classics is beyond me... well money I suppose but what ever happened to 'the sake of the art'? I mean Picasso didn't make The Blue Period II: The Return of Depression, now did he?

For a direct-to-video special, this movie isn't really all that bad. The animation was crisp and clean enough that I wondered if the theatrical animation department worked on this. The CG animation of the villain, Forte, was pretty impressive, even though it kind of stood out like a sore thumb compared to the traditional animated surroundings.

All the voicework is back from the original movie, most notably Jerry Orbach as Lumiere and David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth. New characters were well voiced by Tim Curry, Paul Reubens, and Bernadette Peters. One thing that is definitely lacking in this movie is the quality of the songs. Most of them are kind of corny, sappy, and disposable. Compare that with the original where all the songs were magnificent and memorable, and you'll realize that Howard Ashman was definitely missed.

As for the storyline, this movie provided a nice Christmas story. Recalling back when they were cursed, the characters detailed their struggle to bring Christmas back to the castle. I thought Forte was a very conniving and formidable villain. He added the conflict that made the story more interesting. It's not groundbreaking material, but it's sweet and nice enough around the holidays.

So, overall, this isn't Academy Award material like its predecessor, nor was it ever intended to be. It's a good Christmas story with your favorite B&B characters.

My IMDb Rating: 8/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B+ (Memorable)

Forte is a way better villain than Gaston. It would of been better if they made this a 30min short than a movie.

The original film is such a masterpiece that it sets the bar so high for this sequel, and you have to keep this in mind when you sit down to watch this. First of all, I think it is such a delight to have the entire cast from the original back and at it. I think the film would really have been hurt if even one of the voice actors had been replaced.

I think what made the original so strong was the music and lyrics of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Every song was beautiful, witty, and did so much to develop the story and characters. There a but a few songs in The Enchanted Christmas, and the only one that is somewhat memorable is the song "Stories", whose melody becomes a sort of musical motif that recurs throughout the film. The interesting animation sequence during this song is one of the highlights of the film, and it is nothing like anything featured in the original.

If you are a die-hard fan of Beauty and the Beast like myself, you will enjoy seeing the characters in action... but, sadly, it feels different and less magical than the original. The script is a little thin, and the voice acting isn't totally consistent with the original. For example, Robby Benson, who voices Beast, sounds very strange at times and seems to be overacting. But it seems that the Beast in general is very exaggerated throughout the film so this is probably not Benson's fault. Paige O'Hara as Belle as always has a remarkably beautiful voice, whether she is singing or talking. It is so wonderful to hear her put life into the character again.

One thing that I feel was very wrong with this film is that an entire sequence was devoted to showing how the Prince turned away the Enchantress on Christmas and became the Beast. I think that the original film did a marvelous job by telling this part of the story through the stained glass sequence in the beginning, but seeing it portrayed here again sort lacks that fairy-tale wonder to it that the images in stained glass conveyed so well.

Aside from this minor point, I believe if you enjoyed the original like myself, you won't have too hard a time of enjoying this film. Like I mentioned, it would be impossible to match the beauty and magic of the original solely in that the music just cannot match the genius of the Menken/Ashman collaboration. Even though the animation is low-budget, a wonderful soundtrack would have made the sequel great.

My commentary on the Special Edition DVD is that I thought the behind-the-scenes feature was wonderful, and although it is short, you get some really great interviews from the voice actors including Tim Curry who makes his debut as the story's new villain. You don't get to see Paul Reubens though, whose voice and character I found rather annoying. No big loss. One problem I had, however, is with the quality of the image. The Special Edition of the original on DVD has an amazing picture quality, and the colors are so lucid and spectacular, yet in the Enchanted Christmas DVD the colors are somewhat dull and faded. Aside from that, the other special features are just some nonsense that is thrown in just to satisfy the Special Edition title, but the behind-the-scenes feature is good enough for me.

On a final note, I noticed that there are Roman numerals on the side of the DVD cases of both films. Supposedly there will be a third Beauty and the Beast Special Edition coming out soon. Can't wait.

When I heard that there was going to be a direct to video sequel of Beauty and the Beast, I was appalled. But I took a chance and rented it. Using the original cast was an inspired idea! The animation is great (much better than most DTV sequels), but the CGI used on Forte (the evil organ) is distracting. The songs aren't wonderful. It's nice to explore the section of the original movie that was skimmed over. Christmas!