Beauty and the Beast

When an arrogant Prince turns away an old woman looking for shelter with only a rose for a gift, she warns him not to just take the surface appearance as being the all of a person; however he rejects her a second time – only for her to reveal herself as a beautiful enchantress. She casts a spell on him, turning him into a beast with the only hope of return being to fall in love with a woman and have her fall in love with him before the rose wilts and dies. Resembling a carpet stuffed with walnuts, the prince figures he has no chance and withdraws into his castle. When an elderly man wanders into the castle, the Beast holds him prisoner and only lets him go when his daughter, Belle, offers to replace him in the Beast's castle. With time running out, the Beast's staff hope that Belle will be the one to break the curse but the Beast cannot remember how.

Being quite a cynical, acerbic person I must admit that I prefer modern animated films that deliver lots of adult humour along with a good emotional story and often I struggle to enjoy films that take the more traditional Disney route. However with this film I was quite taken by how classy the whole affair was, with great effort being shown in every area from the animation, to the songs through to the emotionally involving story whose telling is touched with a nice sense of wonder throughout. The story doesn't really hit many bum notes (I thought Gaston's sidekick was a bit too obvious and half cooked) and it is interesting and enjoyable for the vast majority of the time. The story and comedy is aimed at both adults and children – but the stuff for kids is not basic pratfalls, nor is the adult material just a load of references or suggestive jokes. Instead the two are quite well blended with good physical comedy and plenty of wit. Again, it is the sense of spectacle and wonder that came through that I really appreciated.

The animation feels more impressive for the reliance on mostly traditional animation rather than computer effects – in fact the computer effects look a bit dated now, even if they do still produce the goods in some key scenes. Mainly it is the feeling that every frame has had a lot of effort and love put into it that makes the whole affair feel classy. The songs are also great and feature quite a few memorable songs that stick in the mind; meanwhile the choreography of these scenes is generally very imaginative (Be Our Guest was my favourite). The cast don't feature many big stars and perhaps this is good because the real people don't distract from their characters. That said, I thought that Benson, O'Hara, White and a few others were quite unremarkable even if they were good enough for the film. Orbach, Stiers, Lansbury and others provided comic work in the support characters and everything worked well.

Overall this is a really classy animated film that shows the effort and care put into it in many different regards. It does suffer a bit from cuteness and sentimentality but I didn't think this was a massive problem or something that was not to be expected from Disney and generally I really enjoyed the film and see it as one of the films that define Disney for people of my generation.

This is a classic movie. We have breakthrough films like Snow White and Fantasia, and we have other greats like Aladdin and The Lion King, but this definitely tops them all. There is so much here that is missing in other Disney classics. This film has emotion, incredible music and animation, characters that you admire, laugh at, and despise. This movie is a fun ride from beginning to end. We can all relate with the suffering of the Beast (being an outsider), and we all know a Gaston in our lives. The way we can identify with the characters sucks us into the story. Don't miss this classic...the only animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

The only animated movie to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and it deserved it.

Magic from the opening prologue to the final credit, "Beauty and the Beast" is the last real classic to come from the Disney crew before John Lasseter came along. This was one of the few movies I happily paid to see twice in the cinema, and sitting in a sparsely-populated Friday night audience (I was living in Barbados at the time, and it was hardly the most artistic place on Earth... it was a crying shame that there was hardly anyone there while "Home Alone 2" went through the roof) the second time, the magic remained.

You all know the story, so apart from pointing out the movie's one flaw (the prince's spell had to be broken before he turned 21 or he would remain a beast forever; so if it was cast ten years before the events of the movie, wouldn't that mean he was 11 when the spell was cast...?), let's look at how well the movie works. You have a monster who's more human than the movie's medallion-man villain; you have a heroine who's PC but engaging with it; you have a supporting cast of magic utensils who wisely never upstage the couple at the centre of this love story (and despite the Disney animated trappings, it IS a love story); and you have a captivating story, beautifully told.

The movie's also got wonderful design of its French setting and characters, with the ballroom scene a standout (the tiny but appreciative audience were impressed by the sight of the Beast and Belle in their evening wear - the only time I've ever seen cartoon characters get wolf-whistled in a cinema); and Alan Menken's score is his finest work for the Mouse, with matchless lyrics from the late and much lamented Howard Ashman - how many musicals can you name where ALL the songs are brilliant? But ultimately it's the movie's very real heart that makes it a keeper; the cliche "You'll laugh, you'll cry" is all too true in this case. A lot of movies called 'classic' don't deserve that appellation, but this one does.

I'll be slaughtered by anime fans, but what the hell... one "Beauty and the Beast" is worth a thousand "Akira"s. And "Shrek"s. And, I'm willing to bet, "Treasure Planet"s. This is a truly adult animated feature that's also one for the entire family. Forget "The Silence of the Lambs" - this is the real best picture of 1991.

Who can resist this beautiful story? I love the fact that even though Belle hated Beast at first, she saw underneath that he was a kind and gentle soul, and didn't care what he looked like on the outside! And what girl hasn't known a Gaston in their lives? I thought it was so great how he was put in his place! All the voiceovers are amazing, especially Robby Benson as Beast. Another Disney masterpiece.

a great movie story done with wondrous animation and lovely music. the pacing was perfect, the music blended extremely well with the action, and each character was developed charmingly. the contrast between the mean but insecure beast plays very well against the lovely but bright and secure belle. the animation was top notch: even now, after disney has had time to develop better computer animation techniques, it still has beautiful color and flow. except for pinocchio, I don't know any disney movie more lovely. It's a movie that appeals to children of all ages, especially adults : )

enough of the "technical stuff" let's get on to my emotional attachment to the movie.

I remember the first time I saw B&tB so vividly; I was completely enthralled by the movie that all I could do on the way home was smile and cry. I've seen it many, many times, yet the ballroom scene still gives me goose bumps. Angela Landsbury as Mrs. Potts sings the title song with so much feeling that every time I hear the song, I'm swept away back to that ballroom.

I was also moved by Belle's strength of self worth and generosity. She is a heroine I'd love girls to emulate. She knows what she wants, but yet is sensitive to others in trying to achieve that goal. She also learns to apologize and to forgive, no small task.

I've loved this movie from the start, and it has grown into an obsession. I collect everything I can now, and watch it when I need a lift. So I know my opinion is strongly biased : ) but I hope you get a chance to see this film and judge for yourself. I realize it is difficult to get access to the videos or laser discs (check out the spanish version cover imdb is using in B&tB's page) but it is well worth the search. The first time is most magical. I envy you.