Like nearly everyone else that was alive at the time, I saw Beauty and the Beast for the first time in 1991, but unlike nearly everyone else I wasn’t entirely enamored with it. I just didn’t understand what the big deal was and my bewilderment continues to this day. Certainly the film has some extraordinarily memorable songs, but beyond that I don’t get the overwhelming love. This is to say I like it, but I’m not among the group that holds it in such high esteem.
Sure, it was the first animated film nominated for Best Picture, but if you look back at ’91 it isn’t as if there was an overwhelming amount of competition. What’s even more interesting is to look back at that year and imagine if movie reporting existed then as it does now. I can just imagine the demand for a Terminator 2 Best Picture nod and the outcry when it turns out Beauty and the Beast was nominated instead. Oh, the number of editorials and opinions that would have been written on that one topic alone would have been epic.
Nevertheless, Beauty and the Beast‘s nomination was a sign of the times. For 18 years Beauty and the Beast would remain the only animated film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and in that time we would see the addition of the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars, a category it would seem many feel is where animated films belong while the live action films battle it out for the top prize. Last year Pixar’s Up became only the second animated film to be nominated for Best Picture while Waltz with Bashir become the first animated film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Feature.
Has the opinion of animated films finally shifted over the last 18 years, or was it only the fact the Best Pictures category was expanded to ten nominees that found Up earning a nomination? Before watching Disney’s newly restored Blu-ray edition of Beauty and the Beast I began to wonder if my opinion has changed over those same 18 years. Would I be able to achieve a greater level of respect for Beauty and the Beast than I did when I was 14-years-old?
Surprisingly, even though I can’t remember the last time I watched this movie, returning to it was as if I had never left. This is primarily due to the fact the songs, regardless of what you think of the film overall, are 100-percent unforgettable. Beginning with “Belle” you move to “Gaston,” “Be Our Guest” and of course, the Oscar-winning “Beauty and the Beast.” As mentioned in the “Backstage Disney” documentary on the second Blu-ray disc, not only are these great songs, but they were so great you never even recognized how cliche some of them are, a fact that added to their ability to keep the story moving while also carrying a tune.
As for this Blu-ray transfer, it’s immaculate. The light from Lumiere and the glow of the Beast’s fire not only show off the film’s brilliant hand-drawn animation, but also show off the exceptional color palette on display. The one scene sure to knock even the hardest to impress viewer is the dance scene with Beast and Belle dancing to “Beauty and the Beast.” The balance of color between Belle’s golden gown and Beast’s royal blue suit can’t look any better. This is a scene I saw in converted 3D back in 2009 and while the release of the full film in 3D has been pushed back, there is little doubt why that scene was chosen as part of the preview.
Disney also continues their tradition of superior sound quality on their restored animated classics with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, which ends up sounding simply spectacular.
The special features included with this package are equally impressive as they are split up across two discs, plus a bonus DVD including a DVD copy of the film. The first disc contains the film in three separate versions, the theatrical version, an extended version that includes seven additional minutes made up of the “Human Again” sequence (a sequence that was rightly deleted) and the theatrical version with a pop up story reel. As great as this last feature could be, the picture-in-picture box the story reel plays in is tiny and the ability to switch the main image from story reel to actual film would have made it perfect, but instead the box is a bit too small to even make it worthwhile for the entire feature.
Also included on the first disc is a feature length audio commentary with producer Don Hahn and co-directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale as well as special guest, composer Alan Menken. The commentary is lively and very informative, but does repeat a lot of what you’ll see on the second disc’s “Backstage Disney” feature and for the more adventurous viewers there’s a sing-a-long track to choose from.
Features include a never before seen deleted scene and an alternate story opening, the latter of which can also be watched on the second disc (which I would recommend as it comes with far more context). There are also two similar featurettes dealing with the music for the film, the first being “Composing a Classic,” a three-way feature with composer Alan Menken, Disney historian Richard Kraft and producer Don Hahn and a “Broadway Beginnings” feature that addresses the film’s Broadway roots.
The second Blu-ray disc is where you get your traditional “Backstage Disney” feature going deep behind the scenes. Here it is called “Beyond Beauty” and it runs over two-and-a-half hours and includes seamless branching segments, and compiles just about everything you could ever possibly want to know about this film. However, as magnificent as this feature was, the sound cut out on me several times and the video even paused for about 5-10 seconds at a time on occasion. I have no idea if this is simply my copy or something that will occur on other copies, but I felt it should be mentioned. Beyond that you get your traditional group of interactive games, a music video with Jordin Sparks performing “Beauty and the Beast” and all of the classic DVD bonus features from previous DVD releases.
Whew… Still with me? As you can tell this is a massive release and I did my best to consolidate my comments as best as possible while also adding a little perspective. However, when it comes to my final judgment on the film, I still can’t say I can count myself as converted. Beauty and the Beast, I recognize, is a great film, but it’s just not a Disney film I count as one of my all-time favorites. Yet, I would recommend this release in a heartbeat. In fact, you’ll catch me recommending most any classic Disney animated film.
When Disney animation is at its best these are some of the most easily watchable films out there and Beauty and the Beast is no exception. While I don’t love this film I do like it, and Disney’s restored Blu-ray treatment is of the highest quality and well worth the purchase.
