(15 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)
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Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Beauty and the Beast movie review a 1991 film starring Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson and directed by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Belle, whose father Maurice is imprisoned by the Beast (really an enchanted Prince), offers herself instead and finds the prince inside the Beast. Belle is a girl who is dissatisfied with life in a small provincial French town, constantly trying to fend off the misplaced “affections” of conceited Gaston. The Beast is a prince who was placed under a spell because he could not love. A wrong turn taken by Maurice, Belle’s father, causes the two to meet.
The film that officially signaled Disney’s animation renaissance (following The Little Mermaid) and the only animated feature to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination, Beauty and the Beast remains the yardstick by which all other animated films should be measured. It relates the story of Belle, a bookworm with a dotty inventor for a father; when he inadvertently offends the Beast (a prince whose heart is too hard to love anyone besides himself), Belle boldly takes her father’s place, imprisoned in the Beast’s gloomy mansion. Naturally, Belle teaches the Beast to love.
What makes this such a dazzler, besides the amazingly accomplished animation and the winning coterie of supporting characters (the Beast’s mansion is overrun by quipping, dancing household items) is the array of beautiful and hilarious songs by composer Alan Menken and the late, lamented lyricist Howard Ashman. (The title song won the 1991 Best Song Oscar, and Menken’s score scored a trophy as well.) The downright funniest song is “Gaston,” a lout’s paean to himself (including the immortal line, “I use antlers in all of my de-co-ra-ting”). “Be Our Guest” is transformed into an inspired Busby Berkeley homage. Since Ashman’s passing, animated musicals haven’t quite reached the same exhilarating level of wit, sophistication, and pure joy. –David Kronke –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Disney’s animated version of the classic tale, “Beauty and the Beast,” is every bit as enchanting as the “tale as old as time” that it tells, making its way into our hearts as well as motion picture history. Being the first film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as six nominations altogether, Disney proves that it has what it takes to make an animated feature enjoyable for adults and children. I remember watching the film as a small child, and now, as an adult, is hasn’t lost its luster, and everything is just as I enjoyed it before.
Through brilliant animation and song, as well as some terrific voice talents, the story of unexpected love comes to new and exciting life. Small-town girl Belle is forced to head into the woods once her father turns up missing, bringing her to a gloomy, secluded castle where she finds him and his captor, a vicious-looking beast. Of course, the beginning of the movie explains the beast’s origins: he was once a selfish prince who, after turning out an old beggar woman, was transformed, given an enchanted rose, and told “if he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.
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This begins their rocky-turned-romantic relationship, as they begin to warm to one another. Meanwhile, the town brute, Gaston, has plans of his own, involving some sinister maneuvers involving Belle’s father in hopes that she will agree to marry him.
Many have hailed this as the best of Disney’s films, and they wouldn’t be wrong in saying so, either. It’s easy to see why the movie has become such a success: there are elements at work in this film, just as in every other Disney film, only they seem to have taken on a small degree of maturity with this film’s creation.
The animation is some of the best and most believable I’ve seen for an animated film in a long time. Most of the scenes involving solely characters is the same as most of Disney’s works, but there are scenes of pure life-like reality that have a special flare to them. The ballroom scene is one such scene: the camera angles sweep across a room filled with high-arched glass windows and a chandelier which looks as real as the words you’re reading on this page. Some nice effects go into the creation of the castle as well, especially in the end once everything returns to normal.
The is one of the most moving Disney soundtracks to come along since that of “Cinderella” and “Pinocchio.” It is clear that composers were striving to capture the feeling and influence of their previous score for “The Little Mermaid,” and they truly succeed in doing so. The songs are delightful and will have kids and adults alike smiling and singing along. The score is the perfect underlining for scenes of romance as well as tension and suspense. In case you were wondering, three of the originally written songs were nominated for Academy Awards; that should say something.
This is one of Disney’s most ambitious and successful projects, ranking alongside such cinematic achievements as the successes of “Citizen Kane” and “Gone With The Wind.” Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture, as well as its Oscar nominations, “Beauty and the Beast” is a hallmark of a time when movies were something that everyone, young and old alike, could enjoy on the same levels. This is the best picture of 1991.
Comment by mthegreatone
# January 2, 2007,
Disney Animated Studios outdid themselves making this movie. Once again truly another classic worth adding to your collection. In my quest to “re-experience” everything from my younger years, I decided to watch every Disney movie I could get my hands on. Beauty and the Beast truly stands the test of time along with the other animated classics that Disney has made. A wonderful blend of hand-drawing and compuer animation made for one of the best animated pictures ever to be conceived from the folks at Disney.
The great thing about a movie like this is a depiction of a strong character. In this case, Belle is quite a strong character indeed; specifically sacrificing her own life to save her father from the clutches of the Beast. Disney does a good job of creating coming-of-age stories. The evolution of the Beast is a good example of this. Although the Beast looks the same throughout most of the movie, he truly evolves as a character thanks to the warm and loving nature of Belle’s character. Today’s society can easily learn morals coming from this movie, specifically the fact that true beauty lies within.
Without a doubt the movie itself deserves 5 stars without question. Memorable music is also what makes the movie as great as it is. Alan Menken is a pure genious (sorry, I can’t remember the other music geniouses who contributed to the making of Beauty and the Beasts’ musical score).
Overall this is an excellent movie that’s worth putting in anybody’s collection. The special features are a great bonus and you will gain much info on the creation of this great movie.
Comment by AmazonGirl
# January 2, 2007,
Beauty and the Beast is the story of Belle, a girl living in a small French village who dreams of adventure. She is considered strange in her town because she is always reading, and sees the handsomest man in town, Gaston, not as a dreamy potential fiance, but as the rude, conceited man he really is. Belle’s father stumbles upon the enchanted castle of the Beast, which will remain under a spell until the Beast, formerly a handsome prince, learns to love, which must happen by his twenty-first birthday. Belle comes to rescue her father, and agrees to take his place as the Beast’s prisoner. Although the Beast seems harsh and bad-tempered at first, Belle and the Beast learn to love each other, to the displeasure of Gaston, who finds out about Belle’s friendship with the Beast, and had planned on marrying Belle himself.
This is an amazing movie, definitely my favorite of all of the Disney movies, and it could be my all-time favorite movie, too. The characters are so lively and full of personality. The Beast’s servants, who have been turned into objects under the spell, add a lot to the movie. The musical numbers are fantastic - the humorous “Gaston,” the flashy “Be Our Guest,” and, of course, the breathtakingly beautiful ballroom scene, where Belle and the Beast dance to “Beauty and the Beast.” This is a great movie for people of any age, and a must-see for people who have enjoyed other Disney movies.
Comment by Britt Gillette “thedvdreport.blogspot.com”
# January 2, 2007,
Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Beauty And The Beast is one of Disney’s greatest animated achievements. Its massive success reinvigorated the Disney animation juggernaut which had lay dormant for decades, launching the release of smashing blockbusters such as Aladdin, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Taking home two Oscars for Best Music (Original Score and Original Song), the film launched a trend in Disney animation by blending musical numbers (with cartoon choreography), an aspect that would become a staple of film after film for the remainder of the decade. In short, Beauty And The Beast is a landmark production just as remarkable today as when it was first released…
Following the Disney tradition of transposing well-known fairy tales from the pages of a book to the sparkle of the big screen, Beauty And The Beast follows the life of Belle (Paige O’Hara), a beautiful bookworm maiden who captivates her town’s most eligible bachelor, Gaston (Richard White). Dissatisfied with life in her small French villa, Belle grows especially tired of the conceited and self-absorbed Gaston (who is unable to fathom the idea that Belle does not welcome his affections).
Meanwhile, The Beast lives in solitude in a long-ago abandoned castle, having had a spell cast upon him because of his inability to love. The spell turned the handsome prince into an ugly beast, and it turned all of his servants into dinnerware, candlesticks, and other inanimate objects. When Belle’s father, Maurice (Rex Everhart) makes a wrong turn, he inadvertently unites the lives of Belle and The Beast. After spending much time with Belle, the bitter and hardened Beast begins to soften. He and Belle fall in love, but Gaston and his fellow village marauders arrive at the castle walls and demand the return of Belle, threatening to kill The Beast…
The highlight of Beauty And The Beast is the musical number “Be Our Guest,” which featured an entire dining hall filled with dancing teacups, plates, and eating utensils. The sequence forged the way for similar scenes in Aladdin (with “A Whole New World”) and The Lion King (with “Hakuna Matata”). Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise not only create a perfect transition from song to story, but they also manage to introduce innumerable humorous lines into musical sequences, especially with the early song bandied about by the rival for Belle’s hand, Gaston.
One of the top films of all-time (from any genre, not just animation), Beauty And The Beast remains one of Disney’s most heralded creations. It tells the classic love story of the beast with a good heart and does so with vivid characters, a world-class musical score, and animated visual images that would make Walt proud. Critically acclaimed and extremely successful at the box office, Beauty And The Beast is a true blockbuster in the traditional sense of the word. An awe-inspiring film that launched a new generation of animated Disney masterpieces, Beauty And The Beast is the quintessential must-see film…