Beauty and the Beast
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432 Customer Reviews Posted
- 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! - 2007-08-23, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- 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. - 2007-08-03, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- 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. - 2007-07-19, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!!!
- Tal como lo dijeran los Beatles, "todo lo que necesitas es amor"; hasta los seres mas horripilantes, pateticos y groseros necesitan sentirse amados...y el amor puede hacer maravillosos cambios en el caracter de todo ser humano; esto es lo que nos muestra uno de los cuentos mas clasicos llevados a la pantalla por la factoria Disney, en una obra de las mas espectaculares que se ha visto en la animacion; esta es una de mis favoritas de Disney (incluso tuvo un Oscar), nos cuenta la historia de como una engreido y grosero principe es hechizado a causa de su pesimo caracter y transformado en una horrible bestia, y como solo el beso del amor verdadero lo puede salvar... es entonces que aparece Belle, una encantadora mujer aldeana pero con muchos sueños e ilusiones; en el momento en que ambas vidas se encuentran, una transformacion permanente se dara en ambas, llegandose a conocer tan intimamente que terminan descubriendo como con el amor TODO ES POSIBLE; hay en la pelicula tanto momentos divertidos (protagonizados por un candelabro y un reloj) como tristes (cuando Belle y la bestia se despiden), y es una pelicula CANDIDATA A SER UNA DE LAS GRANDES DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS.
- 2007-06-30, 0 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- ALL TIME FAV!!
- you gotta love this movie, I always have and I got a great deal on Amazon and fast shipping too!!!
- 2007-05-12, 0 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
