Beauty and the Beast (1991)
For whom could love a beast?
Brief Backstory
1989 was the year that brought Disney back up after releasing the Little Mermaid and (rightfully so) ousting Don Bluth’s All Dogs go to Heaven. One major aspect that the Little Mermaid brought was the introduction of the beloved CAPS animation system (somewhat of a precursor to flash animation and Toonboom software if you think of it that way) and was fully used starting with the Rescuers Down Under. Beauty and the Beast, however, the second to fully use this new process, fared far better in theaters, and would win a Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture (Musical and Comedy) and further increasing the grip that Disney had on animation after a series of pot shots in the 1980s.
Story
A corrupted and arrogant prince is cursed into becoming a beast along with the rest of the occupants of the castle. One day Maurice, on his way to a fair, stumbles into the castle and is locked up. Belle, his daughter, offers herself instead, a move that encourages the beast to develop feelings and get her to love him.
Meanwhile, Gaston, a spoiled brat revered by the town, greedily eyes Belle. His narcissism reaches the top when he hears of Belle loving the beast and not him, and he resorts to eradicating the competition.
Random Facts
Belle’s outfit was modeled after Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The beast himself appears to also have some similarities with the cowardly lion as well, though not as obvious looking.
A song number was added in the 2002 IMAX release.
During the scene where the beast attempts to get Belle to come down for dinner he points at the door, referencing a character from the Honeymooners.
According to the commentary from the blu-ray copy, the beast did not have the west wing forbidden strictly because of the enchanted rose. Belle would’ve caught wind of the beast’s tragic past and would hurt his chances of going back to being human.
Beauty and the Beast became the highest selling movie on cassette in 1992. This was quickly overthrown by other movies like the first printing of Snow White in 1994.
People have been putting the Walt Disney Classics print on eBay for five-figure prices in an effort to cheat tape collectors. I can tell you right now none of those are worth that much; probably five dollars at most.
4th favorite Disney movie by James Rolfe of Cinemassacre. Fair enough.
Random Opinions
I consider Beauty and the Beast the son of 101 Dalmatians. Much like 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast was not the first to introduce a new state-of-the-art animation style however it used the new animation style to a better benefit than the Rescuers Down Under (Goliath II used the Xerox animation style first whereas 101 Dalmatians used it in a better way) with some better looking 3d imagery.
To anyone accusing Disney for being anti-sematic, you do realize that Robby Benson is Jewish, right?
I think the beast suffers from anxiety issues; he’s seen freaking out in a pleading matter at Belle when she storms the west wing and at the beginning he was probably terrified that Maurice was going to tell the town and have his castle attacked.
On that note, the beast might’ve also been an inspiration for Shrek.
Pros
- Exceptional song numbers, which some were nominated for awards as well.
- Character development is also exceptional; the beast starts out as a remorsefully miserable character dealing with urgency and later shows that appearances aren’t everything. Gaston also states that lesson too with how he looks good but is nothing less than a sexist no-good man child.
- Memorable voice actors/actresses, including the legendary Tony Jay as the asylum owner. Richard White was also amazing as Gaston.
Cons
- Felt like the earlier appearance of the beast (when he finds Maurice) a little too disturbing. Sure he definitely gets a million times better but it wouldn’t have hurt not to make the beast look evil early onwards. It’s not like the beast had to be just as nurturing as his accomplices but this isn’t supposed to be a horror movie.
- Also if I were the beast I would’ve thrown Gaston down. It would have saved the beast from his near death experience.
Rating: 9/10 – Amazing
I think the Lion King’s better but Beauty and the Beast is easily my second favorite of the 1990s Disney (third would be Aladdin by a very close margin and then fourth would be Hunchback of Notre Dame).
I’ve grown to prefer this over Aladdin as well, mostly because of how much of an impact it was back in the early 1990s and the ripple effect that benefited Disney for most of the decade.
One response to “Beauty and the Beast”
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I also wrote a review on it. My only issues are Belle smarter than nearly every single male character. I find women a superior and men are dumb stereotypes as offensive. The other issue, Beast’s battle with Gaston felt short. It pales in comparison to Terminator 2. The original 1991 is a 8/10. The 2017 remake is a 7/10.
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