Beauty and the Beast [25th Anniversary Edition] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Overview

Considered to be the best of Disney's tuneful animated features of the '80s and '90s, Beauty and the Beast features a strong, moving story and a number of memorable Menken & Ashman tunes, including the title song and the bouncy "Be Our Guest." Done in the style of a Broadway musical, the story centers on the misadventures of Belle, the book-loving, independent -minded daughter of the town inventor. A great beauty, she is coveted by the boorish Gaston whom she spurns. Meanwhile, deep in the nearby forest there lives the Beast, a formerly arrogant and selfish young man who mistreated a witch and was transformed into a hideous creature with an equally ugly temper. With only his animated furniture and personal effects to keep him company, he waits for the true love that will free him. He must find it before the last petal of an enchanted rose falls. If not, he will remain a beast forever. The trouble begins when Belle's dithery father sets off into the forest to take his latest contraption to the fair. A disaster lands him in the Beast's dungeon. Belle sets off to rescue her father, meets the terrifying creature and offers herself in exchange for her father. The old man returns home while Belle and Beast slowly get to know each other. Something about her brings out the long dormant human in the hirsute lord and it looks as if the spell will finally be broken. Unfortunately, back in the village, Gaston is preparing to have her father placed in an asylum, forcing Belle to leave the palace to save him. The story's exciting climax takes place back at the Beast's palace when the jealous Gaston attempts to get his revenge and destroy both Belle and the Beast.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/20/2016
UPC:	0786936850956
Original Release:	1991
Rating:	G
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:25:00
Sales rank:	14,486

Special Features

English SDH; 3 Versions of the Film - original theatrical, special edition and sing-along; Menken & Friends: 25 Years of Musical Inspiration - with some of Disney's greatest composers - Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez and Lin-Manuel Miranda; The Recording Sessions - vocal magic with the cast; Always Belle - with Disney legend Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle; #1074: Walt, Fairy Tales & Beauty and the Beast - take a peek at Walt's early development of the film; 25 Fun Facts About Beauty and the Beast - hosted By Disney Channel stars Gus Kamp and Kayla Maisonet; And more!

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Paige O'Hara	Belle
Robby Benson	Beast
Richard White	Gaston,Actor
Jerry Orbach	Lumiere
Angela Lansbury	Mrs. Potts
David Ogden Stiers	Cogsworth/Narrator
Bradley Michael Pierce	Chip
Jesse Corti	LeFou
Jo Anne Worley	Wardrobe
Mary Kay Bergman	Bimbette
Brian Cummings	Stove,Footstool
Alvin Epstein	Voices
Tony Jay	Monsieur D'Arque
Alec Murphy	Baker
Engelbert Von Nordhausen	Voices
Santiago Ziesmer	Voices
Peter Edelmann	Voices
Klaus Miedel	Voices
Helmut Heyne	Voices
Friedrich Schoenfelder	Voices
Ingeborg Wellmann	Voices
Joachim Kemmer	Voices
Manfred Lichtenfeld	Voices
Timo Plümicke	Voices
Christel Merian	Voices
Rex Everhart	Maurice
Kimmy Robertson	Featherduster
Albert Tavares	Voices
Kath Soucie	Bimbette
Hal Smith	Philippe
Vanna Bonta	Voices
Alan Menken	Composer

Technical Credits

Linda Woolverton

Gary Trousdale	Director
Kirk Wise	Director
Linda Woolverton	Screenwriter
Howard Ashman	Executive Producer
Don Hahn	Producer
Marco Paulo	Stunts
John Lasseter	Executive Producer
Vanessa Theme Ament	Sound Effects
Mark Barrows	Special Effects
Ariel Velasco Shaw	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The most important aspect of any musical is the songs. Songs in a musical should be both memorable and somewhat functional. One or the other is fine, but if most of the songs advance the plot or reveal character andmake the audience want to sing along, then you have a truly great musical. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman composed an arguably perfect set of songs for Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The opening number that encapsulates both Belle and her hometown, the hilarious tune illustrating how formidable a man Gaston is, and the warmly charming "Be My Guest" are just three high points from one of the great soundtracks in movie history. The title track, which is as sappy as Ashman ever got as a lyricist, charmingly acknowledges its own banality ("Tale as old as time/song as old rhyme/beauty and the beast") without minimizing or mocking its inherently sweet description of true love. Belle herself sidesteps most of the clichés surrounding Disney heroines. Her love for the beast is unexpected, mostly because she dreams of independence and adventure, not romance. She is a strong female character whose love is won through kindness, selflessness, and honesty, and not given away just because the lead male character is attractive. Classic songs, memorable characters, and adult (for Disney) love combine with such joy and skill in Beauty and the Beast that it became the first animated Best Picture nominee in Academy history. This is not just a great animated film; this is a great film. Period. [In January of 2012, a new 3D version of Beauty and the Beast was released into U.S. theaters after playing on screens throughout Europe and Asia. Though the film looked and sounded as good as ever, the 3D effects were largely of the forgettable "View-Master" variety, offering the film a pleasant but ultimately unnecessary sense of depth that did little to dazzle outside of the classic "Be Our Guest" and ballroom sequences. Following The Lion King 3D and preceding Finding Nemo 3D, Monsters Inc. 3D, and The Little Mermaid 3D, Beauty and the Beast 3D proved that even with 21st century film technology, it's difficult to improve upon perfection. -- Jason Buchanan]